Snow, songs and zoos....

Departing from Tyumen train station was not too stressful although when our train number appeared on the departure board there were two numbers for the platform. Mr L suggested we follow a fellow passenger who looked like he was getting on our train which was a good hunch. Apparently the first number is the platform and the second is the track number. Now we know. On board we were relieved to have bottom bunks and we met our fellow passengers for the journey - Sergei and Denis. Sergei spoke some English Denis did not. Sergei was happy to chat and share pictures of family etc although after a while I zoned out and left Mr L to carry on. Next I was aware Segei was showing Mr L a picture and trying to pronounce a word which Mr L helped him with - Caesarian. I didn't dare catch Mr L's eye but could only imagine what pictures he was being shown. Thankfully everyone retired to bed early and I reflected on the fact that I was sharing a cabin with Mr L and two unknown Russian men. A first. 

When we woke the view from the train was of snow and plenty of it. Sergei shared some tips on Novosibirisk and recommended a rock opera on at the theatre. Then he proceeded to sing one of the songs to us. For several minutes. He had a pleasant enough voice but in a cramped train carriage it was an awkward few moments. In my head I begged him to stop which eventually he did.

On arrival at Novosibirsk we said our goodbyes to Segei and Denis and headed to our hotel I would describe its style as Russian realism. Concrete. this is Russia's third most populated city, nicknamed 'Chicago of Siberia' as it is an industrial/manufacturing/sales town. We were expecting to find some old historic, cultural parts to the city but unfortunately there was little to be found. It says much about the place when the key attraction is the zoo. So it was on Monday we set off in the snow and freezing temperatures, making full use of our thermals to the zoo.  

For the first few hours we were pretty much the only people there and very few animals willing to put their heads out for fear of getting hit by tree branches which were falling off all over the park and across the city under the weight of the snow. Eventually we found some animals willing to give us our monies worth (entry fee was about £2.40 each) and surprisingly we spent a pleasant 3+hrs there before heading back to the hotel. 

Day two in Novosibirisk - we walked around the few sights on offer and visited a USSR museum - described as housing a collection of Russian memorabilia; essentially bric-a-brac, probably purchased from car boot sales. The lady showed us around, shouting into her phone on Google translate, to describe items. We were then left alone in the basement area where we spent time trying on Russian hats and uniforms and taking selfies! 

The temperature difference is quite hard to handle. Outside its -1 during the day and every building has the heating set at about 80 degrees! 

In the evening we found a cocktail bar, a place to eat and headed to a live music bar all good and the people were friendly and helpful as have all the people we have encountered in Novosibirisk. As a city though it does not have much to keep the attention and the fumes from the cars and industry hang heavy in the air and leave a bad taste in the mouth.  Tonight we get back on the train.