Don Curry in Vodka Paradise

Don Curry certainly knows the most famous word that is always associated with Russia in Germany: vodka - little water. The widespread fantasy assumes that Russians drink several glasses of vodka for breakfast and must not let this alcohol level decrease throughout the day. Now drink up! It's a national food! In restaurants, a bottle of vodka is actually cheaper than a bottle of wine.

However, it is surprising in this prejudiced background that there were no vodka bottles at the breakfast buffet of his hotel in Pskov. The buffet took place in the restaurant 'Rusakow,' and his server from yesterday was also his server today. In Russia, there is no shift work, in Russia, people work continuously! Don Curry chose a few pieces of omelette, some raw vegetables, and a croissant, along with two moccachinos from the coffee vending machine and freshly squeezed orange juice. Even in the morning, this hotel restaurant focuses on convincing quality.

After exploring his wonderful room with a Kremlin view, Don Curry wanted to take a closer look at the Kremlin. But before that, a very pleasant surprise awaited him. A visa must be registered by the host with an official government agency no later than 7 days after arrival. Hotels do this upon the guest's request, but usually charge a significant fee for their effort. The 'Golden Embankment' hotel had provided this service just like that and did not require any extra payment. Gratefully, Don Curry added the registration form to his passport. He can wholeheartedly recommend this hotel!

The path to the Kremlin was quickly traversed. Unfortunately, the sun couldn't quite decide to break through yet. So Don Curry decided to visit the cathedral first. There were two entrances, one at the bottom labeled 'Church,' and one reachable via a broad staircase with a sign that said 'many things.' Don Curry naturally wanted to go to the church, opened the door, and found himself in a surprisingly small room with a magnificent iconostasis and everything that belongs to an Orthodox church. Nice, thought Don Curry, but somehow he expected more from the Pskov Cathedral.

After leaving the church, the sun had prevailed. Don Curry entered the wide courtyard of the Kremlin, found an open door to the rampart, and now followed the Kremlin walls in a wide arc, with ever new views of the surroundings and helpful information boards on the history of the Kremlin.

Feeling reconciled, he passed by the cathedral again. Should he ascend the stairs this time? He did it, opened the door, and once again found himself in the soul of Russia. What a room! Fairly manageable in size, but at least 10 meters high. And every wall is completely painted with countless icons and biblical motifs against a dark blue background. Only the brilliantly white plastered massive pillars stand out from this riot of colors.

However, the most incredible thing is the iconostasis: it occupies the entire eastern wall, up to an estimated 10 meters high. A tremendous monument of precious icons that almost forces one to their knees. Don Curry has experienced a lot on his travels, but this completely surprising sight penetrated deep into his own soul. It was almost impossible to get enough of it; all the senses were actually threatened with creeping overwhelm: the fragrance of incense coming from every fiber of the room, the monotonous meditative murmuring of prayer from an old woman, the overwhelming omnipresence of the richest colors and the most exquisite fabrics, cloths, and gold decorations. For the first time, Don Curry fully understood that an Orthodox church always wants to be a space outside of this world. The Trinity Cathedral of Pskov can also be described by Don Curry as boundlessly supernatural.

Almost staggering, Don Curry left this sacred place, and subsequently, this wonderful city, which hardly anyone in Germany knows. Pskov was officially included in the UNESCO World Heritage List a few days ago. Perhaps this will bring more attention and visitors to the city. Don Curry already knows that he wants to come back.

But for now, he is drawn to another highly significant city in Russia: Veliky Novgorod, the old Novgorod, which served as the first capital of the young Rus state for a long time until this title fell to Kiev. Initially, Don Curry had planned a stopover in Staraya Russa, the hometown of Dostoevsky. But since his birthplace remained closed on his day off, the time-consuming detour was not worthwhile. The roads, which were strewn with potholes and bumps for dozens of kilometers, also turned out to be time-consuming. Don Curry mostly followed someone who obviously knew the area, imitating his daring slalom maneuvers conscientiously to avoid the deepest potholes.

Exhausted, he finally reached Veliky Novgorod but first drove to an old monastery on the southern outskirts of the city, the George Monastery. It is located on the banks of the huge Lake Ilmen and can look back on a thousand-year history. From a distance, Don Curry had already spotted the shimmering silver onion domes of the churches and the particularly high golden onion dome of the gate tower, and from close up, magnificent blue onion domes of another monastery church joined in. Directly behind the gate tower was a large box that asked for a donation if you wanted to take pictures; Don Curry found that an elegant solution, donated, and now could conscientiously take pictures in the monastery. Of course, he was particularly interested in the ancient main church from the founding period of the monastery. Its frescoes had recently been - perhaps a little too well - restored, so that its age was hardly noticeable anymore. Nonetheless, this interior also deeply impressed Don Curry.

However, he had expected more from the open-air museum of Russian wooden architecture located right next to the monastery. Almost half of the area was closed, and the particularly interesting main church was completely scaffolded and not accessible. In some houses, 'residents' in historical costumes told stories about life back then, but that was only interesting for Russian visitors.

So Don Curry kept his visit rather short and drove the last 5 km directly to the city center of Veliky Novgorod, to the Volkhov Hotel, where he had made a reservation.

The Volkhov Hotel was undoubtedly the largest hotel he had visited on his trip so far, an old building from Soviet times, which, however, was almost palatial in its layout in order to be able to receive high-ranking state guests in a representative manner. When booking, Don Curry had opted for an affordable single room, which actually had a single bed, but otherwise showed plenty of space and even included a refrigerator.

Afterwards, Don Curry set off for a first walk to the old Kremlin of Veliky Novgorod, admired monuments, and above all, the venerable St. Sophia Cathedral and then felt a growing sense of hunger.

In the 'Lonely Planet,' the 'Zavodbar' was urgently recommended, a gastro pub that belongs to the oldest vodka distillery in Russia. Accordingly, the menu also offered many tasting sets of the local spirits, including suitable snacks. But Don Curry first had to create a solid foundation.

After delicious fried pelmenis with sweet potato fries, he ordered Tsar sausages as the main course, which are made from pike perch. Here, Don Curry encountered a culinary limit because sausages with a pronounced fish taste were not quite his thing. The pub didn't excel in terms of beer either: Don Curry only had the choice between light Czech beer and dark Czech beer - both on tap at least. However, the real specialty of the pub is the tasting sets, and Don Curry initially ordered a set of 3 vodkas, each 0.05 l, combined with two small cheese sandwiches and a quail egg bun. Feeling brave, Don Curry also tried a liqueur set, ranging from sweet cranberry liqueur to bitter herbal bitters, also served with tiny culinary snacks, such as a cheese cube skewered with two frozen cranberries.

Very satisfied, Don Curry returned to his hotel. If there is a vodka paradise, then he found it today.