Russia, Irkutsk 2

September 30, 2010: I arrived in Irkutsk in the afternoon and now had to get from the bus station to the Polytechnic University somehow. That’s where I had arranged to meet my couchsurfing host at 7 p.m. After asking around a lot, I found the right „bus stop“ and, after watching the comings and goings of the local transport for a while, I finally squeezed myself and my monster backpack into a public minibus. I stood out a bit, as I could tell from the curious looks. When I got there, I still had three hours to kill. Waiting at the bus stop was a) too cold and b) I wasn’t entirely comfortable with the way some of the people were sizing me up. So I tried, for the second time, to „sneak“ into a Russian university. My plan of simply and „inconspicuously“ (with a huge backpack…) marching straight past the barrier didn’t work, unfortunately. After 15 minutes of intense discussion (me in English, German and broken Russian - them only in Russian…) the three guards finally gave up and let me through anyway. Lesson learned: persistence, friendliness and a big smile pay off eventually. Inside the university it was nice and warm and there was open WiFi - now that’s service.

At dusk I walked back to the bus stop and met my couchsurfing host Anna there. She picked me up in her car and we drove to her nearby apartment, where she lived with her husband Stefan. Once again the hospitality was incredibly great. After a wonderful shower with real hot water (hadn’t had that in days…) I looked halfway human again. In the evening I was treated to delicious omul. Mind you, omul is a salmon-like fish found only in Lake Baikal. What’s more, Stefan’s father had caught the fish just a few hours earlier, and Stefan prepared them in an incredibly tasty way. An absolutely unforgettable delicacy!

The next day Anna gave me a map of Irkutsk and told me what’s worth seeing in the city and what isn’t. So I set off on my own and explored the city in glorious sunshine. One thing struck me as really remarkable: Irkutsk has around 600,000 inhabitants - but somehow I just can’t believe that. All in all, on buses, in restaurants and on the street, I ran into 9 people I had already met on the Trans-Siberian, on Olkhon or on the ferry… It’s scary how small the world is. I also met Fritz, a South Tyrolean who’s studying Russian in Irkutsk and showed me and a few others around the city, explaining everything as we went. Here’s a picture looking out over the Angara.

Back at Anna and Stefan’s in the evening, I was treated to delicious omul fish soup and mentally prepared myself to leave for Mongolia. I helped Anna with the German translation for an Erasmus scholarship in Germany, and Stefan booked me a taxi to Irkutsk station for 4 in the morning. We only meant to watch a few episodes of the new season of The Simpsons that evening (in English, luckily). In the end, though, we watched all night until the taxi called and took me to the station. Once again, a big thank you to both of you for your warm hospitality. In the photo we’re sitting on Anna and Stefan’s bed, and on the right you can see where I slept.