General, Mostly Geographic Observations

While on a photo tour Saratov - Volgograd

I boarded a minivan with destination Volgograd on a dreary, semi-foggy early Saturday morning.  This was a photo tour going to Volgograd with stops at pre-determined sites which weren't known to me. The tour guide spoke relatively good English, everyone else pretty much not till they realized on day two that their English really was much better than my Russian. It was a bunch of young people, young women and one man and a married couple. I am afraid I was the babuschka in this van but I kept up with this quite exhausting itinerary (8am till 12 am--really). 

Breakfast at -9 C and strong winds.

We traversed ice-free highways, a variation of pothole-free well maintained roads and smaller pothole-containg icey roads, and real icy roads that I found hard to walk on. Our driver's speed was actually reasonable, also his passing maneuvers were survivable. No evidence of crazy Russian drivers.  Weather-wise it got somewhat colder, so about -9 C in Saratov outside on the plains several degrees lower plus strong winds. I quickly learned to bundle up  making the most of my wide kashmere shawl (4- fold on top of head plus hood). 

Most of the area between Saratov and Volgograd is agricultural, wheat and rye. All covered by snow turned to ice ---seemingly unending plains.  On the eastern side of the Volga farmers grow potatoes and other tubers.

Somewhere between Saratov and Volgograd starts the steppe, the Russian equivalent to North American prairies. The minibus stopped for a photo opp which pleased me to no end. It turns out the other six clients are for the most part  taking this trip to hone their skills as photographers--what a great idea!  Below are my best photos-there was only one tree close by.

Another photo opportunity came about when a bay of the Volga appeared which really was quite beautiful. Here the water was iced over and one could make out ice-fishing activities. It was a joy spending the day with people who actually appreciate the beauty of the land and don't mind walking under pretty harsh conditions just for the photo. I received some lessons on 'seeing' art as well--all in Russian mixed in with just enough English to get the point across.

After lunch in a typical Russian steppe restaurant (see photo) it appears I am not the only one who falls asleep looking out onto the endless steppe while sitting in the minibus.

As we kept on driving to the south, the snow -ice heaps  along the road and on the grass lessened--an hour before Volgograd they were all gone. Within Volgograd's vicinity, however, the slalom drivers as a result of circumventing potholes kept everybody awake.