In the morning we went through solid two-staged lock. Each stage is 14 m high, so we were saliling on the level 28 mts lower… It is not Panama canal, but still impressive!
Then we saw from the distance a huge statue of Mother Russia, announcing that we are already close to Stalingrad – present Volgograd. It was nice approach, passing many ships and… ruined factory’s. Finally we docked at the imposing Rechnoy Vokzal (River Terminal) and I had 2,5 hours of time to take a walk around the town. Completely rebuilt after the war Violgograd is a nice city, with many students from the university strolling shady streets and park alleys. Bug statue of uncle Lenin still stands on the main square. They left only only one building untouched from the war time. Ironically it is the mill built by German settlers… New rotunda of Stalingrad’s Panorama was built right nearby. I will have more time to explore on the way back…
