Our first day off the train was quite chilly, probably about 15 degrees and a huge change from eastern Russia, but to be expected being in Siberia! We spent the morning at a wood museum which was a collection of Siberian buildings set out into a village. It showcased how people lived during the harsh Siberian winters, the tools used to cut trees (pine, cedar, beech) and carved wood, the inside of the homes, snow sleds, beautiful carved wooden shutters, and of course the wooden playground which we made the most of! We also saw a lady play a stringed instrument which looked like a sideways harp!
We made it to the stunning beautiful Lake Baikal mid-afternoon, after driving along the Angara river (the only outlet of Lake Baikal) and stopping at a local piroshki (pie) shop for the most delicious pies (we visited another two times over two days, and I had about 3 pastries a day!)

Lake Baikal was beautiful, and it was very special to visit the area in memory of Scott’s cousin Claire, with quite few reflective moments had whenever we saw a stunning sunset or beautiful view.

We stayed in a wooden guesthouse up a small valley with a view of the lake. It was always interesting during the ten minute walk to the small lakeside town where we would meet locals, watch fish being smoked on the roadside, and see old Siberian houses with colourful shutters! I had a great Skype call with a friend from Rotorua and we enjoyed a Hoegaarden beer in the setting sun.
Adjusting to the time difference from Moscow was difficult, meaning we got up pretty late the next morning! We still managed to walk around the village before lunch, visiting another Orthodox church, and seeing many old, run-down houses that would be extremely cold in the winter (although there are some flash new houses popping up now). There were also quite a few house shells left over from house fires as most people use wood fires for heat, and their homes are all wooden. Scott made friends with an elderly local woman who gave us a sample of her home-grown radishes and spring onions to snack on!

Around midday we climbed up to a gorgeous lookout over Lake Baikal, a particularly poignant place in memory of Claire, and spent a bit of time there enjoying the view. A amazing place.

We had a late afternoon snack of delicious freshly smoked fish from the market – still nice and warm – then wandered along the waterfront, visiting the fish smokers, feeling the freezing water (even Scott wasn’t tempted to go for a swim) which was probably about 12 degrees. The water temperature can get up to 22 degrees in some places at the peak of summer, and freezes over in winter up to 1.5m in depth. The locals go ice skating, driving, and ice fishing on the ice, but many are lost in the freezing waters as they have underestimated the thickness of the ice at the start and end of winter
The sky cleared just in time for the sunset, thankfully as we missed it the night before.

The following day we stopped at the pastry shops again for lunch (mmm!) then headed to Irkust for a tour of the city – the tour wasn’t great but we saw some of the old orthodox churches and many of the 800 Siberian buildings that are under Unesco protection. We returned to the Restaurant from the previous night for a quick meal before catching the train to Ulaanbaataar, and was served with the what we’d become accustomed to as the standard Russian service (although no business in NZ would survive if they treated customers that badly!)