Krasnoyarsk – halfway across Siberia

Day 10-11

Krasnoyarsk - Centre of Siberia

I woke up early today just as the train was entering the Krasnoyarsk Krai. I spent the morning talking to the Russian coinhabitants from my carriage. A mother with her two grown daughters who were traveling back home to Novosibirsk. As most of my coinhabitants during this trip, they were welcoming and we spent many hours of train travel practicing their English while I practiced my Russian.

I was first to depart as Krasnoyarsk is almost half earlier than Novosibirsk. It was about 10:30 local time as I got out so I reached out to my new friend from couchsurfing, Yuri, and made plans for later. The hostel I stayed at was the Inwood Hostel, just east of the main strip and walking distance. I found it on Booking.com. With Krasnoyarsk being very popular amongst Russian and foreign visitors of Siberia, there are plenty of others like it on there. Not all staff at Inwood Hostel speak English, but they will still go out of their way to help out a foreign traveler.

Krasnoyarsk is the 3rd largest city in Siberia, and the administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, the 2nd largest federal subject of Russia. It's southern central Siberian location and status as a major Trans-Siberian Railway stop ensure its importance as an industrial and touristic location. It is most well known for its expansive forests, wild rivers, and numerous mountains.

The short Summer is mild to very warm but during Winter it can be harshly cold with temperatures below -30C quite normal. Being here in mid-June, I happened across mostly warm weather, though overcast with regular rain.

The city of Krasnoyarsk

Soviet-style stolovayas

Essentially canteens with cheap, self-serve everyday Russian food. Back in the communist days, the locals ate out at these canteens, as restaurants were very rare and inaccessible for the majority of them. The idea behind the stolovaya was to provide adequate nourishment to all of the working class (in Krasnoyarsk's case factory workers). The food back was also very simple, but popular as it was what one would eat at home. These days there is more variety though they are still dominated by traditional Russian food instead of fancy gourmet dishes. It should be an obligatory visit for every foreigner wanting to try authentic Russian food. Most of the patrons these days consist of students, retirees, and nearby office workers during lunchtime.

I decided to visit a classic example of a traditional stolovaya. Inside the decor was simple and straightforward just like the food, albeit with a socialist Russian vibe. I went to line up for the self-service and ordered a main dish and salad. All up it set me back just 3 euro.

Local experience

Ordering the food was an experience in itself. Due to the overwhelming local presence in the stolovaya, English was non-existent. Therefore I went about trying to work out what some of the lesser-known dishes actually were. I asked the old man in front of me who explained in more straight forward Russian. When it was my turn I pointed to a couple of dishes and asked for them. The bored-looking kitchen hand didn't react at all. Turns out I didn't pronounce one of the dishes correctly therefore my entire sentence was void. After correcting myself, the kitchen-hand put the food on my tray without uttering a word. I chatted briefly with a man in office attire, who after discovering I was a traveler, smiled and explained how courtesy and politeness simply don't matter in the hospitality industry here. Every local is used to it.

Stolbi National Park

No visit to Krasnoyarsk and surrounds during Summer is complete without a visit to this centerpiece of Siberian nature. It was raining and quite cloudy in the morning during my second day here however, true to Yuri's advice the weather can change in an instance and today was no exception. To get there I took bus number 50 that can be found along Lenina Street. It takes roughly half-hour to get to Turbaza stop. The entrance to the national park is very close by.

Initially, I went at a good pace and the trail was relatively straightforward. The earlier rain, unfortunately, made some of the steeper dirt paths through the forest very muddy and slippery. This meant that at some point I had to choose whether to go ahead (and get bogged or forced to cut through deep forst) or turn left and take a different path that doesn’t go through the rocks and instead turns back toward the main street sferdlovskaya. The descent was still steep and technical, but I'll definitely be back someday and complete this trail.

The forest in Stolbi, for the most part, is wild and uninhabited. Therefore, it's a good idea to stick to the trail as brown bears can often be encountered deeper in the forest. Aside from bears, another thing to watch out for are ticks, as they are very often carriers of Encephalitis, a serious disease worth avoiding!

I returned to my hostel early evening and made my way to the train station for the next leg of the Trans-Siberian.

Next: European Russia and Moscow