Spring Comes to Siberia

The Irkutsk train station, one of the major stops on the Trans-Siberian Express, evokes similarities to American train stations:  high ceilings, marble walls and columns, electronic timetable boards and stairs down to the platforms with family and school groups as well as individuals walking around.  Announcements come through the PA system.  Just after 8AM, Gala, Jim, and I accompanied by two other law school faculty, Maria and Tatiana, board and sit in our reserved seats of the modern car of the circumbaikal tourist train.  The train leaves the snow flurries of Irkutsk and parallels the Angara River until it turns a bit further south climbing into the mountains.  We pass by daschas (summer homes) along the river.  They are packed closely together and remind me of the cottages in Wisconsin we rented as a family for vacations.  The snow flurries taper as we climb into the forest.  We have a huge bag of picnic goodies for the day, packed by the university dining room personnel.  Unlike my family, we have not eaten all the food before the train even pulls out.
Late in the morning views of frozen Lake Baikal replace the forested mountains and valleys.  The surface of Lake Baikal is 455 meters above sea level and we are well above it.  Our first stop is at a small station with a statue of Prince Hugo who was somebody who had something to do with the train; look it up if you need more information.  While we're out of the train, I notice the snow is great for packing into snowballs.  So does a group of students on an outing.
Upon reboarding the train at the southern tip of Lake Baikal, we start going backwards for the rest of the trip up the west coast of the lake to end in Port Baikal.  We have several more stops, mostly at picturesque areas of the railway.  We pass by picnic tables and one small tent on the shore of the lake.  While stopped where one frozen river empties into Lake Baikal, some of the group hire ATV's to ride on the lake.  Our group has a snowball fight; no injuries, no victors or vanquished and our picnic resumes on the train.  Tea and cognac are the drinks of choice.  The tracks curve on the very edge of the lake and our progress is slow.  At one of the stops a flower that looks a bit like a dandelion is peeking through the snow, which is melting slowly. Finally we reach Port Baikal, a small village across the origin of the Angara River from Listvyanka, where our van back to Irkutsk awaits.  We are told we will be on boat 3 of 4 to cross to Listvyanka, so we have some time for the museum at the train station.  Boat 3 turns out to be an airboat (think Everglades transportation) as are the others.  We walk out on the ice and get inside the enclosed cabin.  There are skids and doughnuts as we cross the ice.  We're told the airboats can travel over the ice or the water, but we stick with the thick ice.  We're back at the apartment about 9PM.  Another remarkable day!
I pack my bags for my flight home tomorrow and slice some "Wisconsin food", cheese and sausage to share with Jim and we finish the remanants of a bottle of Baikal Vodka.  Jim suggests I take the bottle as a souvenir; it sounds like a good idea at the time.

Note:  the last few days posts have not included pictures because I do not have the gear to transfer pictures from the camera.  I'll add them when I can.