In the city the spring music of streams goes unheard under all other noise. But on the riverside, sheltered by high banks and far from bridges, floating ice plays its own music.
No matter how dark and muddy it gets in summer, in spring Irtish is clean and crystal clear.
You can find the strangest sights on the little backstreets in the centre of the city. Like those old houses, built back at the beginning of 20th century. Each time I see one, I wonder how much longer they would stay as they were, without being renovated.