Day 175 - Kindness of Strangers: Meeting Slava's Family, Friendly Locals & a 5-Hour Ride to Izhevsk

Updated: Oct 1, 2023

Day 175 (25 June 2023) - Perm to Izhevsk, Russia

DAY 175 (25 JUNE 2023) – In the morning, I followed Slava to visit his parents, since they wanted to meet me. I met his mother, grandfather and his younger brother, Daniel, while his father was away at work. I had a delicious meal for breakfast at their home, which was not far from Slava' apartment.

I also visited his parent's farm where they have been growing a variety of fruits and vegetables. I saw cabbage, carrots, potatoes, cucumbers, shallots (onions), and strawberries all organically planted on the ground.

There is even an apple tree and a pear tree in the farm! Daniel plucked some tasty strawberries for me! I thanked Slava and his family for their gracious hospitality before leaving for Izhevsk.

Along the way at a rest area, I met a few friendly Russians who had recognized me on TV. Two media crews had covered the tree-planting activity at Novosibirsk and Blagoveshchensk, a few days ago. It was nice to hear kind and supportive words from them.

The journey from Perm to Izhevsk took me about 5 hours. I arrived at Dacha Mini in Izhevsk and stayed the night at a price of R450 (RM 25) per night.

The owner of the hotel was a friendly Muslim woman. She gave me a warm welcome and wanted to arrange for a tree-planting activity at a museum nearby, but unfortunately the museum was closed for the day.

A Muslim family at the hostel took me sight-seeing around Izhevsk in their car. The couple have 2 children and the wife was very fluent in English as she was an English teacher. They took me to visit the ‘Church of the Holy Royal Martyrs’, the Alexander Nevskiy Cathedral as well as the ‘St Michael’s Cathedral’. Not only do these buildings have amazing architecture, but they are also so beautifully lit at night.