The Tomsk 'Hot' List

Ridiculous look - skiing in jeans and
all the clothes I could manage to fit on!

I am reaching the end of my stay in Tomsk and can now say we have pretty much done everything we had set out to do here, and this weekend we even went skiing. We had been told there was a ‘skiing mountain’ just on the outskirts of the city, so one snowy Sunday morning we went to investigate. What a success! We hired some skis for the equivalent of £5 for 2 hours from a small hut and discovered the so-called ‘mountain’. It was brilliant. It was a short run with a button lift for which there was always a typically long queue, which provided some great opportunities to meet some fellow skiers. Our hair froze, our jeans were not warm enough and I can’t say that I will miss the Russian queuing system but it was great fun to be able to speed down the slope and really appreciate the snow.

The weather may be slightly on the harsh side, and I cannot say that I particularly enjoy the subzero temperatures but there are some little things in Tomsk that are still a novelty even after being here since summertime, and so I present the Tomsk ‘hot’ list:

   1-      The Marshrutkii : The bus service is cheap and efficient. It costs 24p to go anywhere you like.

  2-      The travel system in general deserves a mention – We have our tickets for the Trans-Siberian train to Moscow, which cost £90 for a 52 hour journey covering about 2300 miles. Seems like good value to me!

3-      Chewing gum is provided with your bill at cafes, free of charge.

4-      If you are a fan of blinis (pancakes), they can be bought everywhere, in kiosks, in cafes and in the university ‘stolovaya’ for just a few rubles. I have been told that the ‘Siberskii Blini’ are the best.

5-      Saunas (and the Russian banya) are ‘the norm’ and can be found in the gym changing room and on almost all street corners.  

Siberian Blini

   

  6-      You will never have the problem of ice-cream melting. The streets are the same temperature as your freezer at home. (Ice cream is a very popular food here and can also, like blini, be bought in kiosks all over the city.)

  

  7-      Slush and wet snow no longer pose a problem as the temperature has not been above zero for weeks, and the city is now beautifully white all over.

  

8-      The most impressive snow clean up system. Every morning people are manually sleeping the new snow of the streets to make it easier for people to walk!

9-      Your bottle of water in your bag will always be chilled, and if you are lucky, there may even be some ice cubes to ensure it is truly refreshing.

10-   The biggest and most beautiful icicles that I have ever seen.

11-   The incredible Russian superstitions by which people live their lives. Here are a few examples:

·         If a fork or spoon falls on the ground, you should expect a female guest. If a knife falls, you should expect a male guest.

·         If someone whistles inside a house, they will become economically irresponsible and lose money. (Slightly inconvenient as I have a tendency to whistle!)

·         Before leaving for a long journey you must sit for a moment in silence before leaving the house. (It helps you remember all those things you have forgotten to pack)

12-   And finally the idioms, which are frequently told:

·         «В Тулу со своим самоваром не ездят» - Don't take your own samovar to Tula (a place which is renowned for quality samovars, a traditional Russian urn)

·         «На вкус, на цвет товарища нет» - Comrades do not have the same tastes.

Академгородок - The Ski Slope

Новосвободная

Out into the Siberian Wilderness

With the arrival of a new Brit in Tomsk, we decided to venture out into the real Siberian countryside. Having not explored much out of Tomsk, we organised a weekend at a «база отдыха» (relaxation base) in the scenic Siberian countryside thirty kilometres south of the city. In honesty, we actually had no idea where we were really going and just hoped that the bus that we had been recommended would take us to the right place. We were dumped out in the bleak, snowy landscape by a huge hammer and sickle monument and it suddenly became apparent that the well-marketed «база отдыха» was actually the site of the former collective farm known as the «Cовхоз Вершининский » (Vershinskii Sovhoz). Great start. The vodka bottles were opened and an essential pose on the hammer and sickle was photographed.

