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Huw's Bit
Have to share! Dinner tonight at a Georgian restaurant - absolutely outstanding! It was a pretty cool place in terms of decor, music, vibe but what made it was the food - unreal! Got a table booked for tomorrow night already! Our waitress also smiled, constantly which was so, so refreshing!
Tour of Ekaterinburg with Constantine also a 'most memorable' experience! Especially the privilege of paying respects at the Romanov's grave in which they were found but the Russian Orthodox Church continue to deny!
What made it especially interesting was Constantine's engagement with us in discussing current Russian politics and especially the level of antipathy towards Putin. With earlier comments about Gorbachov and Yeltsin Russia is really, really living up to its billing of place of political intrigue!
Christine's bit
Early pickup by our driver/guide - no mucking around, got us out of the station into his car and straight to the hotel for early checkin. Went to breakfast immediately - lovely food after cheese and buscuits and peanuts on the train! At last a shower, hair washed, clothes sent to hotel laundry and a bit of hand washing done as this bathroom had a basin with a plug, and a heated floor which meant quick drying times!
Went to find a supermarket to get water and ended up with sparking again! Damn!! Just can't pick the difference if dont know the language.
Picked up by our guide at 2 pm to do a tour of the city by foot but ended up driving to all the spots and viewing them from the car window and getting out where necessary - worked out well as the rain was heavy on occasions - meant a full day excursion was packed into 4 1/2 hours which suited us. Our guide proved to be a very political character, very much against the current regime and its corruptness . He was a wealth of knowledge about Russian history ( Uni degree in it) and it was an outstanding afternoon listening to his knowledge of history and engaging us with his personal ideas. He was very balanced with his assessment of previous leaders but very much down on the absolute corruptness of current leaders and how the wealth is held in 5 % of the population - more billionaires in Russia than anywhere else in the world.
Highlight of the day was the trip out to where the Romanovs were buried - although the Russian Orthodox Church does not recognise this . It has been scientifically proven that the bones in the 2 gravesides in the forest are the Romanov family, doctor, maids but the shrine (7 wooden churches built in the traditional wooden style) has been built at the place where the church wants to believe they were buried - dropped down a well about 1 kilo metre away.
Going to the grave sites in the forest was very moving - no one else there except us and the rain and mosquitos! very simple headstones and epitaphs, and flowers laid by the pilgrims.
The 7 churches site, set amongst the silver birch tress , was a beautiful place but had a manufactured feel compared to the forest. I was required to wear my headscarf and don a long maroon skirt as my jeans were not long enough. We were able to enter one of the churches and see a service . Monks also live on this site.
The Russian Orthodox Church built to recognise the Romanov family' spilled blood, is stunning. It and has been built on the area where the Romanovs were taken, held and then executed. It has a low ceiling when you first enter and then a huge domed area where frescos are being painted and the Romanovs appear as saints amongst other saints, ,Archangel Michael, Jesus and Mary. There is a section where it has been identified that the family were shot, and a room has been built as a shrine in the exact place and to the size of the room where the bullet holes were found. It had a very powerful energy - 2 days before we arrived there had been the annual pilgrimage walk from the grave sites in the forest to this church (a 20 km walk) for the faithful and believers. You could feel the grief in the room .
Our guide was genuinely upset by the killing of the innocent children and the Tzar and his wife - it is recognised as a black day in Russian history and many feel great shame that it happened. He is keen to see the gravesides recognised as the true burial site of the Romanovs.
We returned to the hotel ( gave our guide a good tip as he had been fantastic) happened to see one of the women we was on the first train from Beijing to Mongolia - Edwina. She disclosed that she was finding things difficult with the touring party she is with and was going to have a sandwich in the foyer of the hotel on her own. We asked her to join us for dinner at the Georgian food Restaurant our guide had put us onto. When we found it, it was booked out but the Restaurant has a summer part and a winter part - one young waiter could speak some English took us to the winter part next door. a large wooden door opened and we we walked into the most beautiful restaurant, full of warmth and character and beauty and taken to a table with lovely big armchairs upstairs. What a find! You would be going to find a restaurant like this in sydney - it was gorgeous. The food was stunning - we had not eaten food like this all trip. An excellent night with Edwina, ( a bit of an eccentric) and Huw and I booked a table for the following night as we were so enchanted by the whole experience. (Edwina not joining us as she has a dinner with her touring party tonight).
- comments
Nick Spurling Very pleased that you enjoyed Constantine. He's the guide I specifically requested for you.