Another long awaited meeting, the Volga and a Gastropub

Saturday 5^th April

It was with a great sense of relief that Iraida and I settled in to the Hampton by Hilton Profsoyuznaya, having found what we thought did not exist, and with a great sense of excitement that we awaited the arrival of our third Lucequetaire. 

As mentioned in an earlier post, Daria Panchenko lives in an apartment just 5 minutes away from the hotel, and having received a text telling us that she would be with us in ten minutes, Iraida and I went down to the hotel lobby to wait for her. Ten minutes passed without any sign of Dasha, but the wait just increased the level of excitement. Finally I saw emerging from behind part of the hotel, walking down the pavement a person wearing a familiar hat, from which flowed red hair. I was busy sending a text, or checking something, and wanted to finish, but Iraida jumped up, saying “Come on, come on. Dasha is here!”

As she entered the lobby we rushed towards her and much to the amusement of the reception staff, a lengthy group hug ensued, with much giggling, cheek kissing and more hugging. We proudly led Dasha through ‘our’ hotel pointing out the photographs of Volgograd landmarks which are displayed on the walls. Then it was up in the lift to our floor. Dasha was very impressed with the décor and carpets, and took a photograph of the long carpeted corridor.

She was equally impressed by the room, and took more photos. We didn’t stay here long, but collected our coats and headed out. Daria told me that we were going for an evening catering to my likes – a restaurant called Gastropub Biblioteka. “I know that you like beer, so you will drink some beer. And then I know you like music so we will see live music – The Soul Brothers!” I was delighted that she had taken the time to arrange the evening for me, and was especially pleased to be able to see “Soul Brothers” , a local band performing country and western music, some in Russian, some in English. Daria had told me about the band, and I had heard a little of their music.

We walked first to the nearby Metro Station – Profsoyuznaya, past an interesting looking fish restaurant and the local branch of McDonald’s, which was next door to a cinema. Across the road was a shopping centre. We entered the Metro Station, and at one point, as we walked through a wide underground passage way we noticed that the acoustics were amazing. I wonder what anyone would have thought if they could have heard the rendition of “Les Temps des Cathédrales” emanating from this unlikely trio of two young Russians and me, as it echoed around the station. Actually, I think that they would have thought it sounded good – I did.

We paid our 15r for the ticket (that’s about 27 pence) to the lady in the ticket office, and then showed it to the lady sitting just outside the ticket office and next to the entry barrier. I felt quite certain that they must have heard the strains of “Cathédrales”, but they weren’t telling.  

On the platform it was time for photos:

We passed through Pionerskaya and Komsomolskaya stations and left the Metro at Ploschad Lenina, Lenin Square, entering the cold evening air close to the Alley of Heroes, an impressive street which leads to the banks of the River Volga. I was really looking forward  to seeing the Volga. There is something about cities which stand on major rivers, and there is something very special about the Volga. For one thing I know some verses in Russian from two songs about the Volga, and was able to launch into one of them as we approached its shore. I’m not too sure how impressed my young companions were by my rendition of the chorus of the “Song of the Volga Boatmen”.

You’re hoping they are going to write a comment saying it was wonderful, aren’t you?

Well actually, it would be nice for anyone to comment on the blog, about anything, not just my vocal prowess or otherwise.

As we got closer to the river, Iraida hung back and took some photos, one of which is one of my favourites from the trip, as Uncle Robin walks with his honorary niece Daria.

We walked a little closer to the river which spread out before us, like a mill-pond. There are islands in the middle of the Volga here, on one of which is a village in which Daria’s family has a dacha and garden. I could have stood and watched the river for a long time, but there was food to be eaten, beer to be drunk and music to be listened to. On the corner of the Alley of Heroes we found the Biblioteka Gastropub, which is decorated, as its name implies, like a library. The décor was fascinating, with shelves of books, (real books, not pretend books) shelves of beer bottles and various very clever montage photos involving historical figures and important figures from Russian literature.  We sat at one table and perused the menu. There was a great deal of discussion about some of the dishes. How would you describe ‘salmon’ to someone who does not understand the word ‘salmon’ That was the task of Iraida and Daria, because I did not know the Russian word for “salmon”. Bear in mind that all of these discussions were taking place in French. The waiter/proprietor came to join in , particularly to offer guidance in the matter of beer. I specified that I did not want bottled beer, and would prefer draught beer. I was offered a choice, from which I chose a dark Belgian beer, which turned out to be Leffe.

By this time, Iraida and Daria had combined though word association, mime and a great deal of giggling to bring me understanding of the Russian word for salmon, and I settled on it. We then decided to wander about the restaurant taking photos, concentrating on suitable poses, and then moved to another table.

The food was very good, the beer was very good and the company was excellent.

When we had finished our food, we went upstairs to the bar, where Soul Brothers were performing. We found a table right at the front and were in the best possible place to enjoy the show. 

The bar was decorated with, among other things, football memorabilia including scarves from Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and West Bromwich Albion. I must remember to send them a Sunderland scarf. There will probably be plenty of them around at the end of this season. There was also a Union Jack hanging at one corner of the bar, and an advert for Newcastle Brown Ale on the staircase near the stage.

More photos were required!

Then Soul Brothers launched into their brand of country and western music, and very infectious and lively it was. There are five in the band – guitar, banjo, double-bass and drums.

That’s four.

There were four in the band. They were so good it just seemed like there were five. Many of the songs were familiar, and some so familiar that it was natural to join in with the choruses. They began with a brilliant country version of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” – fantastic. There was some Johnny Cash, a bit of Johny Tillotson with “Teenager in Love”, and an excellent version of Mungo Jerry’s “Summertime”. There were many other songs, some in Russian and some in English. It was a thoroughly enjoyable gig. Daria knows that I try to play slide guitar, and being a friend of the guitarist in the band, suggested that I speak with him. He spoke good English and we had a little chat before the obligatory photos were taken.

 It was time to take our leave.

If you happen to be in Volgograd, the Biblioteka is very well worth a visit! For us the next day was planned to take in two of the city's major 'attractions'. I'm not sure that 'attraction' is the right term to describe them. They certainly attract many, many visitors, but it almost seems disrespectful to speak of them in that way. Tomorrow, then, was to be another kind of day.