I make it to the border and its one of the easier ones, no pictures and  blow me I cant remember much about this one, and that is unusual for a border, still in the Asia customs union so Irene sails through, nothing to check and I am clear in under an hour, one thing I do remember the border guard says “do not stop for 5Km” and he was not joking……lets hope she starts I think, she does and and I am off…..

After about 10Km I stop at the edge of town, pick up cash and fuel, no time to enjoy the cafes this time which is a shame, now its all about getting to the next big city Saratov.

The roads are rough as I was warned by Manuel, I can still do 80Km/hr  most of the time, not much to look at anyway, as we near Saratov the last 80Km are perfect paved roads.

Finding the hotel is easy, its high up behind huge wooden gates, very secure, I cant believe today has gone without incident, I check in feeling a lot happier than 24 hrs earlier, lets hope this good luck continues tomorrow! 

I order food from the picture menu and wow it looks nothing like the picture, the girl behind the reception desk suddenly becomes the chef, there is a microwave “ding” and dinner is served!! 

Next day I deliberately leave late, Irene is loaded up, I head off to the insurance company for some brief cover, as before in Russia they are very diligent and I get my 5 days of insurance for 500 rubles  about 6GBP, excellent….

I head out of town at around 10.30 in the end, the roads are great, I decide to eat at lunchtime as the food was so poor and expensive in Saratov, time slips by and I am there an hour….now I am up against it, I only have 180Km to do but it gets dark in just over 3 hours as we have moved through into a new time zone again, now just two hours behind the UK, this will change back to 3 hours when I get into Georgia, that will be the 5th timezone change in 8 days, its crazy in this region and easy to lose track of what artificial timezone you are in…

Irene is going OK, well I am keeping my speed right down, better to keep moving than the alternative, at this speed oil consumption is manageable about 0.5 l of oil each and every day, its clear that more oil disappears at high speed so I limit myself to just 80Km/hr, I feel as long as she starts we can keep moving on..

I arrive in Volgograd sooner than expected, more due to the city limits being so far out, it keeps me entertained and you have to keep your wits about you as I make the final approach to the city centre.

Hotel Ring

The  Hotel Ring is exactly where it should be on MapsMe and what a pleasant surprise, English speaking staff, I am quickly to my room, Irene locked up, I don’t want to check the oil now, I know I should but I just do not want to know at this stage,  good or bad….

After a while of catching up online I go for a swim in the plush indoor pool before dinner, yes they have an excellent pool, a sauna this is the best experience for many months, my plan is to do some physical work, have a beer or two and eat and sleep well…

I order food with trepidation after last nights microwave experience, its equally expensive but when it comes after nearly 45 minutes later OMG the best food I have tasted probably on the whole trip, very high end, every vegetable is an explosion of taste, I don’t  want to rush this food its just so so good, the wine sipped because its so expensive is also a wonderful experience, and when the bill come its £18 and its worth 4 times that…..

It just gets better, the staff put the football match England Vs Spain on in the restaurant just for me, I missed seeing much of England during the world cup but wow the first half performance is awesome, England savage on the counter attack….the young team fearless,  victory, I relax….a nice end to the day.

Transit Visa

My transit visa lasts for 5 days, as I arrived on schedule I have decided to have a day off the bike, a day as a tourist in this famous City, this was another unexpected bonus of this much longer route over the Caspian Sea, I know I should keep moving, know Irene could refuse at any moment, but will I ever be here again, unlikely, I can wait to explore.

Before I head out for the day I check the oil situation, hmmmm about the same as before I think, about 0.5 litres of synthetic oil gets me back to where I was…just hope she starts in the morning.

I  head into town on a Yandex taxi for just over £1 for 3 miles, incredible, the October weather is superb for a days sight seeing, and Volgograd has some great sight to see, this city was all but destroyed during the second world war, it has huge significance to Russia as this was the point the German forces were defeated and this city has some impressive references to that period!

The mother of Russia statue is striking…although her expression is a little to scary, you would not mess with this woman just on appearance!…near to the statue is a Cathedral…….and there was something about this place that touched me……the weather, the peaceful surroundings….I light a candle, just one to represent all of us, the whole family back home, and that we are together again safe and well……a wave of emotion hits me, overwhelming really, how many solders thought the same, canon fodder to some remote leader in Berlin and Moscow!!!

