NOV 6, 18 .. IRKUTSK .. MY FIRST MAJOR WALKING TOUR

The time has come,' the Walrus said, To talk of many things:
Of shoes — and ships — and sealing-wax —
      Of cabbages — and kings —
And why the sea is boiling hot — And whether pigs have wings.'

Through the Looking Glass .. Lewis Carroll

Tuesday, November 6th, 2018
Irkutsk, Russian Siberia

This morning I said to myself ..

"The time has come to take a nice long walk and begin to really explore my own neighborhood here in Irkutsk."

I wonder who, someone did, coined the term ..

"Experience is the best teacher."

Trust your Captain on this :

One does not want to get lost in a large foreign city.

I have gotten lost while exploring the streets of India. However, in India, many of the people speak English.

Not so here in Irkutsk.

Step One - Have a photograph or two or three of where one lives.

Very near to my apartment, is the Irkutsk Academic Drama Theater, a major, Irkutsk historical landmark.

So out and off I went to document with photo(s) exactly where I need to get back to should I get lost.

And?

Today I actually used the below photo(s) to assist the lady attendant / fare collector on a Tram tell me where to exit her Tram to get to my landmark. 

On Trip Advisor .. Perhaps the Number One attraction in my own neighborhood is the Irkutsk Academic Drama Theater.

I figured that any taxi driver, and perhaps many local residents who are IN this neighborhood, will recognize a photo of it and guide me to it should (it actually did) the need arise.

Below is a street marker for the above theater.

I know enough cyrillic to understand the above sign designates the Karl Marks Street. 

IF you want to get fussy with me, I also know it says Karla Marksa and NO, I don't know why they added an 'a' to Karl's names. 

Below is the actual address of my own building.

So out and off I ventured, with the above photos on my camera to assist me should I get lost. 

I had a very specific agenda. Take a walk up the banks of the Angara River, the major river that passes through Irkutsk, and if able, walk to the Irkutsk Railway Station.

Only this past weekend I discovered that my apartment is literally, a hop, a skip, and a short jump from the Angara River.

A short Rhetorical Question :

Am I living in a nice neighborhood?

So off I began my walk on the above outstanding walkway beside the river. In the photo immediately above, and in the next three photos below, in the far distance you can see (it is on the left side of the 3rd tree above) a very modern building. 

We are going to walk to the bridge across the Angara River, cross the bridge and get to that building. Then we'll walk on to the Irkutsk Railway Station.

It is on the far right side of the first photo below.

In the below photos, you can see the bridge we will walk across.

I will not say too much about the photos that I snapped en route up the river except to say how impressed I am with the appearance of the buildings.

Below is 'our' building. 

I mean to say, just look at the below building(s).

There is our destination building. 

The bridge we're going to walk across.

Our river walkway goes under the bridge. So we have to find a way to get onto the bridge.

Do you see the steps in the far distance?

We're now at the steps that will take us up and onto the bridge.

Voila !  We are now ON the bridge. You can see we are not yet above the Angara River.

In the above and below photos, do you see 'our' destination building at the far end of the bridge?

Looking to our left from the bridge.

Looking back at the building two photos above

I was NOT able to successfully snap any photos of the Angara River because I was looking, more or less, directly into the sun.

Later, as we come back across the bridge on a Tram, I was able to get a few photos of the river.

Voila ! We are fast approaching 'our' destination building.

Looking back across the river, you get some idea of how far we have walked. 

To this point-in-time, I was a full 1-1/2 hours into our little stroll / journey.

Turning around, there he is, in his full magnificent glory. 

Now we are at the Irkutsk Railway Station train yard.

Voila ! We've arrived at our major destination.

Oh What A Grande Dame the Irkutsk Railway Station is!

Never in-this-lifetime will the below wording of our city here look like IRKUTSK to me.

It looks like .. Ah-h-h .. 

It looks like .. Russian to me !

Let's take a little peek-inside.

A nice waiting room for the creme-de-la-creme ! First Class passengers. You must show an attendant your ticket to enter into the below area. 

As soon as I snapped the below photo, a formal uniformed security guard came-at-me wagging his finger and telling me (I can read lips and body language) NO PHOTOS.

One future someday I half-expect a security guard to seize my camera. IF lucky, I'll just have to delete the one photo. IF unlucky, adios and goodbye to my camera. 

The below train coach sign says : 

Ulaanbaatar to Irkutsk.

At this point, I was about 2-1/2 hours into our little stroll.

An Irkutsk Tram.

When I began our little journey, I planned to get a taxi back home to my apartment. As I was walking across the bridge, I saw a few Route Number 1 designated Trams.

Voila ! The Irkutsk Route Number 1 Tram stops in front of the railway station.

So onto the Tram I hopped for my first ever EVER ride on a Russian Tram / Streetcar.

Instantly, snap-your-fingers quick, a young lady was on-her-feet yielding her seat to me. Up came the fare conductor asking (I was reading her lips and body language) if she could assist me.

I had absolutely no idea where this tram was going. 

However (Howevah) I DID have a suspicion because prior to setting out on our walk I'd studied the Irkutsk map.

In one New York Instant .. Out came my two photos.

She smiled 'knowingly' and (reading her lips and body language) told me to relax and she'd let me know where to exit her Tram. 

Off she started to walk. I took hold of her arm and thrust out a palm full of Russian Ruble (РУБ) coins. She smiled, took one 10 РУБ coin and one 5 РУБ coin and gave me a formal printed receipt for my payment of 15 РУБ.

No way Jose was I going to ride free. 

From the Tram.

If a cyrillic C sounds like our S. 

And a cyrillic T and O sound like our T and O. 

And a cyrillic П sounds as our P.

What does the below sign say?

You see the above sign all over Irkutsk. Probably all over Russia.

It says STOP.

My lady conductor made-it-clear that this was my place to exit.

So off I hopped.

Oh Wow. Oh Wowie. 

I AM AT MY IRKUTSK LANDMARK INTERSECTION. 

I mean THIS IS MY INTERSECTION.

Monument to Vladimir Lenin. I mean daily I see Vladimir!

And just guess what is right up the street from the above intersection?

The Irkutsk Academic Drama Theater. MY LANDMARK.

Below is the cute little landmark kiosk that I turn right at to go up the street to my apartment building.

MY Convenience Store.

My Children's Park and Apartment Building.

So Happy To See You Home Dad. Come on in Dad.

My Chair in My Irkutsk, Russian Siberian digs.

Whew ! 

What a day !

What an outing !

I was gone about 4-hours.

Then?

I was invited to speak at a meeting in a Russian Orthodox Church.

"Captain. I think that it's time to Publish this undertaking."

"I am working more and longer hours and harder than I did when I was working."

Smiles .. Cap

Yes I've been up, basically all night. Time to get some sleep.