In the beam of light: what to do in Murmansk in polar winter
The Kola Peninsula with its sharp seasonal contrasts and unpredictable weather changes would seem not to be the most attractive region for tourism. Nevertheless, over the past few years, more and more Russians have been coming to this harsh and beautiful region. Travelers are not deterred by neither voracious summer midges nor invigorating winter cold. There is something to do here, even if outside the window reigns polar night. Details - in the material "Izvestia".
Night watch
On weekends, the flight from Moscow to Murmansk is usually packed to the brim. Among the passengers are many who fly to the Arctic Circle for a couple or three days, although in winter in this part of our country the word "day" is extremely conditional - it dawns here for only two or three hours. To the question: "What is there to do here now?" experienced travelers answer approximately as follows: "It's a great way to get to another time, radically change the environment and quickly psychologically reset".
There are not many sights in Murmansk. And, fortunately, their sightseeing does not depend much on the length of daylight hours, because the city is well lit, and in the darkness of the polar night looks even mesmerizing. You can start from the Five Corners Square - the main square in Murmansk, and the first thing you should do is to go to the Green Cape, where the majestic monument "To the Defenders of the Soviet Polar Region" rises. From its foot there is a wonderful view of the port and distant neighborhoods.
Monument "To the Defenders of the Soviet Polar Region during the Great Patriotic War"
The next important location is the memorial "To Sailors who died in peace time", a real place of memory for Murmansk citizens and polar sailors in general. It includes a tower in the form of a lighthouse, a ship's anchor and... the deckhouse of the nuclear submarine "Kursk", which tragically sank in 2000. The deckhouse was raised from the bottom of the Barents Sea and installed at the memorial in 2009. In the tower there are memorial plates and books with the names of hundreds of dead sailors.
On the way to the memorial you can admire the Church of the Savior on the Waters, executed in the Old Russian style, and also cast a glance at the Semyonovskoye Lake, where walruses often swim in winter.
Then the way passes to the railway station, executed in the Stalin Empire style, and further to the seaport - one of the largest in the country. Here is located, of course, the main city attraction - the icebreaker "Lenin". The mighty vessel was decommissioned in 1989 and turned into a museum. The excursion in a group lasts a little more than an hour, but the impressions from the visit will be enough for a long time.
Icebreaker "Lenin"
Even today it is hard to believe that the icebreaker was put into operation in 1959, only 14 years after the end of the Great Patriotic War - it is so modern and technologically advanced. The country was just rising from the ruins, and the Leningrad shipyards were literally building the distant future - the world's first surface vessel with a nuclear propulsion system, a wide range of technological solutions that were absolutely unique at that time, and an advanced household infrastructure for the crew. It seems that everything was provided here - from a helipad and an internal video communication system to a fully equipped medical room, a bakery, a movie hall and even a smoking lounge.
Northern flavor
Nothing whets the appetite like long walks in the fresh air. Restaurant life in Murmansk is just gaining momentum, but as the tourist flow grows, it will undoubtedly become more active. However, even today there are quite decent establishments with high-quality cuisine in the city.
In "Tundra" they treat with boiled Pomor fish soup with cod liver, halibut with seaweed and pike caviar on mint fried potatoes and venison roast beef with warm smoked potatoes.
Gray Goose offers venison shulum, excellent steaks and a local version of fondue - melted cheese over charcoal served with deer meat and crusty bread. By the way, the cheese is local, made at the northernmost cheese factory in Russia. Bread is baked here, literally in front of guests' eyes.
In "Tsarskaya Okhota", the honored veteran of Murmansk restaurant market, you can enjoy mushroom with kalitki and Teriberian "squash" from sea cabbage and Murmansk seafood, and also stewed rabbit meat with perlovka and mushrooms, juicy boar cutlets and kebabs from crab and shrimps.
Quite recently one more institution opened in the city, which has all chances to become a real business card of Murmansk in time. Sampo is positioned as a restaurant of modern northern cuisine. There is a lot of wood and stone in the interior, and in the center there is a big fireplace with live fire.
From the current menu you should definitely try tender "salo" from oily fish, salted halibut with baked potatoes, doughnuts with crab, Shuvalov's soup from three kinds of fish, with caviar and smoked sour cream, cod fillet in crispy dough and specialty cutlet from marbled beef with lingonberry sauce and cucumbers pickled in bourbon.
Among other important "trifles", without which a serious project today cannot do without, are the freshest seafood from the Barents Sea on the ice display case, artisan bread from the wood-fired oven, brisket from the smoker, steaks from the dry aging chamber.
The restaurant has a decent wine list for local latitudes with original positions. But beer is more suitable for such food; it is brewed here in the cellar, and it is a special pride of the owners. There are seven positions in the lineup - from light light to dense dark. The most original of all, perhaps, are the pine lager and porter with Arctic blueberries.
