Off we went. Six and a half hours of train time later, we arrived in Ekaterinburg. It was nearly 9pm. We had booked a hostel online and it seemed close enough to walk to from the station. Fast foreword a frustrating and exhausting hour and we finally arrived at Meeting Point Hostel.
We were greeted by Katia – a feisty young woman who essentially bought an apartment, threw some bunk beds in it and started the hostel. There were no other guests that night, so the apartment was ours.
I should mention that Katia was amazing! She worked part time giving tours of the city and as such offered a wealth of information and ideas on how to spend our time there.
The hostel/apartment was like a time capsule; littered with Soviet Era trinkets and papers. It was old and lived in, but was charming.
We were told that any- and everything in the kitchen was up for grabs, so once Katia had left for the night we took a look around.
It was slim pickings, but we did find a giant bottle of beer, some cereal and yogurt and a partial bottle of Bailey’s-ish liquor. Such was the makings of my birthday dinner.
Conor and I toasted with Putin mugs and I blew out a match in my yogurt/cereal cake. Happy 26th to me!
In the morning a cab arrived bright and early (Katia arraigned the pick-up) to take us a bit out of town to visit the Europe/Asia border.
The monument at the border was erected about 10 years ago with the intention of keeping travelers from roaming the woods in search of the GPS coordinates of the border.
It was such an energizing feeling to be in two continents at once.
In the woods beyond the monument were picnic tables and a sea of scarves and ribbons.
Since the meter was running on our cab, we stayed just long enough to make a contribution.
*Meeting Point Hostel interior shots contributed by Conor O’Brien
