Blogs from Volga, Russia, Europe - page 2

Look at the globe: Here it is, the Earth And on it, Bashkiria, No bigger than a leaf. Just one small birch leaf, One leaf on a tree. And the birch, the great Russia, Stands so green and tall. (poem by Mustai Karim. Translated by Arthur Shkarovsky) My life has been connected with Ufa since times immemorial, perhaps when I was seven or eight years old (let’s assume 1992-1993). Basically, there are three important cities in my life: Birsk, Ufa, and St. Petersburg. When I was a little child, mother took me and brother to the circus, of which I remember only taking photos on the clown’s lap. Our sister was too little back then. Also, my brother was having some medical treatment many years ago in a sanatorium, and I also remember visiting Ufa when ... read more

I’ve studied Russian for the past 3 years, taking lessons at the St. Petersburg State Forestry Academy, where I found inexpensive classes and a Soviet-style institution. My teacher for most of my time there was Galina Aleksandrovna. I had assumed that she was middle-aged but looked older; it turned out that she is way past pensionable age – about 75 – but continues working as she enjoys it. We got on well most of the time; I overlooked the archaic textbooks and old-fashioned teaching style in favour of the cultural experience, intelligent conversation, small groups (I was often the only student) and Galina Aleksandrovna’s fascinating anecdotes. In the midst of one discussion she absentmindedly started a sentence with ‘Here in the Soviet Union…’. I felt as though a dream had come true. Before I left Russia ... read more

Another long day waiting for a night train, having nearly run out of things to do in Nizhny after yesterday's failures. Spent most of the day walking around Kremlin and city. We did have an excellent lunch at a Ukrainian restaurant. I have a new favourite meal, the Russian name of which translates as "herrings in fur coats": salted herring under layers of potato, beetroot, egg and mayonnaise. I think it must contain almost every essential nutrient, like beans on toast supposedly does. It's a popular dish on Russian menus and I have had it 3 or 4 times and now order it whenever I see it, in search of the perfect version. So far, today's is winning! In other experimejntal eating news, we went for a drink at a Czech bar last night and I ... read more

Nizhny is a river city, with the old part of the city and its Kremlin situated high up on the highest hill overlooking the vast Volga. This means stuning panoramic views over the city and the river, but a killer of a walk up to our hostel in the old town: 90 minutes from the train station, mostly steeply uphill. It was worth it, though, for the views, and we spent the rest of the day admiring the vista and walking along the wide promenade by the Volga. The sheer size of the Volga makes it easy to forget that it is a river - walking beside it felt more like walking along a seafront. As it was a weekend, the prom was packed with tourists, enjoying probably one of the first days of the year ... read more

I left Siberia last Friday and have spent the last couple of days in Kazan, capital of Russia's Tatar Republic. It is a very nice city and blazing hot at the moment. $US ≈ 33p. (Russian rubles) Казань Kazan Accommodation and food Stayed at Tatyana's Day booked through hostels.com for the low price of 350p.in a dorm with only 2 other people. It was supposed to include breakfast but we had to settle for just tea. WiFi is intermittent. The location was far from the center but it is a 5-10 minute walk to the nearest metro station which zips to the center in a few minutes for 15p. Near the hostel is Dobraya Stolovaya which is ridiculously cheap but closes early Saturday and is not open at all on Sunday. No prob as right around ... read more