Ekaterinburg (or Yekaterinburg) is the fourth largest city in Russia and is located in the Ural Mountains, although the city itself is as flat as a pancake. It's known as an industrial city, but fortunately it has managed to keep industry away from the city centre.
Ekaterinburg is famous for the Church on the Blood (which you can see a picture of on the left), built on the spot where the last Tsar Nicholas II and his family were murdered. Geography enthusiasts will find this city interesting as it's more or less on the border of Europe and Asia.
Contrary to the opinions of other travellers, I found Ekaterinburg to be a very pleasant city, but clearly not meant for tourists. It could be a nightmare if you don't speak or read Russian. So if you ever decide to visit this city, at least learn to read the Cyrillic characters, which are actually not that difficult. The fast trains (Trans-Siberian, Trans-Mongolian) that depart from Moscow all stop in Ekaterinburg. So if you're on one of these trains, I can only recommend that you get off here and explore this exciting city.
Events
