Novosibirsk dizziness

Novosibirsk around

It will probably be cold in January. The name of the city is so cold-northern. In addition, this is not the European part of the country, but closer to the Far East, where it is definitely very cold. Here's the dilemma: everyone agrees that traveling in the summer is much more enjoyable. Nature, flowers, trees and other joys. But! This is not where the prejudice comes from. What is the joyful anticipation of the most important religious holiday? And the gloriously protracted New Year's doing nothing. Finally, winter entertainment. Done. We celebrate Christmas in Novosibirsk.

Road pleasures

The road from the Ural capital in the chosen direction immediately presented an unexpected surprise regarding the unusual landscape outside the window. The railway line cut through endless steppe expanses, framed by a thinning forest strip in the distance. Are the Ural Mountains on the other side? We need to study the map. And the white blanket of fields with a bumpy surface of snow-covered vegetation stretched throughout the journey. But here flashed houses, farmsteads, land. Probably a country village. So we'll be in town soon. The final line is an impressive railway bridge across the river. Geography again. How could you forget? After all, Novosibirsk is divided into two banks ... of course, the Obue! Therefore, over the river is also laid no smaller car bridge, as well as, so to speak, “air” metro, the tunnel of which is held along the bridge. And there is a kind of monument to the bridge, an unfinished engineering and iron-concrete structure. Next to it is an observation deck – absolutely stunning place. With a view of the opposite shore and going far in both directions in winter, enveloped in snow Ob. And the sun, the sun... however, there will be a separate lyrical retreat about it.

And to complete the transport topic, I will note one road feature peculiar to Novosibirsk. It is found in a large number of areas with circular motion. They were everywhere, and in truth they were repeated. After a couple of days, everything fell into place. Whether the “rings” became smaller – which is unlikely – or the city is already remembered. Almost forgot: every second car in Novosibirsk with the right wheel. Therefore, the unrest associated with duty innovations regarding foreign cars, local car owners did not bypass.

Places of glory

A brief educational program on Novosibirsk regalia in various areas smoothly led to a categorical statement: “Novosibirsk is the third city in Russia.” Notice, in all respects. For example, the Urals say the same about Yekaterinburg. Well, it is not customary to argue at a party. Novosibirsk really impressed, although the city is a little over a century old. The Trans-Siberian Railway made the city a major railway junction, and the Ob River a river port. Now I know that the chapel of St. Nicholas located on Red Avenue is the geographical center of Russia. And as many samples of military equipment as collected in the Novosibirsk open-air park, I have not yet seen. As well as carrying at the eternal fire watch representatives of the weaker sex in military ammunition and with white bows (!) on his head. That's really femininity above all else. And the number of names carved on commemorative steles of those who died during the war is huge.

I would not forget, carried away by the study of city sights, about Christmas and include in the program a visit to the church on Christmas Eve. The atmosphere in the temple in itself, and on a solemn day in particular is quite unusual and exciting. Well, then comes the irresistible joyful feeling that Christmas is a bright holiday and there is nothing more pleasant than to meet its home environment, where everything is shrouded in the coniferous aroma of a decorated Christmas tree, mixed with the smell of tangerines and champagne.

The elusive and not just the beauty

From the architectural and spatial appearance of the central part of Novosibirsk blows St. Petersburg motifs. Restraint of colors, simplicity and conciseness in combination with a small number of decorative elements, rounded shapes of corner buildings, wide avenues - very much in the spirit of the second, cultural Russian capital. And here is what is amazing: after writing these lines, I managed to glean an amazing fact from the history of Novosibirsk, which explains the phenomenon of similarity between the two cities. The fact that in wartime Novosibirsk received 128 thousand indigenous residents of besieged Leningrad and at the same time registered on the banks of the Ob fifty enterprises and institutions exported from there. Becoming a quarter of Leningrad, the Siberian city of aircraft manufacturers adopted many cultural and aesthetic traditions of the Northern capital. No matter what you say, my eyes didn't fool me! And what is one building of the Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater? Solid, but at the same time it has elegance... it is monumental, thorough. There is a place for modern buildings. I must say that interesting objects are being built in Novosibirsk. But to explore the city during the day, you need to hurry. Here's why.

In winter, the sun begins to set early. By four o'clock in the afternoon, it pours its soft golden light across the sky, playing and shimmering in the domes of churches, the windows of buildings, on the shiny surfaces of cars. In the saffron rays of the sun, the city appears as a warm, kind-hearted giant. Perhaps it is the geographical proximity to the eastern part of our vast homeland that gives the Novosibirsk sun rays a pleasant amber pre-sunset breeze. In the gentle cloudy haze, the already blurred sunspot is visible for a long time, slowly acquiring pale pink and saturated copper shades. Gradually, the spot disappears, as if dissolving. See you tomorrow. A couple of hours and it will be completely dark. And then there are stars in the sky. And it is much more difficult to see them than the same “rings” on the roads. But if you see one, immediately appear a few around, and then another, and more. So, in the intervals between the unthinkable turns on the ice (to ride with the breeze on skates or skis – for that it and Siberia – is necessary), we admired the barely noticeably sparkling lights of hundreds and thousands of stars scattered across the night sky. You can look at them endlessly, but this makes your head spin even more than from the whirlwind of impressions that fit into the Siberian journey that turned out in an instant.

Violet Selischeva