They Eat... Yekaterinburg (Russia)
When Russians think about their country’s history, they think of Yekaterinburg. This is where the Romanovs, the last Royal family, was executed. This was our reason for visiting, but we found so much more.
Red Line Walk (Self-Guided Tour)
We wandered through Yekaterinburg by following the 5.5 km walking path which navigates you to 35 places of interest in the center of Yekaterinburg. You can’t miss it - it is literally a “red line” in the center of the pavement. Below are our three highlighted spots - but we most enjoyed the walk itself. We passed amazing architecture, the Iset River, graffiti art, and locals living their best life.
Church on Blood in Honour of All Saints Resplendent in the Russian Land
This Russian Orthodox church was built on the site of the Ipatiev House, infamously known as where Nicholas II (the last Emperor of Russia), his family, and other household members, were executed by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War.
The Romanovs were imprisoned here in May 1918. The windows were sealed shut and covered with newspapers (1-2 windows later opened slightly after complaints but no one was allowed to peek out else be shot. They had to ring a bell every time they wanted to leave a room to use the bathroom. No visitors were allowed. Only Russian was allowed to be spoken.
Their execution happened on the evening of 16 July 1918 around midnight. They were brought to the basement under the premise that they were moving to another location. There were 11 of them, yet somehow it required ~70 bullets to be fired. It took 20 minutes. Bodies were moved to multiple sites due to locations not being fit for the purpose of hidden burial. They were stripped so that jewels hidden in clothing could be taken. I was horrified to read that some men thought it appropriate to touch the genitals of Empress Alexandra and make jokes about now able to “die in peace”. You will not find the remains of the family at this Church. Their bodies were found years later and are now buried at Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. But visit this place, the interior is beautiful and unfortunately, no photographs were allowed. Please make sure to dress appropriately (long sleeves and trousers) and women should bring a scarf to cover their head. They do provide if you need it.
Beatles Celebration
The Beatles never performed in Russia, but they had an incredible fan base. It took a local fan close nearly 6 years to raise USD9000, but they did it. What resulted was a life-sized cookie cutter statue with a wall inscription next to it from the song “The End”:
“The love you take is equal to the love you make”
Keyboard Monument
If you watch our YouTube videos, you might have noticed we spell out “They Eat The World" by zooming into stone keyboard letters. When we first walked upon this outdoor sculpture, it was on a friend’s birthday. We decided to record Happy Birthday to send to her, and after that we thought, hey, let’s use this for our YouTube channel as well.
You will find the keyboard monument along the Iset River on the way to the Beatles monument. While we were there, locals were walking by with the kids and playing on the keyboard as well. Unfortunately, there are rumors that it might be demolished in the near future.
We only spent 1.5 days in Yekaterinburg and it was not enough. We would suggest spending at least three days to explore the city, enjoy the lake, and really get to know what this place has to offer.
