We caught the train to
Tomsk at 5.00am, so early that we went back to bed on the couchettes. We had a
fine Sunday lunch on the terrace of our hotel, fish soup and pie, Ann had
blancmange with pine nuts for dessert and red Russian tea with added
herbs.
The gulag museum was
closed. I had been fortifying myself for reading the accounts of life in the
gulag.
Central Tomsk has university buildings, the medical faculty adorned with
statues of great men. The botanical gardens had elegant 19 th c building In
Siberian parkland but the garden was closed.
We explored the tower above Tomsk in the history museum. I counted 7
steeples from there. We were amused by an art installation about Russian
sweets, full of sweet wrappers, including a biscuit tin celebrating the defeat
of Napoleon in Moscow. We walked along streets of old wooden buildings,
attractive old designs. We had smoked fish and beer for supper. I wandered
round the university square later, enjoying the evening light and relaxed people.
Tomsk, ideal place to
spend Sunday where we enjoyed food and views.
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