Welcome to my blog!

Hello!
I would like to greet everyone who is reading my blog.
My name is Olga Tkachenko, I was born, grew up and am currently living in Novosibirsk. It is the very center of Russia and the capital of Siberia.
Guten Tag!
Ich begrüsse alle meine Leser!
Ich heisse Olga Tkachenko. Ich bin in Nowosibirsk geboren, gewachsen und wohne immer noch da. Nowosibirsk liegt in der Mitte Russlands und das ist die drittgrösste Stadt des Landes.

I am a freelance translator, interpreter and tour guide in Novosibirsk, Siberia and the Altai mountains.
Unfortunately both my hometown and Siberia in general are not very popular travel destinations due to several reasons, like cold and long winters, long distance from our capital and other well-visited places in Russia and lack of historical sights. And one more reason is scarce information about Siberia.
Ich bin Freelancer, arbeite als Dolmetscherin, Übersetzerin und Reiseleiterin in Nowosibirsk, Sibirien und kann meine Touristen auch nach Altai Gebirge begleiten. Leider ist meine Stadt und Sibirien im Ganzen nicht sehr beliebt als Reiseregionen. Das Wetter ist hier ziemlich kalt im Winter, es ist weit von der Landeshauptstadt und anderen bekannten Reiserzielen, und es gibt nicht sehr viele historische Sehenswürdigkeiten. Und noch dazu gibt es wenig Informationen über Sibirien.

But I'm going to do everything I can to change it, as I'm convinced that Siberia has a lot to offer and my city is attractive for foreign and Russian visitors with all its theatres, museums, the Zoo, and the nature around it.
Aber ich werde versuchen, alles Mögliche zu tun, um dies zu ändern, weil ich der Überzeugung bin, dass es in Sibirien viel zu sehen gibt, und dass meine Stadt für russische und ausländische Besucher interessant ist. Hier befinden sich viele Theater, Museen, das Zoo, und die Natur der Nowosibirsker Region ist schön und vielfältig.
Thus, in my blog, I will write about Siberia. About the tours I made on my own, together with my family, and the tours I guided.


Mein Blog ist also über Sibirien, und über die Führungen, welche ich anzubieten habe.
I'm a passionate traveler myself, so I will write about my travels to other destinations as well.
Ich selber verreise sehr gerne, und hier können Sie auch über meine eigenen Reisen lesen.

I welcome all of you to Novosibirsk, my hometown, to Altai Mountains and to other Siberian cities, towns and locations. I'd be pleased to be your guide!
Seien Sie bitte in Nowosibirsk, Altai Gebirgen und anderen Städten Sibiriens wilkommen! Ich werde Sie gerne begleiten!

Horse Yard (Konny Dvor) near Belokurikha

 

During our stay in Belokurikha we went on one guided tour only. We visited the Horse Yard (Konny Dvor). It was very expensive, but my boys and I enjoyed it very much. I thought it would be interesting for the kids because the description of the tour said that one can see horses, birds, Siberian stags and much more. I was right, the boys loved it! Though we paid 40 euros for a 3hours tour for the three of us, we were not disappointed. But to those wishing to visit the place I recommend not to join an organized tour, but to go by yourself. Even if you go by taxi, it can be much cheaper.

Belokurikha, a Balneotherapeutic Health Resort in Altai

In the end of March my older son had a short vacation at school and I thought it was a good idea not to spend this time in the dirty city, but to go somewhere where there’s fresh air, beautiful nature and lots of opportunities to spend time outside. I was thinking of Altai mountains, Chemal District, but my mom offered another idea, which sounded even better, besides, I’ve never been in that place before. So we went to Belokurikha, a famous balneotherapeutic health resort. Actually it is in Altai mountains as well, at the beginning of Cherginsky Range.

The snow-rich winter 2012-2013

 

This winter is, or I’d better say was, pretty hard for us here in Siberia. I know that my readers from Europe, the USA and other places with warmer climate can say that winter is always hard in Siberia, and they are absolutely right, but still this winter was special. The matter is that it was the snow-richest one within the last 100 years! At least the meteorologists say so. The previous winter was special, too, as it was the snow-poorest within about the same period, so this winter was partially a kind of compensation, but currently the amount of snow is so impressive that people are seriously scared. There are several sound reasons for that.

Novosibirsk is getting vegetarian-friendly!

