September 15, 2019 After a night of good sleep (not rocking) in our hotel, we meet Olga, our amazing guide to the highlights of Novosibirsk – Russia’s 3rd largest city.
Olga – our stylish and learned guide to Novosibirsk. She has three degrees and speaks flawless English, and is a font of wonderful stories about life in Siberia.One of the symbols of the city – a symbolic dome of the Opera House being supported by sables – the native animal whose fur is so very expensive.A small chapel marking what used to be the geographic center of the USSR before it was broken up.The city of Novosibirsk was founded in 1893, and is in the book of world records for having achieved a population of over one million in the shortest amount of time. A bridge across the Ob River was what opened this land to new settlement. Statue of one of the city’s founders. A section of the old bridge remains.Olga describes the story of the bridge with a photographic display.Fishermen on the banks of the Ob River.Toto Tourists doing what we do best – taking photos in all directions.Graffiti art of Frida Kahlo using a cell phone on the banks of the Ob River. They needed to connect the eyebrows.We visit a nearby dam on the Ob River which created a huge (and controversial) lake.A fisherman shows off his catch on the dam.Pike-Perch for sale on the Ob River Dam.We visit a huge academic research center in the forest outside of town. There are over 100 laboratories doing pure research here, affiliated with the National Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. This statue of a mouse weaving a strand of DNA is in honor of all the lab animals who have given their lives for science.Our next stop is the Museum of Railway Technology, where we can enter railway cars from different periods in history.The hospital car. Can you imagine having an operation on a lurching train?The car for carrying prisoners.A special car for carrying molten iron ore. The interior spun slowly around like our modern cement trucks, while surrounded by a baking heat to maintain its liquid state.A snowplow engine – very important for keeping the tracks clear in Siberia!Display of classic Russian cars.The Opera House / Ballet Theatre of Novosibirsk. It is the second largest opera house in the world after the one in Buenos Aires.Lenin Square in front of the Opera House.Jerry and Evgeni at Lenin Square in Novosibirsk.The old Duma (Parliament) building across from Lenin Square in Novosibirsk. We enjoy a little shopping time at this enormous mall at the end of our tour.We return to the Novosibirsk Railway Station, which has an asymmetrical look to resemble a locomotive. The doorway arch is the wheel.Maxim and Lisa, our train stewards, welcome us aboard again for another overnight journey. At 9:40pm (promptly) we head out of the station towards Krasnoyarsk, arriving there tomorrow morning at 6:40am. Dinner is served to us in our cabins aboard the train.
