Day 14: Irkutsk and Lake Baikal

We arrived in Irkutsk this morning at 06:22 local time. Luckily, we were able to check in at the hotel right away and freshen up a bit before our tour started. At 09:30, we met our guide Damian and began our tour.

After an hour's drive, we arrived in Talzy, an ethnological museum where an authentic Siberian village is built.

Then we drove to the place where the Angara River and Lake Baikal merge. People here believe that Angara is the daughter of Father Baikal.

Afterwards, we had the opportunity to take a cable car up a hill where a beautiful view awaited us. We did that as well. We enjoyed walking down the path afterwards.

Once we were back down, we continued to Listvyanka and the Baikal Museum. There, the guide told us everything about the formation, history, and vegetation of Lake Baikal.

After this museum visit, we were glad that our guide suggested a small lunch break. So we went to a bakery that offers all sorts of fresh pastries with local fish as well as sweets.

With renewed energy, we then visited the wooden church of Listvyanka, St. Nicholas. The church itself is closed for renovation, which is why a tent was set up next to it for the believers.

To conclude our tour, we visited a market in Listvyanka where you could buy smoked fish, shashlik, jewelry, and much more.

We didn't return to the hotel until 17:00 and were quite tired :)

But the day wasn't over yet, as we still had the desire to do laundry in Irkutsk. We achieved that today.

Today marked the halfway point of our trip.