IrkutskMapMay 29 — June 2, 2005 Irkutsk turned out to be an astonishing place with surprising energy. At 1 a.m. sharp they shut off the electricity in the streets. The headlights of our car lit the way from the airport to the hotel.  Russia’s automotive industry 100-year anniversary A tour on the Baikal is a must-do.  The water here is unbelievably transparent, similar to the Mediterranean.  Beauty all around. On that side.  And on this side.  A railway, built a century ago, runs along the lake. Anyone who’s keen can marvel at a tunnel with a “1903–1904” sign.  The next day I gave a lecture, a press conference, followed by a live interview on local TV in the evening. When answering one of the questions I gave the example of plumbers, whose work is an art, just like the work designers do. A plumber immediately called the studio to ascertain what I have against his profession.  Half of Irkutsk turned out to be single storey and wooden. This is smack bang in the centre of town:  So is this:  Keep walking for another five minutes and you’re no longer in a village.  Bottle caps.  Central Culture and Leisure Park.  Not far from the Central Culture and Leisure Park — the funeral home neighbourhood. 
Funeral services The last time I spotted a COOP sign was in the town of Zheleznodorozhny in the Kaliningrad region.  Bread COOP And the last time I saw a comma omitted from a celebratory message addressed to the locals was in Yaroslavl.  Congratulations Beloved town! A monument to Gagarin, who has just swallowed a pill.  Y. A. Gagarin A sign they forgot to take down about twenty years ago.  Payphone And it’s not the only one.  Hardware store In fact they’ve got loads of old signs here. 
Intourist (a tour operator) I wound up on a street where a fire had just begun. About ten minutes later a gas cylinder blew up quite spectacularly. 
Urg ent The flames had already engulfed four houses, but there were only a couple of fire units at the scene. Some people were carrying out furniture, an elderly man brought out a flowerpot with flowers in it.  The TV crews showed up, half of them I’d met the day before. One of the victims was crying because her new Italian furniture set had gone up in flames and she’d only just bought it.  The rubbish bins in Irkutsk are very varied.  We like to keep our city clean! Traffic lights with arrows are everywhere.  Old Soviet street sign.  Gagarin Boulevard Generally speaking, there are many pleasing details.    Please park your cars facing the windows!  Sown  That’s Irkutsk for you. A city where they gave me a box to stash ganja in and a Buryat tambourine made out of Baikal seal.  |
