Kazan to Nizhny Novgorod, July 2016

Dag 64. Kazan til Nizhny Novgorod,  385 km

Vi kørte fra Kazan kl 9.45, og mistede Louis og Janet på vej ud af byen. Vi mødtes så på en resteplads, efter at vi havde kørt ca. halvdelen af turen. Jeg kunne lige klare at humpe lidt på min fod, men kunne godt mærke, efter at have siddet 6 timer i bilen, at den igen var hævet ret meget.

Ikke meget at berette fra turen i dag. Vi fulgte M7 hele vejen, og igen i dag var der stræk med vejarbejde og dårlig vej. Så 378 km tog os 6½ time i alt. Vi krydsede Volga floden, og kørte igen igennem landskab, som på mange måder ligner Danmark.

Lots of rivers - Mange floder

Clothes sale by the road side - Tøj salg ved vejsiden

Vi er positivt overraskede over Rusland, havde ikke forventet så flot et landskab, og så flinke folk. Sproget er det lidt sværere med, de fleste russere forstår ikke engelsk, men vi klarer os.

En anden sjov observation, når man kører ude på landet, så er Russere altså godt nok gode til at få deres biler meget tæt på, hvor de skal hen, parkering meget tæt på floden, midt i en mark osv, osv, vi så biler parkeret de sjoveste steder.

The view - Udsigten

Fremme ved hotellet, fik jeg skaffet is til min fod. Vi spiste i hotellets restaurant på 11. sal, hvor der var en fantastisk udsigt.

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18th July. Kazan to Nizhny Novgorod, distance 385 km, driving time 6,5 hours

Drove from Kazan, to Nizhny Novgorod.

Since, I had a patient in my car, with one leg up on the dashboard, I knew this was going to be a quiet and easy drive.

We were now driving parallel to the Volga River. This river is enormous, with a lot of marshy land, and reminds me a lot of the Mississippi.

Leaving Kazan - Farvel Kazan

River delta - Flod delta 

Had lunch, at a small fishy place, but I ate very little.

Reached our hotel at about 4.30 pm, and ordered buckets of ice for Susanne’s leg. Had dinner, at 11^th floor of our hotel, which had a beautiful view of the whole town, and the rivers surrounding it.

Dinner at the 11th floor - Middag på 11. sal

Good food and great scenery.

Ufa to Kazan, July 2016

Dag 63. Ufa til Kazan. 535 km

Vi kørte fra Ufa efter en dejlig morgenmad – stort udvalg i buffeten. Første stop var politiet, de havde tjek ved hovedvejen, men det var bare et tjek, så vi fik lov at køre videre. Vi kørte forbi nogen rigtigt flotte solsikke marker, hvor vi stoppede og tog nogle billeder.

Sunflower field - Solsikke mark

Crazy decoration in the cafe - Dekoration i cafeen

 Derefter mistede Google stedsansen, så vi kom ad nogle små veje. Der så vi mange olie boringer, og igen grønne og blå tage. Tilbage på hovedvejen, hvor der var megen trafik, og meget vejarbejde gik det stille og roligt fremad. Vi havde selvfølgelig også regnvejr på vejen, det sker hver gang vi har vasket biler.

Clouds - Skyer i regnvejret 

Vi var fremme i Kazan kl 17.30, som viste sig at være 15.30, eftersom vi var nået til Moskva tid. Vi tog en taxi til Kazan’s Kreml, det er et helt fantastisk sted, med både museer, en meget smuk kirke og en flot Moske. 

Kazan Kremlin - Kazan Kreml 

På vej ud, faldt jeg over en kantsten og forstuvede min fod, fjols. Michael og jeg blev hentet af ambulance, og kørt til sygehuset. Jeg blev røntgen fotograferet og heldigvis var foden ikke brækket – så nu er vi hjemme igen og jeg ligger med is på foden. Meget fin service på klinikken, vi kom først til, og vi skulle ikke betale for behandlingen, dejligt for os. Michael var dog ked af, at ambulancen ikke kørte med udrykning.

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17th July. Ufa to Kazan. Distance 535 km, driving time 9 hours.

Left the hotel at 8.30 am.

Our first stop, was done by the police, as we were leaving town.

Ha, ha ‘Bastards’, nothing wrong with us, not speeding, so of we went again.

We passed a lot of amazing Sunflowers fields, and stopped for a photo shoot.

Sunflower field - Solsikke mark

Soon afterwards, our Google map, decided to take us through a shortcut, which took us through some small, winding mud roads. The surface was again very good, like yesterday.

Oil fields - Olie boring

We passed through fields, filled with Oil pumps. These guys were pumping oil out, all over the place. I first thought there were all water pipes. Soon found out, that all the pipes that were laid along the road, where Oil pipes which led to a massive Oil depot.

More oil - Mere olie

We reached Kazan at 5.30 pm.

Turned our watches back 2 hours, as we are now in Moscow time.

Checked into our hotel, and left at 4 pm to see Kazan’s Kremlin. This town has an amazing Kremlin, with a beautiful Church, Mosque and other government buildings all packed within a fortified wall.

