Stuffed Animals

Amusements in Siberia

Imprisoned in Siberia

So there is a zoo here.  I've been to it, once, about 20 years ago.  I have only horrible memories of that visit, animals in filth behind bars, smelly, lonely, cold.  For some reason I thought that things might have changed in 20 years.  Not so much.  They only got worse...

These two statues are really the best part about the zoo, and even the lions seem to be apprehensive about what lies ahead.

It's rather impossible to photograph through bars and steel cages.

I think the bears had it the worst - tiny cages in the sun, no respite from the heat save for a stream of water, shot at the poor animals by some zoo workers

He is only 4.  He doesn't have a name, like the tigers in the Bronx.  He is alone in a cage.  He is simply beautiful.  Last year, the zoo called for a drive of 800,000 roubles to buy him a bride.  Obviously, the drive was in vain.  Mind you, the zoo is a municipal institution.

The lynx did not want to be bothered.

Sweet Escape

 

Current Russia is filled with little cafes like this one.  No, it's not exceptionally cozy, but fairly cheap and convenient.

 

My mom and I had a latte and a milkshake, in addition to some extravagant sweets:

 

But the most interesting part was the flyer lying on every table, advertising "New Sweets for the Spring 2010" produced by the largest confectionary company in Tomsk - Antonov Dvor, which conveniently listed its website on the back - if you can read a bit of Russian, you can find even more cakes on their website.

I've decided to share some of these with you - if anyone is interested in the cake descriptions, I can translate those, but just the names are worth it:

Don Quixote

Dark-skinned Girl

Bolero

Sweet Almond

Pani Eva

Raspberry Bells Ringing

For Two

Almond in Chocolate

Liza

Summer

Puzzle

Graffiti

Waltz

Chocolate and cream-cheese

Amusements in Siberia