They Eat... Krasnoyarsk (Russia)
After spending a few days in breathtaking Olkhon Island (check out the blog post about this place if you haven’t already), we took the trans-siberian train to Krasnoyarsk (our fourth stop).
The wikitravel page for this city frightened me with its descriptive “stay safe” section on all the ways we could get into danger. No other city in Russia had this descriptor and so instead of airbnb in the suburbs (because its apparently dangerous at night), we booked ourselves the Metelitsa Hotel near a cultural museum which continually changes its exhibits. Our hypothesis: cultural museum = safe neighborhood.
Go Bike Riding
There are plenty of rentals for bicycles, scooters and even segways near the Pamyatnik Rezanovu Nikolayu Petrovichu historical monument. From there, you can bike ride across the Vinogradovskiy Most (a pedestrian and cycling bridge) onto a nature park island. Make sure to bring a bottle of water though, you might not see any vendors till you get to the other side of the island.
Learn about Siberian ethnography
The local lore museum will educate you on the aboriginal people of Siberia. There is limited english translation, but visually you can see what the tribes looked like, enjoy dinosaur bones, and some dead, stuffed animals.
Personally, what I enjoyed even more than the museum itself was the walk from our hotel to the museum. It is right along the Yenisei River and you can have a nice stroll seeing all the beautiful bridges. Incredibly peaceful.
See weird art
The Ploshchad' Mira continually changes its exhibits. There are permanent exhibits dedicated to Soviet history and the impact of modern military conflict on people around the world. Of less seriousness, there was a modern art exhibit with an old television filled with photos of 1980-90s action stars (007, Xena Warrior Princess, Bruce Lee, etc).
Take a break from Russian food:
Have lunch at Mama Roma for pizza and Russian fruit teas and then enjoy a relaxed dinner at Urartu. Their bread and butter basket comes with their own specialty butters. With a great wine list and grilled meat selections (bone marrow, lamb chops and steak), you will surely leave very full like we did.
Final Impressions
We spent 3 days 2 nights here. Ian was sick in bed for the first 24 hours there, but we still got to see most of the sites. Krasnoyarsk is a beautiful and relaxed city. I would recommend being here for 3 full days if possible. This way you can have a relaxed half day bike riding, visit the museums, and just sit outside appreciating the views. On my own bike ride, I stopped by the river and just laid down on a bench reading my kindle. Of the cities we visited in Russia, Krasnoyarsk felt the most relaxed. Let me leave you with this photo of a beautiful building we walked by. A great example of the typical architecture we found in many Russian cities:
