My Russian Tour 22

22. Ekaterinburg’s most famous sights

After our lunch of cold soup that consisted mainly of raw vegetables (they call it “okroshka” and it is very popular in Russia during the summer time), eaten again with Russian black bread, Elena and I left for the Europe-Asia boundary monument, which was nearby. I took a picture of Elena standing with one foot in Europe and the other in Asia. 

That afternoon we also visited a lake close by. I have many times read about the lakes in Russia, which has the biggest fresh water lake on earth, the lake Baykal near the city of Irkutsk in Siberia. I must admit I am always impressed with the wonders of nature. I would love to visit the Baykal Lake sometime in the future. The lake that we visited was impressive, but not very large. 

What made the trip memorable was the un-driveable dirt road that we travelled on, but I think Russian cars are built for those types of conditions. Many of the main roads were also in bad condition like the one I travelled from the Ekaterinburg airport. I was told that the surfaces of the tar roads break up because of the extreme climate, and in the winter salt is placed on the roads to melt the snow that contributed to the deterioration of the paving. Luckily in Ekaterinburg during the summer time the sun only goes down after half past eleven at night thus ensuring that we arrived back to the city still in daylight.

Ekaterinburg has a lot to offer to a tourist. It has nice eating-places, memorable places to visit, beautiful parks, nightclubs, good hotels, a big dam surrounded by areas developed for leisure, and lakes outside the city as well as pictorial swamps. I would suggest visiting Ekaterinburg during the summer because in winter temperatures can be as low as -35 degrees C (approximately -5 F°). If you include Ekaterinburg only as a part of your trip than I would suggest not staying longer than three days and four nights because while it is a nice city to see it is without doubt not the most beautiful place in Russia. But I enjoyed my stay there.