Novosibirsk is the capital of Siberia and you might expect freezing temperatures. Not this time with a comfortable -12°C hitting the train station’s thermometer. The train station is enormous, shaped like an old steam locomotive and looking brand new as well. From here mini buses leave to my next Couchsurfer Sergey. It takes almost an hour to get to his place, since this city is huge and widespread. But maybe the problem also lies in the poor transport system. Not the frequency or services, since these are okay, but the roads itself are constantly congested. Buses (also other modes of public transport) share the same lanes with cars making travel times unnecessary long. You would think why they don’t put some bus lanes? Here is the answer of my Couchsurfer:
“Russians can own a car now, which is the symbol of welfare nowadays. Causing grid lock all the time. Attention for public transport has dropped to zero. Bus lane talks are almost honed away, since they will ‘eat’ the capacity of the road; capacity that is ‘so needed’ for the car”, he continues sarcasticly.
He’s a great guy and with the heart in the right place. A teacher at the conservatory. Unfortunately due the lack of his time I explored Novosibirsk on my own. Not very surprising after having seen other Siberian cities. Just have a look at the pictures.
Next day I got a guided tour through Akademgorodok, the student’s area where mainly scientific instutes are located. Ilyas knows a lot, explains a lot, making this the most attractive part of the city. Although I wonder how many tourists end up here. Not many probably. And for whole Yekaterinburg… I have no clue. At least I was there 🙂
Research questions
-
Knowing if it is good to go to non-touristy Omsk.
Absolutely -
Finding out what keep the people busy in the Siberian capital, Novosibirsk
Still not sure what, but the local communities keep stuff alive -
Do people speak English?
Not besides the Couchsurfer hosts -
Is Siberia really that cold?
I’m afraid so in winter -
How many of the cities I’ll visit have ugly Soviet-style (concrete) appartment blocks?
All have it in common
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