Standing by the window on the train “Moscow – Khabarovsk”, and looking at the landscapes passing by, I remembered the song from the childrens movie of the Soviet times “Chuk and Gek: “We went on train for long and met the fields a lot. We saw rocks and lakes, and all this is our land…”

It was likely the wish to look from the window at the vast expanses of Russian land that made me decide to go to Novosibirsk by train, but not by plane. Thus, from 15th till 28th of June, 2011, Yaga took part in the festival “Artania”, which for the 5th time was held in the central square, in front of the Opera Theatre in Novosibirsk.

After bustling Moscow-Babylon, Novosibirsk from the very first day of our arrival proved itself as a nice city: clean, well-groomed streets, cozy parks, the wide Ob River. It was a rare thing to have met people smoking a cigarette or talking on the mobile phone while walking. There were many fair-haired people, and we saw women walking smoothly and dressed in good taste.

The program of the festival was very eventful. Every day there were conducted workshops, different contents, folk bands performances. Thus the square in front of the Opera Theater was always full of visitors. Yaga was met cordially. It was a nice surprise to get to know that some citizens of Novosibirsk are familiar with our studio. Our special thanks to the organizers of “Artania” festival – Ann Navolotskaya, her daughter, and her first assistant Eugenia.

Besides working at the festival, Yaga was able to have some cultural program. We were very pleased to visit the famous Opera and Ballet Theater. We heard the operas “The Tsar Bride” and “Tosca”. The interiors of the theater (especially the auditorium) and professional decorations impressed us greatly. We much enjoyed our trip to Academgorodok and the walk along the beach of the Ob Sea. 
We also visited Novosibirsk zoo located in the pine forest. We were surprised at its cleanliness, natural layout, and rare species of animals. The trip on train along the childrens railway reminded of our childhood.

In general, Yaga found much interesting and useful in Novosibirsk for the two weeks visit. Most likely, next summer we should repeat our expedition and that time it will be our third trip to Siberia.