If you come to Russia because of your literary and cinematic heroes, to see their inspiration and experience a continuation of their spirit, you have in store only abounding dissapointment. What you will find instead is a landscape changed forever by its Soviet days; souless, no-where towns, tower blocks in tiny villages and an intensively farmed steppe.
That said, I have, during my first two weeks in Russia, been shown amazing kindness and hospitality. On my way to Talovaya, with no doubt another ugly towerblock of a hotel waiting for me, a man named Gerna called me to stop. It was my first experience of a Russian dacha and it exceeded all expectations. We spent the day eating food he had grown, talking, fishing and of course...drinking. Vodka in Russia thankfully never seems to come without food - in the long term perhaps this is not such a healthy thing, but so far, I think, it has been an aid to my survival!
Two days later I stopped to lend a knife to Victor, who had broken down along the road. After a couple of hours of following his Lada we were sitting in his dacha and meeting his friends. The two dachas were very different, with running hot water and electricity at Victor's, complete with heated business talk, that I couldn't understand a word of. There was one commonality... a headache in the morning.
It was a fairly uneventful few days to Marx, where, as I was sitting eating food outside a shop, Gena and his mum Svetlana introduced themselves. Gena was on a break from his compulsory work in the army. I have heard before of the harshness of life in the Russian army, but in Gena its effect was only to be seen in the way he effortlessly carried my loaded bike up five flights of stairs. I was made to feel so welcome in Marx and enjoyed fishing and eating potatoes by the Volga, with Gena's friends. In the morning I visited Svetlana's school, where she teaches art, and her Pravoslavnaya church. It was a very peaceful experience. Often, after I have been shown friendship the feeling of being alone again is heightened, but after Gena cycled with me to the outskirts of Marx, I felt very comfortable all day.
My feelings toward the Russian countryside and cycling through it change, predictably, with the direction of the wind.
Miles so far - 3889
Monday, 18 May 2009
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Yulya, Oksana and Lesya. And Lena, behind the camera...
This is in the amazing Sofiyevka Park. Emma Haslett, you specifically are not allowed to comment on this photo!
Children!
These children ran after me up a hill, brought me water and even gave me food. I asked them what they liked to do in their village. You like Football. "We like drinking vodka!"
Sasha!
Sasha showed me around Nemirov. Well, he showed me all the places you can drink at in Nemirov!
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