Though I cannot call myself a true, absolute vegetarian (I sometimes eat seafood and I still eat eggs and add them to cakes and cookies I bake), I have been trying to follow the lactovegetarian lifestyle for slightly more than a year now and I thought I can try and write a post for those who is a vegetarian, a vegan, even a raw-food eater, and likes travelling around Russia and happens to come to Novosibirsk or visits my home city on business. In no case is this post meant to provoke any kind of argument, because I know that the topic is disputable. My goal is to give a couple of hints to vegetarians and those who are curious about that, who plan to visit Novosibirsk.

Kostanay, Northern Kazakhstan

The parents of my husband live in the town called Kostanay, which is in the North of Kazakhstan. The town is not well-known, and I cannot say it has something special about it, but this is a travel blog, and I believe all destinations are interesting, if explored and presented in the right way.

Chelyabinsk, Southern Urals, Russia

I have not written anything for a long time, but it doesn’t mean I have nothing to say. I was and I still am very busy interpreting and translating, but as winter is slowly coming to its end and I still have not written anything about it, it is the right time to do it. This winter has been a rich one. Rich in snow, rich in events, rich in short but interesting travels.

How cold is Siberia?

When I guide my tourists around Novosibirsk I always tell them about the climate here, and tourists always like listening about Siberian cold winters, but the matter is that the majority of tourists come in summer and it feels very comfortable to speak about the frost with +20-30 around. It is hard to believe that it can be the same, but with - sign, that is, -20, -30 C and colder.

Transsiberian Railway; Abridged Version

In September this year I visited Translation Forum Russia, a great event organized by professional translators and interpreters for professional translations and interpreters. The event is something special in itself, and a lot of reviews have already been written about it both by Russian and foreign participants. I’m definitely going to write my own review, too, and the next year I’m going to visit it again and perhaps make a report. The forum is a travelling one, i.e. each time it takes place in a different city. This year Kazan, an old Russian city where Moslems have always lived, welcomed the Forum. However, in this post I’d like to write about my travel there, and one of the coming posts will be about the event itself.

Wedding and the City

A lot has already been said about Sex and the City, but sex often often results in such a fantastic and exciting event as a wedding. I have been married for more than 9 years already, but I still feel excited when I see happy faces of newlyweds on their wedding day. So this summer, when guiding tourists in Novosibirsk or just walking around, I suddenly had an idea to combine two things: to show my readers some city sights and to shoot happy couples on the background of these sights on the happiest day of their lives. 

Interpreting at the metal-recycling factory

The majority of the posts in this blog are about various sights of Siberia, in cieites, towns and about wonders of nature.
But I am also an interpreter, and I have still not written anything about places where I worked as an interpreter, though many of them are amazing, and I would never go there without a sound reason to do that. But interpreting, which I love as deeply as I love tour guiding, gives me endless opportunities to visit many interesting enterprises, institutions and events.

German National District in Siberia

I suppose this post can be more interesting for my German readers, but I hope everyone will find it informative.

Not long ago I had a chance to travel to the German National District. If you think that I had to make a long journey, you are mistaken.

Cool places to eat in Novosibirsk

It's very difficult to write about places to eat just because tastes differ. But I'll try. The places I'm going to write about are either my favorites or places I otherwise find deserving attention. I hope this information is useful for every visitor of our city and every visitor will find something to her or his taste.
I'm not going to write about many places, and there are loads of them in Novosibirsk. Every person can find something for him or her. I know that there's even a project of a vegetarian cafe, which I appreciate, because I'm nearly a vegetarian myself. Another thing I appreciate is a lot of coffee houses in Novosibirsk, and I'm a great coffee lover.
The selection of cafes I offer here is just my personal opinion, so please don't think it to be comprehensive. All places presented here are located quite close to one another, in the city center.
1. Cafe Cardamom.  Chaplygina Street 39.

Tomsk, a historical city in Western Siberia

city administration of Tomsk

Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in the Western Siberia, located about 250 km to the north of Novosibirsk. Among western travelers Tomsk is very well known and often preferred to Novosibirsk. I read in many tourist forums and discussion boards that Novosibirsk should be skipped in favor of Tomsk, and the only reason to come to Novosibirsk is to catch a bus/train to Tomsk. Though I don’t agree with this statement and definitely think there’s a lot to see in Novosibirsk, I can’t help loving Tomsk. I have visited the city many times and of course I’ll visit it again and again.

Kolyvan, an old settlement next to the Siberian capital

St. Nicolas the Miracle-Worker

The settlement Kolyvan is one of the most interesting places in Novosibirsk Region and one of the oldest settlements in the region as well. Located only 30 km to the north of Novosibirsk and close to the river Ob, this settlement was founded much earlier than the Siberian capital, and it is definitely worth visiting if you are interested in Russian history and the history of Siberia in particular.