As promised here is the beginning of my blog about my trip to Russia. The adventure started at the very beginning. My baggage got lost on the stop-over in Helsinki and I ended up in Ekaterinburg airport at 5am while it was -12C outside with only my t-shirt to keep me warm. It's crazy how many forms you need to fill out to get your baggage back, we needed about 5 forms each - all in Russian.

In the afternoon after we sorted everything out, a trip around Ekaterinburg was on the cards. The city is 1,600km east of Moscow and located on the border between Europe and Asia. I didn't feel the cold at all and I began to doubt my Russian friends when they told me how cold it can get. Ekaterinburg the the capital of the Ural Region (which is pronounced as “you r a l” as one barman explained me) and it is the industrial centre of Russia. A lot of heavy and strategically important industries are located here. A few cities around here are still closed for visiting even for Russians. Ekaterinburg is also a place where the last Russian Emperor and his family were transferred and executed after the revolution in 1918. Ekaterinburg is also a host city for the World Cup in 2018 and some of the matches are going to be played there.

The football stadium did not meet the minimum requirements for capacity so they had to make some last minute adjustments. They increased the capacity from 27,000 to 45,000 to meet the 35,000 requirement by cutting down one side of the stadium and extending the stands back. It looks a little strange.

In the photo below, you can notice a lot of cranes. They are preparing the city for 2018.

They had a World Cup count-down clock beside this sign but it was so cold that the clock froze and stopped working.

The city has a river and a lake at the centre but during the winter months, it's completely frozen over. Now it's a nice place for a walk and a bit of ice fishing.

All over the city, you can see the contrast between old and new. Here you can see a Russian Orthodox church with a modern skyscraper in the background. And yes, Russian churches do look like birthday cakes!

By the way, taxi's in Ekaterinburg are incredibly cheap! The 20 minute Uber from the airport to the city centre cost around 250 rubles or €3. Don't trust the taxi guys in the airport, they would charge 3-4 times this.

In the evening, we ended up in the Yeltsin Presidential Center. Boris Yeltsin is the first president of Russia after the USSR broke down and he was a mentor of Putin. He was born and started his career in Ekaterinburg.

Inside they had very interesting displays of Russian recent history. Here's a reconstruction of a Russian flat in the 90's. The typical interior felt like stepping in a time machine.

Here's one of the many trolley buses you see around the city, this one was reconstructed inside the museum.

They also created a reproduction of the room where Russian president Boris Yeltsin was giving a speech for New Year celebrations.

In the next post I will talk about my hike through the Ural Mountains when it was -12C.

Keep Tuned!