The first day and our first impressions
Unfortunately it´s foggy
When we arrived in Vladivostok the fog and drizzling rain welcomed us. In June it seems to be typical that the weather here is wet, but it might change quickly.
The humidity is pretty high, around 80%. The vegetation here are totally different to the upcountry of Siberia, so many diverse flora and fauna exist here, amongst others at the east side of the Primorje region the Amur tiger is domiciled.
Through Couchsurfing Mery met a couple from Vladivostok, Ivan and Regina, both professional photographer who showed us their homeland. They have 2 lovely Husky dogs who accompanied us the whole day. We were on the road from the morning until evening, they showed us the area around Vladivostok and explain us their culture.
The first stop we made was in the Russki Island where former defensive fortification from the 2nd world war can be seen. After that we went dog walkies along the coast side, it was really nice. Around noon Mery wanted to try a culinary from this region, the giant crabs. Ivan knew a local fisherman who catch those crabs every day and also cooked them. So we ordered 2kg and picked them up. We drove to the lighthouse Tokareskiy Mayak and ate the crabs at the beach. We drank a local beverage which is called Kwas, taste malty but delicious. The crabs were really tasty, absolutely awesome. It was windy on the beach but the location and atmosphere was just amazing.
Early afternoon we went to the Primorje museum in the city and went afterwards for a walk to the pedestrian zone and seafront. In the evening Ivan and Regina took us to a local seafood restaurant called Portcafe. The menu is all about local seafood which are cooked in the taste of the far eastern Russian kitchen. It was very delicious and we really can recommend this restaurant, see also the pictures in Merys food corner.
We are very happy to meet Ivan and Regina and are very thankful for the time they spent with us together to show us their Vladivostok. It was a fantastic day. We will see what the following days will be like on Vladivostok and keep you updated…