April 2007 Mr. Fokichev of DOKA called to ask if I was interested to come for a seminar to Krasnoyarsk. His proposal was so promising, especially since I had never been that far to the east in Russia, which we immediately decided to go for it. Even though ADB had supplied some equipment for the Novosibirsk Opera, unfortunately I had not had the chance to visit the site myself.
Since it was already summer this was the ideal time to travel to Siberia and so together with my wife Monika we arrived in Moscow, the busy Russian capitol, where nobody ever seems to stop. The temperature was really very high, and we were looking forward to the more moderate temperature in the centre of Siberia.
The flight departed in the evening from Moscow so we did not see too much of the country below, except for the morning when we were over some very large rivers and large forest areas. So this is the infinite space of Siberia, I said to myself.
We arrived just after sun rise very early at the Krasnojarsk airport, all very tired but excited what will await us. This is not an airport as usual, as the passengers left the tarmac through a small gate adjacent to the terminal building. After a while we entered the building to take our luggage, where after a short inspection if the luggage was really ours. A bus was already arranged and waiting for us and after a short ride, we arrived at the Hotel Krasnojarsk,a recently refurbished hotel in the city center. During the tri p we had a chance to admire the buildings in the city. We were really amazed by the contrast of some very impressing stone buildings and some old wooden buildings. Upon arrival at the recently refurbished hotel, we immediately took our breakfast, which, it seems to me, is a very large meal in Russia. But this was perfect for us, as it nearly time to go to bed as we were all still on European time.
In the afternoon we went to the theatre to prepare our presentation and the setup. This work took some time and we had to rehearse our presentations. I was very impressed by the professionalism of the local technicians, who had prepared the ADB WARP/M and other equipment for demonstrations the next, with the help of Mr. Kilganov of DOKA.
The next day the theatre specialists from the entire region (kray) of Krasnojarsk arrived. The people were very interested in our explanations and speeches, especially about new technologies we have recently been working on at ADB, such as sine-wave dimming. We also presented our WARP/Motorized fixtures and MENTOR XT control desks. . During the intermission our pictures together with the participants and there was even a television team reporting on the event. Too bad we could not speak directly, but I guess everybody was very happy and we managed somehow to express our feelings. It is for me very rewarding when the interest and cooperation with the specialists is so great. After some final speeches, I stayed on to do a special training for MENTOR for the technicians at the Musical Theatre venue and we had an excellent time working together, that we nearly forgot to leave in the evening for dinner. 
In the evening we were at the local restaurant, where we had some excellent and delicious local food from Siberia. We love to try local cuisine and both Monika and me must admit that here some of the fish and game dishes are served here, of which we have ever tried. And the service personal is extremely friendly! – Our waitress was so interested to learn more about our group from Moscow, that she spontaneously followed the invitation to come along on a trip on the Yenesey River the next day.
The next morning we left very early on a boat to go up the Yenesey River! And in the last minute our guest from the last evening arrived also. This is an incredibly wide and large river flowing through the city of Krasnojarsk. .But it was raining, windy and cold - definitly the weather was not what we would had in mind for a visit. But we were lucky, and the weather gods were lenient to us - so towards noon the weather turned out just perfect, blue sky and sunshine! We passed slowly under the famous bridge, pictured on the 10 Ruble note and went all the way up to a gigantic dam (power plant). The nature in Siberia is breathtaking, even though we were so close to a major city, there is so much forest and green that one wonders, what one can do with all this free space... Once away from the riverbank there are small villages, one of them we had a chance to visit later. After we had reached the dam we left the boat and took a bus back down the river, to explore some interesting sites on land.
We had lunch at the house of a famous local poet who wrote a famous story about a sturgeon and a fisherman. Too bad we could not understand all the details of the lecture about his life and work, it was never the less all too interesting to see how people lived in the 20th in this remote place, far in the east of Russia. It must have been a much more quiet life, even though not all the nice things, we have today were available. But I must say that that the sister of this poet who takes care of his house, which is today a museum, served an excellent lunch, with all the food, which is very tasty. And naturally a small portion of Vodka may never be left out.
The following day we had some work to do – visiting some theatres in the town and speaking to the technical teams. Meanwhile Monika had some time off and visited the local museums and culture institutes. When she arrived a the railroad station, a beautifully refurbished building, everything in complete order, the Tran Siberian Train was ready to leave for Irkutsk. How much she wanted to take the train and head further east, so interesting it was to see more of this beautiful country side. Maybe we can come back soon, to see more such as the Baikal see and Irkutsk, and go further on to the East!
I loved very much the local market in town, where all sorts of products are presented together. It is not like in the neutral atmosphere of a supermarket, you will now find everywhere in Moscow, but here the products are really fresh from the country side. We negotiated very hard with a lady, who was selling the very tasty fish – the local “Mucson” .- of which finally Mr. Fokichev took a rather large quantity. I was very sorry we were not able to take some of this tasty fish with me, but since we were staying some more days in Moscow, we did not dare to keep fish with out sufficient cooling.
In the evening before we left we had one more view from the top of the mountain, where small and modest chapel reigns over the wide valley wherein the city is situated.. I said to myself, this is definitely a place I hope to revisit in the future. It will be interesting to see if the small wooden houses will remain or if the architecture of the city will change.
Early in the next morning we had to leave Krasnojarsk. There are more and more airplanes arriving and departing at the airport and life is for sure becoming more hectic.. I do hope that this will not change the mentality of the people who live here, and that they stay so friendly and interested as they are.
Maybe my wife Monika and my dream will come through and we find the right time for a train ride with the Trans Siberian to see more of this beautiful side of Russia.
Thanks Alexander
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