After visiting Lake Baikal, Dan and I caught the overnight train to Krasnoyarsk.
This post isn’t really going to be about Krasnoyarsk though, because the only two photos I have of the city are of a snowman and a ferris wheel.
We Couchsurfed in Krasnoyarsk with a very sweet couple who turned out to be Irish dancers! And I mean serious Irish dancers – the room we slept in was full of their dance trophies, with a huge Irish flag hanging over our bed.
On their recommendation we took a bus out of the city to Stolby National Park to see the famous boulders, but the trip turned out to be a total failure. Or rather, my Russian skills turned out to be a total failure.
From where the bus dropped us off the only path we could find was marked by a huge sign that, to my understanding, read:
Something! Something something Stolby territory something something house animals something.
I figured the first word could either be “Welcome!” or “Caution!” but optimistically decided on the former. And perhaps “house animals” meant the animals native to the park – it was probably a helpful hint to keep an eye out for cute squirrels and pretty birds.
We had a really lovely walk through the sparkly forest (this is where we saw the snowman!) for a couple kilometers, until we approached a large house and were welcomed by its house animal.
After the dog had successfully chased us back through the forest to the bus stop I checked my Russian dictionary app and, for any of you who might visit Russia someday, “внимание” means “caution.” Whoops.
Aside from our Stolby excursion, we mostly just wandered around downtown Krasnoyarsk and got acquainted with the local bus routes (our Couchsurfing hosts lived in an apartment block on the outskirts of the city).
Downtown had a lot of pretty European-feeling buildings with lots of shops and cafés, though we were careful to avoid eating near the train station, as according to Wikivoyage those restaurants should be avoided because “they are traditionally occupied by local and visiting criminals — that is unless, of course, you yourself are a criminal looking to socialize.”
Honestly, out of the many cities we visited in Siberia (I’m writing this from Moscow now) Krasnoyarsk didn’t make a huge impression on me – I didn’t exactly love it, but there wasn’t anything to hate either. It was Russian, and it was Siberian. The highlight for me was definitely staying with the Irish dancing couple, because… when we were in Tomsk (the next city on our itinerary) they invited us to their feis!!!
For those of you who aren’t in the Irish dancing know, a feis is an Irish dance competition.
Wait, did you guys even know that I’m in the Irish dancing know? You see, I was in an Irish dance company in university. It’s true!
Oh look at that, it turns out I did have enough to write a whole post about Krasnoyarsk! Tomsk, I’ll write about you next time.
Jenia says
Oh no! I am so sorry this happened to you. When we did the transsiberian we saw quite a few non-native speakers who struggled to get around 🙁 When we explored Stolby there were no Westerns around, and we did struggle a bit to find the park. I had directions though that someone posted on livejournal in Russian. we included directions in our post here: http://www.housetolaos.com/krasnoyarsk/
Silvia says
Ahh that’s what we needed! It ended up being a fun adventure without seeing Stolby, but next time I’m there I’ll have to check your directions 🙂
Marie @ Marie Away says
I think these things happen every now and again. At least you got a really cool photo of a ferris wheel and a snowman and probably will always remember the Russian word for “Caution!”
It’s awesome that you met some cool people as well, sometimes that’s worthwhile in itself!
Silvia says
Haha it was a learning experience! And honestly the whole thing ended up being more of a funny adventure than a disappointment – I mean I hadn’t even heard of Stolby before getting to Krasnoyarsk.
Kris Lanzarote says
Hi there, nice blog of yours 🙂 I guess it must have been cold in Syberia 😉 Is it safe to travel in Russia?
Thanks
Kris
Silvia says
It is cold here! I feel totally safe traveling in Russia – everyone has been so friendly and helpful here!
Jo-Anne says
Well that sucks doesn’t it, but these things do happen even they do suck when they happen.
Silvia says
At least it was a helpful Russian language lesson for me, haha.
becky hutner says
A blog post with a plot twist. YES! One of the many reasons I love your writing. From the looks of it, not only were you an Irish dancer, but you were the LEAD Irish dancer. Geez Silvia, full of surprises.
Silvia says
Haha oh if only – tall girls never get to be the lead dancers 🙁 I just chose a photo from one of the rare moments I was in front, haha.
Miquel says
Catching up on all your current journeys! It’s so fun to read along as you go. I also dabbled in some Irish dancing as a kid. Who knew?!
Silvia says
Haha seriously, so many people seem to have a bit of Irish dancing in their past! At least the cool people 🙂
Kelly says
Oh man–I guess it could have turned out worse with the dog though! These kind of travel failures are always disappointing, but they do make unique stories later on, and I guess it kind of comes with the territory of traveling frequently. Hopefully your next adventure goes more smoothly!
Silvia says
We were (mostly) laughing as the dog chased us away. Sometimes it’s more fun when things don’t go smoothly, ha.
Yosemite says
Ahhh I am cracking up and this post makes me miss you a lot. The “house animal” thing is hilarious. I think we can all agree that Boleslaw, too, is a ferocious house animal. And that picture BRINGS BACK THE MEMORIES
Silvia says
Hahaha Boleslaw would totally have chased us away! Except I would have ignored his ferocity to smother him with kisses because I haven’t seen him in soooo long.
Victoria@ The British Berliner says
Would it be awful if I said tongue-in-cheek, that I found this post quite hilarious. Please don’t hate me!
On a more pleasant note, I do like your snowman and the Irish dancing. When I first came to Berlin, I had a few dancing lessons too. Lame, I know. But I quite liked it. I tried to encourage my son but he’s having none of it. It’s karate and hip-hop/ballet instead! I know, Right!
Silvia says
Haha actually it was meant to be funny! Or at least make fun of the ridiculous situation – I couldn’t stop laughing after the dog chased us away. Um, karate and hip-hop/ballet sounds pretty badass to me! Your son must be cool 🙂