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

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