My last blog from Russia

March 18 and 19: Two days for culture, during which I visited two and a half museum. Museums here remind me of Mr Bean in Whistler’s Mom: “I sit. And watch.” In almost every room there is a chair for a guard. So that he/she can sit. And watch.

On Tuesday I visited the Mammoth Museum and the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnicity. Those are located in the same building. Unfortunately the Mammoth Museum was closed, but a skeleton of a mammoth was standing in the hall (= half museum). I always imagined that those mammals were a lot larger, but perhaps this was a young one. One of the staff members tried to get me into the museum through a back door, but one of her colleagues sent me back. The Museum of Arachnology and Ethnicity gave information on how people lived here in bygone years. As all explanations were in Russian only, I did not spend much time in the museum. Walking there and back took more time than visiting the museums.

The meeting I had scheduled for the evening was cancelled. My contact person and his translater were waiting for each other, which they only discovered halfway through the evening. Unfortunately there was no chance of rescheduling our meeting, so I will have to get back to Yakutsk.

On Monday I had promised the nice lade in the Museum of Yakutsk to get back on Wednesday, and so I did. There were much more people now then on Monday. The museum existed of an art collection on Yakutski. Nice to have a look at. There were a few paintings that I really liked, and I felt like asking if I could buy them. But I could never have afforded them, so I decided not to ask. Here also all information was in Russian, so I do not really know what I have been looking at. On the top floor of the building was some kind of a flea market with jewellery made from local stones.

I had read in my guide that ‘the’ souvenir shop of Yakutsk would be near this museum. After some walking around and asking people, I found it. It appeared that there are two kinds of souvenir shops: diamonds and other shiny stuff, and a tiny, messy kiosk that sell the more traditional souvenirs. But nothing I liked. So I’m still trying to find real nice Yakutsk souvenirs.

The afternoon was reaching its end, so I walked back to the hotel, bought two keyboards with Cyrillic characters and treated myself to a meal in a restaurant: Borsjt and a meat dish with onions and carrots. This appeared to be really cheap: two courses, two bears and an after meal drink for a bit more than Eur 20. And it tasted great!

I am really beginning to love this country with its own particularities. On Monday evening the internet did not work. I could connect with the network, but could not get access to the internet. And the lady at the reception desk only spoke Russian. So I explained in my bestest Russian. And she understood what I said! She phoned her boss and gave me the phone so that I could explain it to him. He said that it would be back up in 20 minutes or so. I handed back the phone to the receptionist, she talked with him and handed the phone back to me. “Maybe you’d like to order something from the restaurant? The menu is on the desk.” I thought he was compensating me for the internet not working, which I did not consider necessary, but I did not want to be rude and ordered something smallish. About half an hour later, the receptionist came up to my room with the food ordered and the bill.
I still don’t understand why he asked me if I wished to order something from the restaurant (which is not part of the hotel, the hotel only serves breakfast). Maybe he does not like the fact that I keep my own food in my room?

Yesterday was my big goodbye to the city. I tried to find the Museum of Folklore and have asked for directions several times. Unfortunately I could not find it. So I spent some more time in the old town with the wooden houses and treated myself a traditional Yakutian meal: Frozen fish salad, delicious!, and reindeermeat with spicy tomato sauce, yummie as well!

Today was a lazy day, I stayed in the hotel most of the time and packed my bags. And went out for another delicious Russian dinner.

And tomorrow? The taxi will arrive at 09:30 to get me to the airport. My plane leaves at 12:30 and will land some hours later in Moscow at 13:30. I’ll have to wait there for some hours and then leave for Amsterdam at 19:00. Arrival in Amsterdam is scheduled for 19:40, where Laura will be waiting for me to give me a comfortable ride home.