Irkutsk, and Lake Baikal

Half tumble-down houses, half peeling soviet apartment blocks, its grassy spaces strewn with litter and syringes, the most interesting thing about Irkutsk is that its river flows directly into Lake Baikal. The lake is big, but also deceptively deep and old. 20% of the worlds fresh water covered by a thick but soon to be gone layer of ice. The day I visit is the last day of the year it's officially 'safe' to cross, but all through the winter people happily drive their cars across the lake from one shore to the other.

The musical tinkling of shattering ice shards accompany my tentative steps onto the frozen expanse. It is beautiful.

I walk back to a cafe by the side of the lake and eat red caviar and fish soup and listen to the ice crackle as it begins to disappear.

Classy & Common

Carol x x x

P.S. Just in case you thought I was losing my party spirit, I went back to the hostel & drank an entire bottle of Russian Standard vodka with an underage drinker from Quebec. That's where you get the common. Just to bring the classy back in, the vodka was so good I didn't get a hangover. Oooo Yea!!