A free day in Irkutsk! Time to cover the parts of the green line that we didn't walk on Wednesday.
Exit to hotel and turn right along the green line. the first thing you come to is a quirky statue of a tourist!
We then deviated from the green line to go down to the Central Market. There's a large outdoor fruit and vegetable section, and inside are meat, fish, flower, bakery, and all other kinds of markets.
Walking through the circus square we saw the monument to the famous comedy director Leonid Gaidai. Virtually every large Russian City has a permanent building dedicated to the circus, and here was the one for Irkutsk.
We walked to an old mansion, the house of V.S. Rogal, in which was a display of his life and painting, as well as an exhibition of new works by painters in the workshop behind the building, and a totally amazing exhibition of works by children aged 12 to 19.
Works by Children
A 2019 work by a local artist. A work by Rogal himself
Came out, passed the Muse statue, some of the traditional wooden houses of the region (they're all through Irkutsk!), and up to the Triumphal Arch on the banks of the Angara (where wedding photographs were being taken). Walked along the embankment, past the delightful Monument to the Teacher up to the Monument to the Founders of Irkutsk, a large statue of a Cossack.
Then down past the Epiphany Cathedral and the Polish Catholic Church (The Organ Hall of the Irkutsk Philharmonic).
This brought us near the House of the Soviets (The Government of the Irkutsk oblast), and to the Kirov Square, a large and very popular area for walking, playing, or simply sitting about! Opposite the Square is the City Administration building, complete with a shield of the city with the 'babr' that we've spoken about before.
Back into ul. Lenina on our way back towards our hotel. The traffic was busier — it was now about 3pm. We passed a largish brick building on the corner of ul. Lenina & ul. Sverdlova. Since 1924 it has been an eye clinic, but from its completion in 1883 until 1924 it was an orphanage for children less than 1 year old whose parents could not support them. In 25 years it had 15,389 children pass throug its doors on the way to housing with sympathetic families who would see to their education and upbringing.
Back on ul. Karla Marxa, turning for home, we passed the Cinema Club Restaurant where we had been having some of our evening meals.
We have been noticing some of the views (or non-views) from the hotels on our journey. This hotel was really comfortable, but the view was somewhat unprepossessing!
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