Rapid fire!

Got into Yekaterinburg in the morning and checked into Hotel Scerdlovsk across the street from the train station. Next day took a tour to where they dumped the Romanovs after they were murdered. It was just me, my brother, the driver, and our guide Mariana. We went out to the memorial for all the political prisoners executed and dumped outside the town and headed to the Europe/Asia border. I realized that it hadn’t been that long since Russia was under the old regime and I asked Mariana what differences she noticed in her life from before and after. She immediately said that of course change was both good and bad, some things were better and some things were worse but then she hesitated and thought for a moment. “For me it’s the colors. Everything seems a little bit brighter in color”

We hit the post office and then the hotel to reschedule our train tickets. My brother was getting a bit tired of the fast constantly stopping for small towns pace (not that I didn’t agree) and so we decided to skip a few and move up our schedule a bit. We went to the Afgan war memorial, had a bit to eat at a mall food court and took off for Kazan.