I do a little video and really feel it, well hidden though I don’t think anyone will notice. Interesting to see a memorial from another perspective, in this case a Russian one…….regardless of your opinions, nationality, you cannot help be struck by the tragic senseless  loss of life, the memorial is immaculate and thought provoking….….for me probably the most striking was Pavlov Dom, a building left almost exactly as it was at the end of the war, quite incredible foresight to do this…….I have never seen anything like it…

Not restored, left with the damage caused by a million bullets and shells,

Historical reference

In July 1942, the Germans approached Stalingrad in the south of Russia. By taking Stalingrad, situated on the Volga River, they would cut off oil supplies from the south needed by Stalin’s armies in the north. After massive bombing and artillery attacks, the Germans launched their ground assault against the outnumbered Russians. In September, as elements of the German 6^th army neared the central part of the city three blocks from the Volga, they ran into Sergeant Yakov Pavlov and his men defending from an apartment building. Pavlov and the other soldiers in the building held them off for two months before significant Red Army reinforcements arrived and pushed the Germans back….….the remaining building is on the left in the picture below, its not hard to imagine what the whole city area was like!

On a lighter note   Volgograd recently hosted matched during the 2018 world cup, England played here, I missed them by a few months. clearly money has been spent…

…the stadium just below the memorial park  is impressive…and I am sure this will increase the tourist numbers coming to this interesting and impressive city.

I am without a Russian sim card in my phone so cant order a taxi on the way back to the hotel, its a long long walk but good exercise, but not before I walk down to the iconic Volga river.

Heading south 

Well today is a big day and a big distance to cover, having a day off was great but I now have some 600Km to do today to get to Pyatigorsk for my overnight stop before the border, I load Irene up and hit the start button, so nervous about the day ahead, keen to get moving again, she starts and we head out of town, I pray for the open road where she will not be running so hot, we make it to the edge of town and the open road and the day proper begins..no pictures today just keep going all day, only stopping for fuel and food at the City of Elista…….the highlight is the hotel room, its up many flights of stairs but it worth it, I see a bathroom, a clean bathroom but wait, hot water, don’t get ahead of yourself Dave, not only hot but transparent clean water, OMG I have my first bath since April…..glass of beer on the side, heaven.…..there is no internet at the Hotel, I manage to get a hot spot connection for just ten minutes and can call home for a short while, then gone and never reappears!!

I think I go to sleep around 9pm, fooled by the shorter day, starting to believe Georgia is a possibility, the border less than 250Km away from here….I check Irene and yes its another 0.5l of oil, the situation seems to have stabilised to a daily half liter regardless of the distance over the last few days, come on girl keep going…….

The bath was so ferkin nice last night I decide to have another in the morning, no beer this time but nice all the same.

Goodbye Russia, missing you already

Bike loaded I head off for the border, spend the last of my currency on chocolate and before you know it I am there by 11:30….

OK so straight away you lose and hour so its really 12:30 as the timezone change for the 4th time in a week!

Whilst I am waiting in the queue of cars a guy comes up to me and shows me his smartphone with my picture on it, what the hell….”how did you do that” I am totally confused…….he points to my number plate, my website address “ahhh I see”We get talking, his son speaks good English and he tells me after a while that his father would like me to meet after the border for dinner. I don’t really have that much time but it is a welcome suggestion as I have not spoken to anyone locally in English for days, they give me a location on Maps.Me and we agree to meet at the cafe the other side of the border.

I am sent to the front of the queue by others waiting in the queue, Its not easy as the border is designed for four wheel vehicles, a 2 meter inspection pit runs the length of a covered area, probably 50 meters… I push my bike leaning away from the drop to the amusement of waiting drivers.

I hand in my customs union paperwork go through the usual inspection of passport and bike passport and I am free to leave Russia, I leave the customs union for the last time, just a few kilometers to the Georgian border through no mans land, 4500 km done since I left Almaty…incredible that I have got this far this one border between me and the edge of Europe!!!

I press the start button and Irene obliges, and we head south towards Tbilisi…..