After visiting the Church and Mosque, which were next to one another, we walked to a view point, to see the view of the 2 rivers and other churches around.

The Mosque - Moskeen

The Church - Kirken

The View - Udsigten

Here Susanne fell, and sprained her leg, dramatic, dramatic.

A friendly Russian couple, called for an ambulance and we were rushed to a local clinic. Here Susanne’s leg, was x-rayed, and we soon found out, that her leg was only sprained, and not broken. Back into the wheel chair, and these enormous Russian nurses all kept smiling at me, and eying my body. But nobody, helped to push the wheel chair. One of them, with a great big bosom, followed me all the way out, and told us, that there was no payment, and even called for a taxi. All this while, I huffed and puffed, and pushed Susanne out, on the wheel chair. She even made sure, that the taxi driver took us back to the hotel, and gave me a flying kiss, and off we went.

Back at the hotel, buckets of ice, Louis cooling elements, for his medicine, was used to cool Susanne’s leg and my head.

Relieved, that her leg is only ‘sprained’.

I most be seeing double, as Susanne’s leg, seems to be, twice the size. 

Yekaterinburg to Ufa, July 2016

Dag 62. Yekaterinburg til Ufa. 506 km

I dag krydsede vi Ural bjergene, turen gik fra Yekaterinburg til Ufa en lang tur på 506 km. Vi kørte fra hotellet kl 8.15 og var først fremme i Ufa kl 17.30.

Vi kørte igennem flotte gran skove, birkelunde, og så, hvad der kaldes de blå bjerge, (skær af blåt fra granerne.) Vi kørte vel ca 100 km på grusvej, det var en hel fin vej, og vi behøvede ikke bekymre os, om hverken politi eller modkørende trafik.

Pine trees - Gran træer

Blue houses - Blå huse

Michael og Louis er nået til et punkt, hvor de er paranoide ang. politiet. I dag præsterede Louis, at blive stoppet af politiet fordi han kørte for langsomt – så har vi også prøvet det. 

Meget af turen var ret øde, så vi havde svært ved at finde et sted at spise frokost. Vi fandt endelig et sted, hvor vi fik 3 x goulash, 1 x suppe og 2 kopper kaffe for 50 kr, sig endelig ikke, at Rusland er dyrt.

Igen i dag, så vi mange blå vinduer og tage, man må I Rusland elske blåt.

Horses on the road - Heste på vejen

Dinner - Middag

Fremme i Ufa, var vi simpelthen nødt til at finde et sted at få vasket biler. Vi fandt en vaskekælder og på etagen ovenover, fandt vi en dejlig Sherlock Holmes Pub hvor vi spiste til aften.

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16th July. Yekaterinburg to Ufa. Distance 506 km, driving time 9 hours.

Left for Ufa, at 8.30 am.

Our drive today, was through the Ural Mountains. Beautiful winding roads, and Pine trees as far as the eye can see.

Susanne, had read somewhere, that you can see a blue haze about these mountains, this turned out to be true, after I put on my sun glasses.

This winding road soon got a bit boring, and suddenly out of nowhere, the tar road ended, and we were on a well surfaced mud road.

The blue haze - Det blå skær

The Mud roads - Grus vejene

We now drove, through farming fields, and small villages and opened up for “Blackie”. It was nice to know, that no police were around and we could zip through these muddy roads as fast as we could.

Had some problems, trying to find a restaurant, in these remote mountains. Finally found one in the middle of nowhere, and had soup and goulash. This meal fed all 4 of us for the sum of 500 Rs.

Blue and green houses - Blå og grønne huse

Checked into our nice hotel, at 5.30 pm.

We decided to get our cars cleaned, as we almost could not see the original colour. We got lost a few times, when thankfully, a helpful Russian, offered to show us the way and drove ahead. He led us down into a basement, of a parking lot, and there were these washing halls. Got the cars washed and had dinner in a lovely steakhouse, ‘Sherlock Holmes’ in the shopping mall upstairs.

One of us did get stopped by the police today, but not for driving fast.

You can also get stopped in Russia, if you drive to slow on the roads.

Poor, Louis. 

Yekaterinburg, July 2016

Dag 61. Yekaterinburg

Vi besluttede at blive en ekstra dag i Yekaterinburg. Som fortalt i går, er det byen hvor Zaren og hans familie blev drævt i juli 1918.

 I Yekaterinburg males der hvert år, efter at sneen er smeltet, en rød streg på fortovet, som man kan følge, hvis man vil se byens seværdigheder. Det er vældigt smart, så behøver man slet ikke tænke selv.

The red line - Den røde streg

Church upon the Blood - Blod Kirken

Så vi gik ud af hotellet og fulgte den røde streg. Vi var inde og se ”Blod Kirken”, det er kirken som er opført, på stedet hvor Zaren blev dræbt. Så begyndte det at regne, så vi gik i læ, i et museum, som havde nogle malerier og diverse fotografier ( vi fortrød, at vi ikke havde bestilt en engelsk sproget guide på hotellet). Nå, videre i regnen, hvor vi på mystisk vis, kom væk fra den røde tråd. OK, vi fandt den senere igen. Så var vi inde og se et ædelstensmuseum, flotte smykker, skåle og vaser, og en Russisk kustode som havde været i Indien, og ikke kunne holde op med at snakke om det.

