Russia in Winter: From Siberia to the Arctic Circle...

Siberia to the Arctic Circle! 

We compiled a short film with footage of our time in Siberia and our journey to the Arctic Circle. 

Our second stop on the Trans-Siberian Railroad was Siberia itself - specifically, the city of Irkutsk, Russia. Our first day in the city was plagued by injury...

Kelly was not very successful at attempting an ice slide in standing position (frequently done, and encouraged, by locals) ...Escaping with only a minor concussion, a fractured nose, and a very fat lip, we considered ourselves very lucky and avoided ice sports...for a few days.

After Kelly felt she was mostly recovered we headed for Lake Baikal - our primary purpose for visiting Siberia. Our lovely and gracious Irkutsk host, Satine,  introduced us to her friend, Victor, who welcomed us to his base camp on Olkhon Island in Lake Baikal. In winter, Olkhon Island is only accessible via the ice highway that forms atop the frigid waters. So, in Victor's Subaru, driven by his friend Ivon - with Freddy Mercury and Pink Floyd gracing the speakers - we took to the ice.

The waters of Baikal are so clear that even frozen you can see through to the water. In summer you can see as much as 130 ft below the surface - giving many people vertigo while swimming!

As soon as we arrived we were welcomed with some homebrewed "siberski" (siberian whisky) - made straight form the waters of Baikal and distilled through charred wood chopped on the island.

Our first night we enjoyed omul cavier (endemic to the waters of Baikal), steak and potatoes, salted cabbage and carrots, mushroom salad and lots and lots of siberski.

After sleeping on many floors, train stations, the occasional couch and beach, we were glad to call hut #10 home for a few days...

In the morning, we ventured across the island to the northern most tip. 

 Of course, when you are traveling across miles of Siberian tundra it is not surprising to get stuck...several times.

 Lunch! Fish, pickles, bread and mayo.

 ...and siberski. We knew the Russian phrase for "no, thank you"but it never seemed to translate...And we didn't even think to ask how they managed to get "clementines" in Siberia in February. 

 Krewe du Siberia! From the left: Sirgue, Victor, Kelly & Chris!

 The views were absolutely spectacular...

 Kelly is pointing to a tiny red Fiat making the drive across the lake.

 Supper! Fish soup! Omul with potatoes cooked right on the tundra...

And nothing went to waste...nothing.

 After lunch we  had the sad realization that ice skates would have been so worth the weight on this journey....And Kelly apparently recovered from her post-fall cryophobia...

 Never too cold for some Tebowin'...

 We aren't kidding! This lake is actually an ice - highway!

We spent our last day on Baikal doing a hike across the lake. We learned very early how Baikal became the largest freshwater lake in the world and will eventually become the world's next ocean - lots of seismic activity as Baikal is situated on a continental rift. There is nothing better to warm frozen...everything, than the fear induced by walking across a frozen lake when a small earthquake occurs underneath you. 

 The siesmic activity certainly explains all of the jagged ice...

 You know which way the wind blows in Siberia based on what side of your head is frozen...well, more frozen than the other side.

 We ended our hike across Baikal in Khuzir, the capitol city of Olkhon Island.

 Siberia is known for its wooden architecture - as it is home to the largest forest in the world, the Taiga Forest.

 Olkhon Island is considered one of five poles of Shamanic energy in the world because of this rock...We have more information about this area, it's reputation, and the photos featured in the short film at the top.

The Buryat people (the natives to Olkhon Island) leave scarves and coins as offerings for one of their Gods who they believe lives in "Shaman Rock." 

 A whole new kind of sushi...

 Step 1: Wrap frozen fish in towel. Step 2: Bang bag with hammer. Step 3: Eat.

 A final siberski cheers! 

And a bottle for the road!

Once we left Siberia we took the long journey to Murmansk, Russia - one of the largest cities above the Arctic Circle. Along the way we made stops in Moscow and St. Petersburg. We will write more about these city centers in a later post. 

We started our trip in Murmansk with something Russia is more famous for than its vodka: its pies! 

 Fish pie!

 Cloudberry Pie! Cloudberries only grow in the Scandinavian region...

And gooseberry pie!

We were hosted by a lovely couple in Murmansk, Dmitry and Svetlana. Their flat was amazing and therapeutic. They designed their apartment to spark the senses after a day out in the bitter grey cold...

We celebrated the beginning of "Maslenitsa", AKA butter week, or pancake week (the Eastern Orthodox version of Mardi Gras) in Murmansk. 

The next day we ventured back into the Russian tundra to head to the small fishing village of Teriberka on the coast of the Arctic Ocean.

The Barrents Sea flows into the bay of Teriberka. This sea catches a stream from, of all places, the Gulf of Mexico! This warm stream prevents the water from freezing.

Dmia's and Sveta's car kept us safe on our journey, until....

Unfortunately, on our way back to Murmansk on several centimeters of ice, over frozen tundra covered in snow, the driver lost control and we found ourselves head on with a guardrail. Sadly, Dmia's and Sveta's car looked a lot like Kelly's face at the beginning of our journey through Russia - but, most importantly, we all made it out unhurt. 

We brought our spirits up with some "Mexican food" at a local restaurant (although I use that term loosely). We were joined by a fellow couchsurfer from Poland who introduced us to several things -  namely, throat singing! This is a rather difficult instrument to describe, so we have included a video below.  

Throat Singing with the Polish Photographer, Marcin.

(You can follow his work on his blog, nomad123.blogspot.com)

The sound is made with the aid of this instrument...

We finished our journey with our bravest feat yet.

In Russia they call it, "Zakalyvanie," which means "straining in cold water" or "hardening the organism." For short, it is known as "winterbathing" or "walrussing". Russians believe it strengthens the immune system to injure your body in cold water. Many people will swim daily in frozen lakes for anywhere from several seconds to several minutes (if they have trained for years). We lasted only a couple seconds and were proud of ourselves for even making it outside in our skivvies in -6 degree weather with skiiers passing by...