After the euphoria of the video-Skype with Luce, we tidied up all of the bits and pieces that lay scattered about the tables we had commandeered in the hotel lounge and took the up to Room 316. Once again coats and hats were donned and we made our way to Profsoyuznaya Metro station. We passed Pionerskaya and Komsomolskaya stations, and once again disembarked at Ploschad Lenina. Here there is a massive statue of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, standing on a plint in front of a colonnade of pillars, with A Soviet style panel set against it. The colonnade has an arc of fir trees planted immediately in front of it, and the lighting effects are quite spectacular.
It is not easy to take photos with such contrasting lighting conditions, but that didn't stop Daria! Flash, no flash, long shots, zoom shots, close-ups. "Encore une fois!" Reproduced here are just a few of the many she took. Most of them are of Iraida and me, as visitors to the city.
If you have followed this blog, you may have noticed in the post about the visit to the Stalingrad Museum a picture showing a model of the city as it stood after the battle. There was not much left. Stalingrad stood in total ruin. A massive rebuilding programme began after the war, and many of the buildings are on a very grand scale, reflecting the kind of soviet-classical style which took much from the Ancient World of Greece and Rome, but mixed it with powerful statuary and art typical of the soviet era. Stalingrad?Volgograd is a 'hero city' like Leningrad/St.Petersburg, and many of the public buildings reflect that status.
We left Lenin on his plinth and walked on, coming to a very wide boulevarde, with three lanes on each carriageway. Cars were moving very swiftly along it. So swiftly that I asked Daria if there was a speed limit in the city. I'm not sure whether it was a weakness in my spoken French or not, but she responded that she was not sure. There is one thing for certain - the pedestrian crossings assume a great importance if you wish to cross the road. (They call them 'zebra' crossings too!) In some cases not only are the red man and green man displayed in turn, but also a count-down in seconds of how long you have before the next light change! That was most useful.
Having crossed the road at a zebra crossing, we found ourselves approaching Volgograd State Pedagogical University, where Daria trained as a teacher of Russian literature. She is continuing her studies, working for a higher degree, whilst working full time at the University press department. I know that she works very,very hard.
As before, poses were struck and photos were taken. Daria was clearly very proud of her alma mater.
Then, as we walked further along the street, I was challenged to read the shop names and street signs. Once you have learned the Cyrillic alphabet used in the Russian language it shouldn't be too difficult a task, because it is a very phonetic language, unlike English. My efforts were not greeted by too unenthusiastic responses, so I'll take that as a compliment.
They were probably too polite to laugh in your face!
Hmm. Perhaps they were.
Further along the road we came to a park area, in which were further memorials, and an eternal flame.
By this time it was getting on, and we realised that we hadn't eaten since lunch time at the Ukrainian restaurant. That seemed so long ago.
Daria pointed us in the direction of the Volgograd Hotel which also incorporated a restaurant, bar and pizza place.
We went in and climbed some stairs up in to the pizza restaurant. Where the girls ordered a pizza to share and some teas. My tea was very much like a French tisane - very pleasant. So was the pizza. When we finished our food Daria set about taking 'selfie' photos using the mirror beside our table.
Daria then received a phone call from her mother, checking to see if she was OK. She said we were just going to get a taxi back, which we did. The journey back was interesting because the driver didn't seem to have a clue where he was going.
Nothing unusual there, then.
Daria kept him right, or in one case left, as he was about to turn up a side street dedicated to tram tracks. It would not have been the best way to go, since the tracks were not set into the street, but resembled railway tracks, with the rails well above the level of the street. It wasn't long before we turned off Simbirskaya on to Profsoyuznaya, and then right into the parking spot beside Daria's apartment block. There she left us with a "See you tomorrow" and the taxi driver then drove us around to the Hampton by Hilton and dropped us off.
There was not much doubt that you would sleep well that night!
Well, yes and no. It had been a very long day. We had done a lot of walking, climbing of steps and walking down steps. At one point during the evening the girl asked me if I was tired. I was, but I wasn't going to tell them that! The only problem with tomorrow was that Iraida would be catching a train back to Moscow in the afternoon. It would take her 18 hours to reach the capital, and then she would have a few hours with friends before the five hour flight back to Krasnoyarsk. There she would land at 06.30, and be expected to start work at the University at 08.30!!!
I wasn't looking forward to saying goodbye at the railway station.
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