Baba Yaga (a witch from Slavic folklore)  

Wheely suitcases in tow, we followed the sign to the so-called relaxation base (http://zapovednoe.tomsk.ru/) We were met with some large gates and some sparsely dispersed, grey building blocks. As we were all becoming increasingly nervous about our much anticipated weekend away, I spotted some horses! Hurrah! We then found our room in the dilapidating Soviet building and went out to explore the snowy grounds of the farm. We organised some riding and I got to gallop in the snow on a Siberian pony named Apolon. On the farm there were also some husky dogs and a stack of cages where some beautiful rabbits were being kept. I fear they may soon be made into equally beautiful fur hats. There was also a banya (Russian sauna) and little swimming pool, so we spent our evenings roasting ourselves in the sauna, running around in subzero temperatures in little clothing, and then jumping in the cold pool. We had also chosen to have all our meals provided for by the hotel, after all there were no shops nearby and we were left with little choice but to eat what was put in front of us. The flavours of traditional Soviet cuisine did not exactly tempt our taste buds, but it was interesting to know how little influence Western food has had on the produce of the kitchens in the depths of Siberia, despite the availability of nearly all the same products in the supermarkets. Kasha, the popular breakfast gruel, was served soaked in an astonishing amount of butter, and seaweed was served with eggs and mayonnaise (I think I am the furthest away from any ocean that one can possibly be). Nevertheless, we ate enough to sustain us for a walk in the woods and with the recent snow fall, it looked like a true winter wonderland. I am also convinced that I saw bear footprints.

After our short holiday, we arrived back in Tomsk and the temperature had fallen to -20˚c. What a perfect temperature to walk out to an out-of-town cafe! We walked over the bridge out of the city and admired the frozen river (people have even been walking on the ice) and sought out some delicious shashliki (kebabs). Afterwards, we successfully hitch-hiked our way back into the city and avoided freezing our noses.

Finally, this last week I have decided that I particularly love the Asian element of Tomsk. My new love for Uzbek cuisine was at its peak on Saturday night when we went to an Uzbek restaurant (http://ingir.tomsk.ru/) which is the tastiest meal I have so far had in Tomsk. The Russian elements are of course fascinating, but the Uzbek restaurants and Asian music and dancing makes you realise how far away Tomsk is from Europe. 

Dig for Vitamins!

The Pogreb

Living with a babushka has its moments. The highlights so far have all been related to vegetables. Last week 10 cabbages had been dumped in the tiny corridor, covered in mud and still with their roots intact. The day after, I came home a bit earlier than usual, and as I unlocked the door, I heard a nervous voice from the kitchen. «Кто там?» (“Who's there?”). She told me she was cutting up the cabbages and it was very hot. She then peered around the corner dressed in huge Granny knickers and a tiny t shirt. A very awkward moment for both parties involved, but mostly hilarious.

Tatiana and her pickles

My hostess spends her weekends going to her allotment and then preparing vegetables. They are then all stored in the communal cellar, which is called a pogreb («погреб»). I decided to ask if I could see this mysterious place where she seems to disappear for hours, and she was delighted. We took some cabbages, potatoes and carrots down with us and she told me how nearly every flat in the area has a pogreb. There were about 90 little sheds, within which are shelves to store all sorts of homemade products. To be honest, it looked a bit like an underground prison for vegetables and pickles, and I think a lot of the jars had not been touched for a few decades. Nevertheless this storage method means that home grown fruit and vegetables can be eaten throughout the long Siberian winter, without needing to go to the supermarket.

This Month's Meals

The older generation’s attitude to food and the winter period is very different to the younger generation. Tatiana told me that the vegetables from the supermarket lack vitamins, and that it is much better to grow your own if you can, so therefore she spends hours upon hours creating all sorts of cabbage-based meals, of which she is very proud. She encourages me to eat jam because of ‘the high vitamin content’ and tells me that you must eat dark chocolate because it has vitamins which are good for your brain. The younger generation favour the supermarkets, where cheap produce can we bought all year round and getting one’s daily vitamin dosage is not so time consuming. 

On the subject of winter, Tomsk has become a grey and snowy city. The pavements are like sheets of ice and as one book said, “it is the most slippery city in the world”. I have fallen flat on my back twice so far. The second time I was on my own, outside a supermarket, and everyone walked on by as if it was quite normal that someone should be lying on the floor. To add to this hilarious picture, the shopping centres play music out onto the street and so whilst I lay sprawled on the floor, the Beatles were being blasted out on the microphones. As I said when I arrived, Tomsk is certainly a very weird, yet wonderful place!