Having been quickly ushered from the house so that M. could do some work, Boy#2 and I went to one of the local museum. It's about ten minutes walk away from us, in the city centre, near the university, and next to the spectacular offices of the armed forces in the Urals (which has huge statue of Marshal Zhukov in front and some great reliefs on the facades of the building itself).
The museum (http://uole-museum.ru/home) is set over 5 floors, and the wary cloakroom attendant was quick to raise her doubts as to whether we'd manage the stairs with the pram. Having quickly re-assured her that we'd be fine, she then moved on to lecture me on how I should keep the boy wrapped up inside the mueum as it was cold (granted it was about 5 degrees outside, but it was sub-tropical inside).
So, we ventured up into the first room, which was on the founders of the museum and some of the original pieces on display from the late C18. The elderly museum attendant on this floor was thrilled to have such a young visitor and decided to accompany us around explaining about the founders and contributing philanthropists of the time. The next room was the one of interest though - it was filled with the findings of excavations of the Shigir peat bog (approximately a hundred km from the city). The major piece here is the Shigir idol (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shigir_Idol) - the oldest wooden sculpture ever found, dating back 9,500 years. The statue is around 5 metres tall and has a very spooky expression. There were some other masks from the same place on display too. Very Easter Island actually. It's amazing that people had the skills, and inclination (as I'm sure they had other things on their minds, like how not to be overrun by mammoths) to make this kind of thing. We spent quite a while looking at this, and no matter how hard I tried, the pictures did not come out well at all - more likely to do with my photography skills and inability to get to grips with the camera than any supernatural effects though.
Another of the masks
The museum (http://uole-museum.ru/home) is set over 5 floors, and the wary cloakroom attendant was quick to raise her doubts as to whether we'd manage the stairs with the pram. Having quickly re-assured her that we'd be fine, she then moved on to lecture me on how I should keep the boy wrapped up inside the mueum as it was cold (granted it was about 5 degrees outside, but it was sub-tropical inside).
So, we ventured up into the first room, which was on the founders of the museum and some of the original pieces on display from the late C18. The elderly museum attendant on this floor was thrilled to have such a young visitor and decided to accompany us around explaining about the founders and contributing philanthropists of the time. The next room was the one of interest though - it was filled with the findings of excavations of the Shigir peat bog (approximately a hundred km from the city). The major piece here is the Shigir idol (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shigir_Idol) - the oldest wooden sculpture ever found, dating back 9,500 years. The statue is around 5 metres tall and has a very spooky expression. There were some other masks from the same place on display too. Very Easter Island actually. It's amazing that people had the skills, and inclination (as I'm sure they had other things on their minds, like how not to be overrun by mammoths) to make this kind of thing. We spent quite a while looking at this, and no matter how hard I tried, the pictures did not come out well at all - more likely to do with my photography skills and inability to get to grips with the camera than any supernatural effects though.
The Shigir idol
Another of the masks
The Shigir finds are the star attraction, but there is also a room filled with neolithic and mesolithic finds from the Urals and Siberia, including plenty of cave paintings, which Boy#2 found hilarious. Up the stairs once more led us to a room about the founding of the city in 1723 and society in these times. There's plenty on the rich elite factory owners and the industrial output of the region, but it's underwhelming in comparison to what comes before. The one thing of note was this picture by G.A. Mosin of a miner.
That was about all we could take of the museum, despite the kind offers of the old ladies of the museum to push the pram around so that I could have a further look. Actually, this kind of thing seems quite common, at cafes and restaurants all of the waitresses have so far offered to look after the baby while we sit and eat - one of the cafes we went to even had a qualified nanny to look after the children while the parents (responsibly) made merry.
We then went on for a walk to the very centre, where the Mayor's building is and the main square. Surprisingly, the main street (Lenin Street) was about to be closed to traffic to allow for a huge public afternoon of ski-ing on rollers (skis with wheels on the bottom) - this kind of public sporting event seems to be growing in popularity, and there was somewhere in the region of 10,000 participants it seems.
I like the centre of this city - the shapes are very clean-cut, blocky and square. That may not be a vdery clear way of describing it, but that's about how it is.
Plotinka - looking south in the city centre. The abandoned tv tower is once again visible.
Old and new - taken from the same spot as above looking to the East
The founding fathers of the city (I'll find out who they actually are) - the locals unaffectionately have labelled them Beavis and Butthead. This is where the local skateboarding youth hang out - like under Waterloo bridge.
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