MIR Corporation's Travel Log:
Russia's Southern Urals & Lower Volga
Follow along with Bill Altaffer and a group of travelers through the Urals and Lower Volga and into some of the lesser-known towns along the way.
Bill Altaffer, 64-year-old ski instructor, photographer, and travel company owner from Mammoth, California, was declared the "World's Most Traveled Man" in 2005. This year he is in third place and running as fast as he can to catch up. Of the 757 countries, territories, autonomous regions, enclaves, geographically separated island groups, and major states and provinces counted by the MostTraveledPeople.com, Bill has been to 676 of them, with 81 to go. His favorites places are the obscure Russian oblasts that he writes about in this blog.
Days 11-16: Cuise down the Volga
October 1-6, 2008
 | | A fish seller on the Volga |
The following day, we boarded the MS Sholokhov for a pleasant six-day cruise down the lower Volga River. The cruise took us to five Russian cities and through beautiful countryside. Between the cities, the banks of the river were often covered with forests in the fullness of their fall colors. Fishermen in small boats contributed to the idyllic, peaceful scenery. Up to this point, the weather had been overcast and cold. Once on the river, an Indian Summer gave us warm, sunny days. Our first stop was in the mid-sized city of Ulyanovosk, the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin. His childhood home is now a museum. It was obvious from its many rooms and furnishings that his had been a wealthy family. The following day, we toured Samara, another prosperous city and home of the Samara car and many other manufactured goods. Stylish boutiques line the main shopping street. This is the city where Lenin practiced his entire, unsuccessful law career, chiefly notable because he never won a case. It is also the home of Zhigulovskoe Beer, a chocolate factory, and boasts Russia's oldest permanent circus. We took an optional, fascinating tour to Stalin's secret bunker, only discovered in 1990. He never occupied it and there is no evidence that he even visited it, but we felt it was well worth seeing. It descends 35 meters underground and would have been his refuge if necessary. That evening, as the sun set and we continued our cruise down the Volga, we were treated to a piano concert of classics played by a prize-winning pianist, a fitting ending for another fulfilling, pleasant day.
Our next stop was Saratov, another city founded originally as a fort by Ivan the Terrible in 1590. Yuri Gagarin had studied there and his capsule had landed in a nearby field after he made history as the first man in outer space. The following day was spent in Volgograd, our first Hero City and formerly Stalingrad, the site of the turning point of WWII. Hitler had lost no major battles before his defeat there and won none thereafter. The battle virtually destroyed the city, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives. Not surprisingly, the city commemorates this battle with innumerable statues and monuments. The War is not something from the distant past here, but a presence and memory that still touch its citizen's lives. We visited the Mamaev Kurgan, a dominant view overlooking the city. Defense of this hill exacted extremely high casualties from the Soviets. Even today, fragments of bone can still be discovered on the site. At its summit is an enormous, dramatic statue of the Motherland with upheld sword. When it was built in 1967, it was the largest free-standing sculpture in the world and must be seen to be appreciated. Below it, built into the hill, is a rotunda where a giant hand holds a torch with an eternal flame guarded by somber soldiers. Later we visited another must-see location, the city's war museum, where the reality of war and its devastation were portrayed. Our group was quiet and subdued after our city tour due to the seriousness of the sites we had visited. Our local guide had lived through the battle. Her simple words, without any drama, self-pity or rancor, made a huge impact on us. We felt a tremendous gratitude that we have never had to deal with such a thing on our own soil. As is so often true with travel, what we experienced that day gave us a renewed appreciation for our own lives, our own country and the times we live in. Our impression was that, in spite of the modernity seen in its many trendy shops and restaurants, the entire city of Volgograd is a poignant memorial to the War and the countless lives lost as it raged.
More Photos from this leg of the tour:  | |  | | Bill standing with the eternal flame | | Soldiers near the memorials of Volgograd |
 | | Bill with Mother Russia in Volgograd |
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