July 12, 2013 https://gruncleodd.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/DSCN0725-190x142.jpg

12 June. Today is a day for history and storytelling and I’ll start with the former. We checked out of the B & B at 09:00 as scheduled no doubt much to Nikolai’s pleasure and relief. We boarded our bus …

July 11, 2013 https://gruncleodd.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Irkutsk_station1-190x124.jpg

11 June. It’s about 22:30 and I’m looking out the window of my room in our B & B in Listvyanka a small town on the edge of Lake Baikal. Listvyanka is about 70 kilometers east of Irkutsk. It sits …

July 10, 2013 https://gruncleodd.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/DSCN0556-190x142.jpg

10 June. The train we boarded in UB was similar but not identical to the train from Beijing. It was, perhaps, a tad newer and it carried an air of shabby elegance. It’s possible that I boarded with altered expectations …