Kazan: sunday.

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A mix-up this morning meant that the girls thought I was sleeping at 10.30, and left the hotel without me while I was having a shower to get ready to go somewhere with them. I had to settle for a walk around the kremlin in the rain on my own; the perfect weather had changed but it was warm never-the-less. Overnight my phone balance went from 9 y.e to minus 9 y.e so I had to call in at a phone shop to sort the problem out.

The rest of the day was sports' day. AK-BARS beat Omsk again to win the Russian championship - the people in the sports bar were more excited at the end of the game this time, but still not as wild as Ella. We walked home across ulitsa Baumana, to escape the rain and to catch the second half the football match on television in my room at Fatima.

Rubin Kazan beat Spartak Moscow 2-0, something of a surprise given Spartak's Brazilian all-stars. I may start to follow Rubin more closely from now on, as my beloved Shinnik are bottom of the Russian league after five games, with just one point. They are even a place below Vladivostok, which I suppose is an away game everyone will hate to come back from with no points.

In the evening the respective Dinamo clubs of Moscow and St. Petersburg played basketball, which I watched on the sports' channel with Kaisa. The team with blue shirts had a Finnish player in their side and they won.

We watched a very funny sit-com, Schastlivy vmeste ('Happily together') afterwards. I hadn't seen it before but there is something charming about the cheap set and over-acting that makes me want to watch again.

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Photos

Kazan patterns and architecture.
The courtyard of the Kul Sharif mosque.

Kazan patterns and architecture.
The derelict Hotel Kazan.