Red Corner: The Wonders of Lake Baikal in Wintertime

by Neil Woodburn on

It’s wintertime which means most people aren’t even remotely thinking about visiting one of my favorite places; Lake Baikal in Siberia.

While researching a trip I took a year ago, however, I learned that at least one tour company does not shut during the harsh Siberian winter. Baikal Explorer stays open and active, catering to the small band of die-hard, and perhaps sick-in-the-head travelers who are willing to brave the cold for fabulous Siberian adventure. No, this is not a plug for some travel agency that gave me a free trip (they didn’t), but rather a hats off to a company that embraces the traveler’s creed with passion and commitment despite a dearth of Siberian-bound, winter travelers.

Baikal Explorer offers dog sledding and snowmobiling, which isn’t too out-of-the-ordinary. But they also organize trips to Olkhon Island-not via traditional boat, but rather with Russian military jeeps that drive across the clear, frozen waters of the lake.

Most surprisingly, Baikal Explorer will take you winter scuba diving. After hacking a hole in the ice, they drop you down into the world’s cleanest lake for some amazing sights and mind-numbing water clarity. They promise air temperatures of -30 Celsius and water temperatures of 3.5 Celsius. It will also be the first time you won’t need a boat to reach such deep waters; you merely drive up and dig a hole.

Take a moment to check out the fantastic photos on the website. I’ve been only in the summer and it’s a truly beautiful place; the wintertime seems to offer equally as much beauty and adventure, but in a slightly more frozen form. Brrrrrr!!!!!!!!

Red Corner: Russian Banyas

by Neil Woodburn on

Somewhere in the last fifty years, the term “bathhouse” has taken on very negative connotations in America. It was therefore with much trepidation that I found myself venturing into a Russian banya, which a Russian friend described to me as something like a bathhouse, except naked men whip you with birch branches.

Okay…

No offense to American bathhouse patrons, but this just isn’t my thing.

Nonetheless, one cold evening in Siberia I found myself stepping into an outdoor wooden hut so dense with steam that I could hardly see what I was getting into. The bad news is that there were indeed naked men lurking nearby with birch branches in hand; the good news is that the banya turned out to be one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had in Russia. And no, it didn’t involve any waxed or shaven men named Sergey.

A traditional Russian banya is basically a steam bath that has been a Russian custom for centuries. It is believed to help circulate the blood and clean the body of impurities. Birch branches used as flogging instruments bring the blood to the surface of the skin to further enhance the experience. It is a truly cleansing and purifying experience.

As you might expect, public banyas can be an intimidating experience-especially if your Russian isn’t up to par. Thankfully, the Kiev Post has provided us with an informative article on banya etiquette and what to expect. They also list a few of the more popular ones located in Kiev. I’d take them up on their recommendations; you don’t want to accidentally walk into a more western-inspired banya. Hey! Why are those birch branches made of leather!

Red Corner: Communist Statue Parks

by Neil Woodburn on

Yesterday’s Red Corner post discussed the handful of Lenin statues which remain standing in various corners of the former Evil Empire. Most were simply never pushed over and stand today in the same spot in which they were erected so many years ago.

If you are interested in checking some of these out, but not so thrilled with traveling to a place like Omsk to do so, there is another, much easier way to view these rare and endangered statues: Statue Parks.

There are currently three substantial parks which have rescued statues from throughout the former Warsaw Pact and now exhibit them for curious tourists who missed the whole communist experience (and are now willing to pay to see it).

These bronze and marble petting zoos are a very surrealistic experience where statues which were once focal points of squares and parks are now corralled together in a mish-mash of gigantism and totalitarianism, the homage they once evoked belittled by the presence of so many clone-like reproductions assembled in one place-not to mention the absurdity of their stoic visages, frozen in another era, still trying so hard to be taken seriously.

Graveyard of Fallen Monuments, Moscow
This casual park across from Gorky Park has just a few communist statutes mixed in with hundreds of others that have nothing to do with the Soviet era. A light and airy atmosphere blankets the area and really softens up the more notorious statues. History, as is often the case in Russia, is somewhat airbrushed and improved in this presentation.

Szobor Park, Hungary
Just a short bus ride from Budapest, Szobor Park is more of a modern art arrangement in which mammoth communist statues are presented in a stark and powerful manner to really drive home the horror and brutality of the period.

Grutas Park, Lithuania
My personal favorite. Commonly referred to as Stalin World by locals, this park is located amongst acres of birch trees and beautiful lakes; the contrast of evil men against this beautiful landscape is truly unnerving. Grutas Park has more statues than any other park, as well as a zoo, museums, cafes, and even replicas of the train carriages in which thousands of Lithuanians were hauled off to Siberia-by the orders of the very leaders immortalized in the park.

Hotel Gouging: Most Expensive Cities for Visiting Businessmen

by Neil Woodburn on

Business Travel International has just released their annual ranking of worldwide hotels based upon rates paid by
corporate travelers.  While not all of us have the luxury of charging corporate rates to our corporate credit
cards, the rankings are still indicative of accommodation costs for those hapless souls merely vacationing.

This year’s winner (or loser if you don’t have the company AmEx) is Moscow.  We’ve posted a couple of times about
the dearth of affordable accommodations in the Russian capital, and this new ranking unfortunately proves our
point.  The average rate paid by visiting businessmen in Moscow is a whopping $305 per night.  This is a 36%
increase over last year.  New York took 2nd place with an average rate of $281.  Interestingly enough, third
place is a sign of the times; Bangalore, India — the Silicon Valley of the country’s burgeoning high tech
industry.  

The only good news, at least for Francophiles, is that Paris—last year’s most expensive
location—has now dropped to fifth on the list with an average of $256 per night. 

I don’t know about you, but I need to get my hands on a corporate credit card asap!

 

Red Corner: Moscow Cafe Culture

by Neil Woodburn on

For those of you who still imagine Moscow as a poverty-stricken, Cold War backwater of breadlines and borscht-slurping malcontents, I invite you to check out the following website.

Coffee Mania is a chain of coffee shops which has become quite popular in Moscow. When I first started visiting the city in the early 1990s, coffee came black or not at all. Cups of Joe could be purchased in the few food establishments around the city, but there was no café culture where one could leisurely enjoy a drink and chat with their friends (Allowing the discontented a venue in which to collectively express their anger is never a good idea for a dictatorship).

But, with the fall of communism, café culture has come back to Moscow. In addition to Coffee Mania, there are at least half a dozen other coffee chains and numerous independent cafes in which to comfortably sip away one’s time in the capital (although I can’t promise the same for areas outside of Moscow).

Please take a moment to check out the amazing site from Coffee Mania. Not only will its virtual tour make believers of Cold War stalwarts that there is capitalist normalcy in Moscow, but the site is amazing itself (albeit a bit slow to upload). It is simply the best virtual tour I’ve seen to date on the web (which also says quite a bit about the progress of Russian programming).