The old enemy.

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The lecture this morning that I had cut short my trip to Moscow for was cancelled, to be replaced by an exursion to a kettle museum.

To make things worse I woke up with a headache and a fever, feeling just as I had when I was ill in Yaroslavl in the autumn. I forgot to put my hat on for part of yesterday morning, and because I wasn't wearing a belt the freezing air reached my back too - Russian weather only needs to catch you out for an hour to make you pay for it.

With a sore head and aching kidneys I trudged over the bridge with the other students. Spring is supposed to have arrived but the temperature is minus 9, and apparently it was minus 24 overnight. The museum was a better day out than I expected; the building was small and the lady who showed us round didn't speak too much. The museum is a converted cottage, with three rooms each displaying samovars from different centuries. Again the blue plastic socks were compulsory for the trip downstairs.

A samovar is a traditional Russian kettle made of metal; throughout the centuries it has heated water for millions of people as well as being a craft and a status symbol. At the end we sat around a long table and drank cups of tea with biscuits. The lady taught us Russian table manners - elbows off the table, straight posture at all times, and no noise is allowed when stirring your sugar with a spoon. When you do not want any more refills you must turn your cup upside down and place it on your saucer.

Throughout the day I felt worse and worse. I felt painfully hot at times, and two minutes later started to shake from cold.

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Photos

Sunset over Kinoteatr 'Zvezda'.
Through the bridge over the Volga.