Volga tales
You always look forward to a vacation, especially if he promises a trip to a place you have never been before, but dreamed of for so long. This year, my husband and I went on a cruise along one of the most picturesque rivers in Russia – the Volga.
Finally, the bags are packed, the mood is great. The train to the measured knock of wheels takes us away from the bustle of the red-hot city.
Outside the window there are forests, replaced by vast fields. Seagulls hunt over the mirror surface of the lakes. In cozy villages, baths are drowned and the last preparations for sleep are underway. The just-forming piercing blue sky is lit up with purple flashes. This sun goes over the mountains at night. Slowly darkens, distant voices at the stations and the swaying of the train lulls, and the onset of night gradually brings us closer to the capital of Tatarstan – the beautiful Kazan.
The city of two religions greets us with the freshness of a cool morning and shiny streets from the recent rain.
At six o'clock the city is still asleep, and we can safely walk along its avenues, alone enjoying the beautiful views. Soon the roads will come to life, people will rush on their business, fountains will work, the sun will sparkle in their water flows, the famous Kazan Kremlin will open its gates for visitors. And we will be able to come here for a tour to touch a piece of history, which is so carefully guarded here.
The Kremlin is striking in its grandeur, it seems that every brick is concentrated human heritage for several centuries. The Kul-Sharif Mosque, the Annunciation Cathedral, the “falling” Syuyumbike Tower – we go around the buildings one by one, listening to the fascinating story of the guide and never cease to be surprised by the great history of Kazan.
After the tour, we go to the river station, where at the pier, anchored, waiting for passengers, our snow-white three-deck ship. On the pier, people wave their hands, quiet music plays. Very soon, the captain of the ship will shout the command “give moorings!”, and we will go on an unforgettable journey, which, as we are sure, will give us the most wonderful experience.
We stand on the bow of the ship, looking at the setting sun reflected in the water surface, and feel how the fresh river air fills us with a sense of lightness and tranquility. There are five days of new experiences ahead. The next day our ship arrives in Samara.
The first night on the ship passes in a serene sleep under the sound of waves that splash against the side of the ship, as if singing a lullaby song. And in the morning, the ship's radio informs us about the coming of a new day, which prepares us a lot of interesting things. While the ship sails through the suburbs of Samara, we comfortably settled in sun loungers on the upper deck, get a charge of vitamin D, substituting our still white bodies to the hot June sun. Together with other ships, we leisurely pass the locks, and then, having broken away from them, we swim through the famous Zhigulev Gate, the narrowest place on the Volga. On all decks of the ship there is a radio on which beautiful legends about love and betrayal, betrayal and loyalty, joys and disappointments are told at this time.
In Samara, we are already waiting for a tour bus. He takes us around the city center, the guide tells about the wartime, when Samara was named after the military commander Kuibyshev, and was the reserve capital. Outside the bus window flicker cute rickety houses, which, as in many cities, alternate with multi-storey new buildings. We're visiting Stalin's bunker. After the scorching sun, it is so nice to be at a depth of 34 meters. Here, deep underground, breathing hard, but so interesting and want to look into every corner of the mysterious structure, which we do. After the bunker, the bus takes us past the monument of the food industry - the Zhiguli brewery. Someone on the bus jokes that it would be nice to stop here to taste a foam drink. But we go further and soon find ourselves on the Samara embankment, striking in its length and a huge number of ships and boats standing along the coast.
Before departure we have a little more time, and we are happy to walk barefoot on the hot sand on the beach.
This is the end of the day in Samara. And again the sun sets over the horizon, the passengers of the ship disperse in their cabins to wake up the next day in Saratov.
He, like Samara, greets us with warm weather, gentle waves of the blue Volga. Here we are waiting for a sightseeing tour of the city, a visit to the Victory Park, a walk through the narrow streets of the ancient city. We also have time to run through the local market, buying goodies for the upcoming evening.
Unfortunately, after the excursion to Saratov, our ship turns around and goes back to Kazan to drop us off and take on board new tourists. But there is still a little time to enjoy the landscapes of the Volga, feel the touch of the wind, bringing with it the smell of freshness and the passing day, swim under the dome of the blue sky, looking at the clouds forming incredible figures. And as night falls, sit wrapped in a warm blanket on the deck and watch distant stars light up in the dark sky.
Everything ends at some point, but there are memories that stretch through our lives. So in our hearts for a long time will remain a snow-white ship, a cozy cabin, golden dawns and scarlet sunsets, hot afternoon sun and cool evenings, as well as a sense of magic, which for some time entered our lives and made it a wonderful fairy tale.
Svetlana Shigorin