Efter frokost gik vi en tur på gågaden, og havde sjov med at tage billeder af os selv, sammen med diverse statuer.

Precious stone museum - Ædelstens museum

Yekaterinburg

Fun in Yekaterinburg - Foto sjov i Yekaterinburg

Om aftenen havde vi fået anbefalet en russisk restaurant, men der var et privat selskab, så vi endte i deres kælder bar, hvor vi spiste udmærket mad. En af de andre gæster, en Rocker type kom og snakkede med os, og mente at vi skulle prøve den lokale snaps og noget af hans hjemmelavede whisky ( som han ikke selv drak af).

Dinner - Aftensmad

 Da vi fik regningen, fandt vi ud af, at vi selv havde betalt for det hele. Vi var bare glade for at komme ud, inden han så sig gal på os.

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15th July. Yekaterinburg

Yekaterinburg, beautiful bustling, it is Russia’s 4^th largest city and the political capital of the Ural Mountains and the place where the last Czar was killed.

In Yekaterinburg, every summer after the snow melts, they paint a red line on the footpath to guide visitors past major sights.  So all one has to do is, walk in one direction and follow the red line, and you get to see everything in town.

Follow the red line - Følg den røde linie

Church upon the Blood - Blod Kirken

We started following this red line, which took us straight, from our hotel, to the ‘Church Upon the Blood’. This is where Czar Nicholas and his family were murdered.  It is always fascinating, to see the inside of the Russian Orthodox Church, which consists of the five steps of the Altar. Even the cellar in this church, was beautifully done up with different Icons.

Outside, we followed the red line again, and soon lost it, while crossing a road.  Never mind, we found it again by just trying to look for the dome, of the next church.

Yekaterinburg

It started drizzling, so we all rushed into a Museum of precious stones. Louis sat by the entrance and slept. The rest of us enjoyed this museum, and just before we were about to leave, a massive Russian Brunette, started talking about India. She just could not stop talking about her trips to India. This conversation was one sided, and I had to use an excuse, of going to the toilet, to get out.

We all rushed out, leaving this lady still talking about India, and went to the town’s enormous walking street. We visited a few shopping malls, and then went back to our hotel.

Had dinner, at a local restaurant, close to our hotel.

A big ‘Biker’, with an even bigger leather jacket, came and joined our table.

After a quick round of Vodka shoots, he pulled out a bottle from his pouch, and forced us all to have the next shot.  I quickly ordered another round of shots, asked for our check, paid, and ran out of here.

Dinner

We staggered back to the hotel to nurse our hangovers.

All in all, a great day. 

Kurgan to Yekaterinburg, July 2016

Dag 60 Kurgan til Yekaterinburg, 402 km

Vi kørte fra Kurgan kl 9.30 efter en kedelig morgenmad. ( Ikke buffet som vi plejer).

I dag gik turen til Yekaterinburg, som er Ruslands 4. største by med 1.4 mill indbyggere. Det er også byen hvor Zaren og hans familie blev slået ihjel i 1918. Vi kørte igennem, hvad jeg tror er ”typisk” russisk landskab, store korn marker og lange strækninger med birke og fyrre træer. Vi stoppede 2 gange ved cafeterier og alle ser ud til at spise rødbede suppe ( åbenbart Ruslands national ret).

Amazing houses on the way - Flotte gamle huse på vejen

Old truck - Gammel lastbil

Vi besluttede at køre til Ganina Yama – en skov som ligger ca 16 km fra Yekaterinburg. I denne skov blev Zaren og hans families lig efterladt, efter at de var blevet myrdet.

Ready to visit Orthodox church - Klar til at besøge Ortodoks kirke

Ganina Yama

 Til minde om dem, byggede den Russisk Ortodokse kirke, et kirke/kloster kompleks på stedet. Det er et smukt og fredfyldt område. Derfra kørte vi til vores hotel ”Novotel” i Yekaterinburg. Michael og jeg skrev blog i et par timer og derefter gik vi en lille tur i byen, inden vi spiste aftensmad på hotellet.

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14th July, Kurgan to Yekaterinburg. Distance 402 km, driving time 7 hours

Left, at 9.30 am, for Yekaterinburg.

The drive today was pretty simple, and I kept to the speed limits, which was a waste of time, hardly saw any police.

Stopped a few times, en route, and was amazed of what simple food, Russians live of. Soup with bread, or meat with bread, but it all tastes good.

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Good roads - Gode veje 

We decided to drive to Ganina Yama, where the Zar was killed, and him and his family’s bodies, where secretly buried in this forest. They were found years later, when one the guards who were involved, let out this secret, to his grandson. The Orthodox Russian Church, has build a church and a monastery, in memory of the Zar. 

Ganina Yama

Reached Yekaterinburg, at 5.30 pm, checked into Novotel Hotel.

Everything in this hotel is white, the tiles, the babes, the reception even the Vodka. Had dinner in the Hotel with white sauce, which was tasted great.