A Few Days at Lake Baikal

9. August 2007 - 12. August 2007

We had booked a home-stay in Listvjanka on the shore of Lake Baikal. After arriving at Irkutsk we were picked up by mini bus and driven there. To our great surprise Anne and Malcolm - the couple we had shared a compartment on the train with - were also staying in the very same flat with us! Our host Svetja worked at the local sanatorium and only spoke Russian. But we managed to communicate with our little phrase book and a lot of smiling. Svetja had two grown-up children who had been camped out to the family's datsha. Svetja would make a Russian breakfast every morning at nine. It included bread, jam, cheese and meats. And every day of our stay somehting special like sweeet dumplings with quark filling or lovely deep-fried pancakes with sour cream and home-made jam. We got our own set of keys, so we could come and go as we pleased.

Listvjanka used to be a tiny fishing village squeezed bewteen the mountains and the shore of Lake Baikal. It has turned into one of the main tourist places on the lake, as it is easily accessible from Irkutsk. Rich Russians have built themselves little castles - and I mean castles eith towers and turrets! - right on the lake-front. Next to these new post-modern horrors of architecture the tiny wooden, Siberian houses with their colourful windows and carvings seem strangely out of place. I am sure they will all have disappeared from Listvjanka in a couple of years, replaced by more castles and modern buildings.

The tourist information in Listvjanka is staffed by a clique of bored Russian girls that can speak a little English. But don't even bother asking for information or a map of the area, as all you will get is a bored stare and the answer: "We don't know." or "Sorry, the maps sold out yesterday!" Why bother having this tourist office? It is the second worst place in Listvjanka, only surpassed by the cafe next to the tourist office! If you want ot be thrown back into communism, come to this place! Sit down and enjoy the spectacular view of the lake and the harbour. And enjoy it for a while longer, because although there are six waiters and waitresses nobody will bring you a menue! The staff will completely ignore you, even if you wave! Enjoy the great view. Then, after a very long time a waitress will come with a menue. She will not smile and hand you the menue without cathcing your eye. After you have chosen your order wait again for ages. And I mean ages! Then place your order and wait (again). And then the food will come... The only positive thing about this place! The food we had was reasonably priced and very good! The salad with Omul (a local salmon), potatoes, tomatoes and mayonaise was excellent.

The fish we ate in Listvjanka was fantastic! Cheaper than the meat dishes and always really nice. And at the other restaurant we went to the service was even good!

Lena and I spent our second day hiking in the surrounding mountains and we ended up at a fantastic sandy beach on the lake, where we went swimming. The water was absolutely lovely - cool, refreshing, clean and very clear! We walked for hours without seeing anyone, except the occasional Russian camper. At one point Lena became a little worried, as we had to climb along a narrow path, a sheer cliff dropping into the lake... But we arrived back in Listvjanka safely in the evening - tired and with aching legs.

Today we took the boat to Irkutsk and will leave for Ulaan Bator tomorrow morning at 5:30.