Trains, churches & the Black Rose

On Thursday, after 2 days of visiting gold-domed churches and drinking mead in Vladimir and Suzdal, we boarded the sleeper train to Ekaterinburg, or Sverdlovsk as everyone in Russia still seems to call it. The town was renamed Sverdlovsk in 1924 after Yacob Sverdlov, a Bolshevik party official responsible for arranging the murder there of the royal family, the Romanovs, in 1918. It reverted to Ekaterinburg in 1992 as part of Russia's attempts to leave its Soviet past behind.

Within minutes of joining the train, Amber and I found ourselves right in the middle of the authentic Trans-Siberian experience. We were sharing a 4-berth compartment with a Russian woman and her young son (or possibly grandson) and - for the first couple of hours - a young guy on his way to Nizhny Novgorod. He displayed the Russian interest in English speakers that we had been led to expect, by inviting us to drink beer with himself and his friend, and insisting we accept a box of Siberian biscuits (which he seemed to carry for such eventualities) as a gift to welcome us to his country. Between his few words of English, my (shameful) knowledge of Bon Jovi songs - his friend's favourite band - and Amber's supply of Kiwi toys, we got along pretty well until the carriage attendent came along to tell us to be quiet! Apparently 9.30 is way past bedtime on the Trans-Siberian railway.

After a week of sightseeing there is something very relaxing about being on a train for 24 hours with nothing to do but sleep, eat picnics, read and look out the window. But once in Ekaterinburg the sightseeing began again, starting with another gold-domed church (a continuing theme), this one dedicated to the murdered Romanov family. In the interests of balance we also visited the statue to Sverdlov, still standing although with some graffiti - whether pro or anti-monarchist it was surprisingly hard to tell. We spotted a couple of Banksys (real or homage?) and also saw the Black Rose, Ekaterinburg's Afghan (anti-)war memorial, a soldier sitting with his head bowed (see photo above). My guidebook suggests it provides an insight into how the Russian people feel about the Afghan war. I thought about how fitting it would be for the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square.