Saddled up 15

Dear family, dear friends and acquaintances,

Hurray, the medicine has arrived, and it made a big thud when the weight of worry fell off my heart. Relieved, we said goodbye to Anna (our hostess and her husband Sergey in the last two days) with ice cream on the promenade, and we set off to Volgograd.

Believe it or not, we even had a tailwind that helped us not feel the constantly slight incline, and it was really fun and joyful to ride. As soon as we left the delta, we passed through our familiar landscape: the steppe, with very few settlements. I have gotten used to playing "City Country River" by myself. But I have to admit how little I know. During breaks, we both thought of animal names, cities, etc. So the time passed quickly, and the relatively calm traffic allowed us to ride side by side.

In the first night, we were allowed to set up our tent in the official garden of the administration by the Volga, we quickly bought some things, cooked comfortably, and slept well and safely.

The next morning we continued at 8 o'clock, which was a big achievement for us, because we are always very slow in the mornings. The landscape became more and more barren, the traffic less and there were almost no settlements left. But the wind was still on our side and so we managed over 80 km. We lost sight of the Volga, and there was no tree in sight to spend the night, but we found a small hotel at a trucker's stop, ate well and cheaply, and spent the night great. A real trucker's stop, no women, but a friendly, good mood. Somehow you always have the feeling that everyone knows each other.

We set off early again, luckily the Volga was in sight. It is a very, very wide river, with many tributaries and small green islands. Watermelons, pumpkins, and tomatoes are planted directly by the river, but behind it, the endless steppe begins.

In the afternoon, we found a wonderful place to camp by the river, very romantic among goats, sheep, and cows, under very old fossilized trees. We stayed there, set up our tent, and got supplies in the next village: water for washing, food, and drinks. As it was about 40 degrees again, we went swimming in the Volga and showered with the clear water (Stephan built a shower). In the evening, we cooked, made a small bonfire, and got bitten by mosquitoes. But we had our mosquito coil with us, which helped us.

We liked the place so much that we stayed there for a total of three nights. We had a real vacation within the vacation, everything went in slow motion because the heat paralyzed us. So I had time to do yoga, play hairdresser with Stephan, chat with the shepherd every day, and read. It was a sad farewell because we won't find another place like this on this tour.

We set off early again because luck was no longer on our side, and the wind came from the front as always. Nevertheless, we managed over 80 km and fell asleep exhausted in a room in a hotel (which calls itself a hotel).

After 30 km on the bike, Volgograd began, and we decided not to cycle through the terrible industrial area, but to hitchhike. That was a good decision because the city is a total of 90 km long and we would have had a hard time finding our way. The driver of the truck, who was definitely transporting coal, as dirty as he was, was a sympathetic man and drove us to within a few meters of our accommodation.

Volgograd is gigantic, and it is long distances to get from A to B. We actually wanted to see something of the city, but we were busy with our onward journey for a day and a half.

Things often turn out differently than you think. Our plan was to cycle to Saratov and then take the train to Moscow from there. But that didn't work out because the information we got was that long-distance trains do not take bicycles. The issue of the bikes kept us and two employees of the Russian railway company busy for two days. Now we managed to get a special permit for our bikes (we have to dismantle them) and take the train to Moscow.

We managed to visit the war memorial "Mother Motherland Calls" on the first day. On a hill surrounded by a creatively designed park, stands the largest statue in Europe. The sword alone measures 33 meters and weighs 14 tons.

From Wikipedia: The Russian name of the statue is "Mother Motherland Calls!" or "The Motherland Calls!". It was erected in 1967 according to a design by sculptor Evgeny Vuchetich and commemorates the Battle of Stalingrad. The construction was carried out by Nikolai Nikitin. The statue has a total height of 85 meters, measured from the sole of the foot to the tip of the sword. The figure measures 52 meters. The foundation for the statue is formed by a 16-meter-high concrete pedestal; only about 2 meters of it are visible, while the majority is below the surface of the earth. The statue is made of concrete blocks. The total weight without the pedestal is 7,900 tons, of which about 5,500 tons are concrete and 2,400 tons are metal.

We couldn't see it in full gear because the entire body was covered in scaffolding for renovation. But it still impressed us. The entire complex is steeped in history and thus processes World War II.

In this park, we met the Cologne choir: 'Turkish Chamber Orchestra and Choir'. They are here on a concert tour and invited us to a concert the next day. We accepted this offer and experienced a colorful classical, very successful vocal performance at the House of Architects in Volgograd. We were very enthusiastic.

In the hotel in the evening, we were able to watch the TV series 'Lindenstraße' thanks to WiFi, and as almost always, we didn't manage to go to bed on time.

On the street, especially here in Volgograd, we see many elderly people, especially women, who sell some vegetables, fruit, and flowers from their own produce. This helps them supplement their meager pensions a little.

Tomorrow we will go on a two-day trip to the Don, about 70 km from Volgograd, and then on September 8th to Moscow. But nothing is certain because sometimes things just don't work out the way we imagined.

As hot as it was in the past months, it has suddenly become very cold. The sun is still shining, but the wind (which always comes from the wrong direction) is bitterly cold. I dread camping in these temperatures.

Finally, a big thank you to all who have given us feedback, it simply feels good to hear from you. We are well, still in a good mood, feel happy, and are healthy.

Warm greetings to all of you. We hope that you are all healthy and well.

The cyclists Corrina & Stephan