Trans-Siberian, part 2 / Yekaterinburg, part 1

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At this stop, there are more kid-friendly choices before hitting Perm.
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When the train leaves, so do the vendors!
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The provodnitsa is kind enough to pose for shot with me. These women run the train and are not to be messed with (especially by some punk tourist).
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The restaurant holds unusual hours. It's closed at 8pm with the wait staff forbidding me to even enter!
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A typical industrial beast passes across the landscape...
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...with the workers not too far away.
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The last 30 minutes we creep along our way to Yekaterinburg.
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The boys are thrilled about getting home...
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...to see their wives and children after many weeks.
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I make arrangements to sleep in a "homestay," where you can crash at a local's home. I make my wat to these block units a little outside of the Yekaterinburg city center.
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I am a little freaked out at the ghetto-appearance, and the scary elevator doesn't help things.
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But the mother and daughter who host me put me at ease.
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I am happy not to be moving!
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The apartment is modest, but very homey.
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My room has a fold-out bed from a small couch, and has an interesting decorative touch.
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My host speaks a touch of English, enough to describe that she is married and has a son in the military.
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Flowery wallpaper is a common sight in Russian homes.
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I take the tram to the city center.
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The trams are not as rickety as they appear.
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Kvass anyone?
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Kvass indeed! (Actually, they are not very good. It's like a sweet beer. But for $.50, it's great!)
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One finds countless women in their mini-skirts strolling alongside grand avenues...
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...and of course, more weddings!
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This ostentatious Order of Lenin is dedicated to the many soldiers of Yekaterinburg who died during the Great Patriotic War (WWII).
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I don't understand Russian, but the last two words read "Order Lenin" (I think).
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The view from inside...
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...and the modern attitude about Soviet-style conformism.
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This scary statue seems very authoritarian.
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The Stalinist-style city hall dominates the main square.
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Commie prop is everywhere...
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...as is the quintessential Lenin statue...
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...with the inevitable Soviet slogan to Lenin's "genius."
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Some of the old schoolers bemoan the loss of Stalinist Communism (but they are rarer and rarer).
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Capitalist avertising dominates the blank monotony.
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In yet another series of tourist bumbling, I try to find my way to a tourist ofice. According to my Lonely Planet, it's where this building once was.
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I wander into this place and just start looking around on various floors. No signs, no nothing!
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After wandering aimlessly, I go down this creepy hall and find the office! A tourist office tucked on the third floor of an unmarked building with no signs. The woman at the desk tells me "in Russia, it's all a little bit complicated."
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After booking a day trip, I wander down this long alley way (behind another building) and find a bar. ("It's all a little bit complicted.")
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This man Dmitry keeps buying beers for me. He is so interested that an American is at his local hang-out.
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The more interesting Elena rescues me from the drunken Dmitry. I soon discover she runs an American-Russian marriage website!