Getting back from Kamchatka to the Russian mainland, I was in need of a way to reach back to Moscow in time to catch my flight out of the country. This happened to be a fairly cheap flight from Khabarovsk to Moscow. So, although I wasn’t originally planning to visit Khabarovsk this time, I found myself boarded on that night train heading thither from Vladivostok. Early next morning, we were setting foot in the city of Khabarovsk for the first time. We had a little more than 24 hours to spare before our flight, and how else could we have spent this time other than exploring this new Far-East Russian city. Here are a few of the most interesting stuff we got to see…
Railway Station
Just like most of the cities in Russia, Khabarovsk got a pretty railway station for itself. We had a seat in the little square in front of the station. After the rest of the passengers who arrived there concurrently with us thinned out, only a few vagrants and lots of pigeons remained in the square.
Transfiguration Cathedral
This is a magnificent church which standing alone in the middle of a very open area on a hilltop makes it look even larger and grander than it anyway is. The patriarch of Moscow was taken onto a helicopter flight over the city to personally choose a spot of his liking for building the new temple – and he did a good job. Its construction was completed in 2004. With a 96-meter maximum height, it is Russia’s third tallest church. Some really nice views of Amur River are also to be seen from the top of the hill.
Amur Riviera
The Amur Riviera is one of the city’s largest parks, situated along the bank of Amur River. The Art and Military Museums, sports grounds, an amusement park, cafes, and even a beach are normally found in it. During my visit there it was under reconstruction. It was technically closed, but we still were able to have a stroll through it. A few workers were drinking coffee, chatting, and occasionally working a little here and there. If this were the average pace of the works progress, the park should be expected to reopen by some time at the end of the century I assume.
Muravyov-Amursky Street & Lenin Square
Leaving back the riverbank, we continued our stroll up the city’s main commercial street. Unlike all other Russian cities I’ve been to, here the main street has been left open for car traffic. Both the asphalt and the pavements are, though, very wide and traffic through them sparse. At the end of the street, you find the city’s main square, which – like in every other Russian city it seems – is named after Lenin. Just like the main street – not to mention the rest of the city – the square was pretty bare of people.
Park Dinamo
This is the largest park in Khabarovsk. There are lots of pathways to have a walk through the park’s dense vegetation and many nice spots to sit and chill. There are three ponds within the park. In one of them, there is a fabulous fountain show performance taking place every evening.
Out of the center, now, there isn’t much other than huge, loosely clustered apartment blocks.
Stays and Activities in Khabarovsk
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