This morning we met our driver, Dimitri.  This guy was definitely what we would call a ‘real’ Russian – he spoke no English, chain smoked and looked every bit a KGB agent, not that I have any idea what a KGB agent looks like.  Today was to be spent mostly on the road in another very un-Russian vehicle, a Mercedes mini bus.

We stop for breakfast at a roadside cafe, where a foreign policy debate ensues, and we learn that Chechnya as full of terrorists and America should stop trying to police the world.

We visit several churches and admire the ornate interiors.  In one, a service is in progress – incense fills the air and the singing is harmonious.  Most of the church goers are elderly women who look utterly absorbed in the singing.  The scene is quite haunting and we don’t stop for long.

Back on the road, we stop for lunch, and another debate on Russian of foreign policy.  I start feeling sick, which isn’t helped by Dimitri smoking and Sasha refusing to open the window.

Finally we arrive at Kostrama.  The hotel is very drab on the outside, but the interior is well looked after.  A Porter takes our bags, and when we arrive at the room, both porter and housekeeper are waiting for us to unlock the door for them.  But the housekeeper has the keys.  The housekeeper gives rob the keys, and we have to unlock the door for the porter, a procedure that surely could do with some streamlining.

We played pool against the Russians.  This did not initially seem to be a very good idea – Sasha and Dimitri won the first game easily, and are about to win the second when they accidentally pot the black, and lose the game by default.  However, despite very little pool experience, we pull back a stunning victory in the third to claim the series 2-1.

dinner is at a Chinese themed Russian restaurant, the Chinese theme seemingly extending only to the decor – the food was most definitely Russian.  Dimitri and rob both order a revolting looking vodka “plate”, consisting of about four shots of vodka in a glass, a slice of stodgy bread with a fried egg in the middle, a gherkin and a salad onion.