Shilka

My cousin Larissa invited me to visit her in her city Shilka. It lies 1420 km away from Irkutsk, 250 km southeast of Chita, the regional capital of Transbaikal, at the Transsibirian railway. From Irkutsk to Chita it takes exactlz 24 hours by train.

With a population of nearly 14000 the town is quite small and actually a village. There are almost no asphaltic roads, goats, cows and horses walk on streets in city center and the most of people have own gardens and cattle at home.

You hardly see the hills outside the town - because of smoke. During the week I stayed at Shilka there were 11 forest fires in the surroundings. In this region forest fires are a big problem in sommer.

The street on front of the house of my cousin.

One of 2 central streets in the town.

Banya, the sauna of my cousin.

Drying fresh birch brushes for banya.

The most of houses here are made of wood.

Also here there was a lot to do in the garden, whereby nowadays it is time to collect and preserve berries and vegetables for winter. Here I am preserving cucumber.

The town is located at the river Shilka, after which it is named. It lies at about 15 minutes away from the town. One morning we made a trip to the river. We were lucky and met a motor boat owner, known to my relatives, who took us with him for a boat trip.

From the beginning on I wanted to go on hike around the town. Behind the river Shilka there are hills with forest that I, unfortunately could not visit, at least not alone. First of all, there is no bridge to get there. And additionally, the forests are full of bears, wolves and lynxes, which I would not like to meet in the forest allone. So one day I left the house to explore the forestless hills on the other side of the town.

I did not like to walk along the road with moderate traffic, so I walked in a field. But there were so many mosquitoes, that after a short while I gave up and returned to the road. Twice cars stopped and I was offered a lift to the next village. I was happy when I finally arrived at the first hill.

A short lunch stop at a river.

At the top of one of the hills at the town border there is a cemetery. In Russia, usually cemeteries are located outside of localities. 

The view on the city from the top of a hill.

The train traffic, especially of goods trains, is very big in Shilka. You see and hear them all day long.  

A church in construction, the other in renovation. Boths are located at the opposite of each other, across the street. 

I spent 1 week in Shilka.