Ekaterinburg - we're at the World Cup baby!

After 50 plus hours without a shower and living in our own squalor Ekaterinburg was a beautiful site. As we got off the train we learned that Uruguay had beaten Egypt with a late goal in the match that had just finished and fans were everywhere showing their colours. For the first time it felt like we were in the World Cup host country. Due to a shortage in accommodation we were put up in the office of the tour contractor. It was a small home office with upstairs living quarters and a fold out couch. Even though it was in an old dilapidated soviet era apartment block, everything inside was nice and modern.

Once everyone showered and changed out of their filthy cloths we found a place to watch the second half of Spain vs Portugal. About 1km away there was an English pub filled with locals, Egyptians and Uruguayans. They didn't have any spare tables and just as the door girl was about to make us a reservation at a nearby place the table in front of their biggest screen became free...score! We ordered some food, I tried beef tongue for the first time and it was surprisingly nice. The game was a cracker and ended 3-3. After that it was time to head home and get some sleep before our Romanov Monastery tour at nine the next morning. 

Our city guide Constantine was friendly guy and a passionate historian, but not in a obsessive geeky way. He explained that the tourist line concept that we saw in Irkutsk originated in Ekaterinburg and he volunteered to paint the lines. We visited the main local sites relating to Russian revolution including where they Tsar and his family were executed and their grave site which still remains surprisingly inconspicuous. Nearby was a Russian orthodox monastery at the site where the bodies were first dumped after the clothes were burnt and the remains disfigured with acid. They were subsequently moved to the grave site because the red army feared they would be discovered by those opposing the revolution. It was fascinating to be standing on this tiny spec of earth that was home to such an historical and violent act 100 years ago that still affects the world to this day.

Now that the history lesson was over it was time for the equally important part of the day, Australia vs France. We got to the fan fest site a couple of hours before the game. Initially it was fairly quiet, probably due to the weather which was cold and rainy but eventually people started to fill in. There was plenty of entertainment on stage with local dancers and singers doing Eurovision style performances. 

Just before kick off the  sun came out and we met some other Aussie and French fans. Australia played their hearts out and were unlucky not to get a draw against the best side in the world on paper. Even though the final score was 2-1 to France there wouldn't have been too many Aussie who weren't proud. There were a few Russian cameras pointed to us waiting for our reaction if Australia scored and when we equalised at 1-1 I don't think we disappointed. We had quite a few requests for pics with the locals, some asking us where we were from, not recognising the green and gold. 

After the game we decided to watch the other matches at a pub so we tried to figure out how to get back to the city centre. One of the fan fest volunteers called Natasha helped us get back to the city on the tram and then decided she would come out drinking with us. To be honest I was a little puzzled when she got off the tram with us but it looks like we had adopted a new friend. She took us to a local restaurant for some food and then another bar for some more drinks. I guess she figured it's hard to get sacked when you're only a volunteer.

But the end of the night we stumbled back to the apartment via Burger King. Rikki somehow managed to place her order in Cyrillic, while pissed using the automatic ordering screens. Awesome effort. The rest of us stood at the counter playing charades with the staff like a bunch of drunken idiots. 

Next day back on the train for the final leg to Moscow, thanks for the memories Ekaterinburg!