Volga: what's nearby, how to get there and when to go · 2026

АГАлександр Горбачевmenus12 · Aug 24, 2010Read

The abundance of choices in any American store has always made my wallet itch. However, there is something even more tempting: eBay. E-commerce, terrifying in its scale, never really excited me because, sitting in Tyumen, there is a clear realization that shipping can cost more than the item itself, and 70% of sellers don't want to ship outside their continent. It all started when my boss gave me the task of studying eBay, as he has a few things he wants to sell. Naturally, he doesn't have time for it, so I'll be the one doing it. A few days ago, while in the States for the first time, I hopped on eBay 'just to look.' I sat there for a long time. I'm still sitting here. The feeling is completely different. Partly because, for example, 1500 rubles and 50 bucks are the same thing, but if I see some cool stuff for 1500 rubles, I'll think about it, but for 50 bucks – I'll take it without looking. Plus, many have free shipping, and it doesn't take a month to arrive from across the world, but 3-4 days from a neighboring state. For those who don't know, this whole thing is built on an auction basis. An item is put up for sale, a starting price and auction duration are set, and until the end, people keep bidding; whoever has the highest price at the end is the one in debt xDDD. On the other hand, there is a casino effect. In the last 30 minutes, all bidders are glued to the screen trying to outbid each other by a dollar. Congratulate me, I made my first purchase on eBay - a DM2 Mixman Digital Mixer. While a new one costs $75, I bought a used one for $26.50, so now I'll have something to do besides watching South Park xDDD. And overall, today was a success. I spent 2 days without money and without work, but today at lunch, my boss came by with a book that needs scanning, gave me 20 bucks, brought me half a jar of coffee from home, half a jar of oatmeal, a pack of butter, and a bottle of beer xDDD, so I'm just chilling. Now for the scary part. Recently, I was sitting there looking at lots on eBay when Roma came up, and we ended up talking about music for a while. Later, while smoking on the porch, Roma asked if I wanted to stay in the States and offered all kinds of help if I decided to. Of course, it's very nice that there is now someone here ready to help, but I said that first I need to finish university back home and learn to drive. When he found out I had never been behind the wheel, his hesitation didn't last long – 'Okay, get in, we'll teach you now.' I was, of course, taken aback, but it was interesting. Five minutes later, I was already behind the wheel. It was 4 AM. It was wildly scary to start moving because you're sitting in an $80k car, and there are a hundred thousand other cars worth $180k around, so the slightest careless move could turn into a lifelong prison sentence. Plus, I was extremely sure that to make the car move, you had to press the gas pedal, not release the brake pedal xDDDD. That way, slowly but surely, I drove a circle around the yard. Probably, sitting in a Lada, it's not as scary to crash into a nearby Volga. Nevertheless, it was cool. So I'm looking forward to my mixer being delivered, and it looks like we're heading to Connecticut on Monday.

ККириллstriklend · Nov 4, 2009Read

Most of the photos of the plains have disappeared somewhere. Just like the memories of those 3 days. We were just driving.. After Blue Ridge, the road leads us for a while through the remnants of the Great Smokies, and then rolls out onto the Kentucky plains. To be honest, you only realize this because of the "Welcome to Kentucky" signs and Kentucky license plates. Otherwise, it's just like the Saratov region)) There is one cool place here - the longest cave in the world, Mammoth Cave. We haven't been there ourselves, but after visiting another cave (more on that later) and talking to a guide, we realized it must be very cool. Judging by the photos, it really seems so.. And we are eating at a local KFC (how could it be otherwise)) and driving on. Then Illinois with the unchanging view outside the window and a stupid speed limit on the highways (we, of course, are not driving slower than usual, but it's unpleasant to drive so fast relative to others=)). Ahead is Missouri at the confluence with the Mississippi and St. Louis. Oh, we think, the great river... Right there we find out the minimum requirements in America to be considered one. It turns out that a great river here is considered a river with a width of at most half of the Neva at its mouth into the Gulf of Finland or the Volga at its very source. St. Louis is cool, but the embankment is industrial, and the city itself is dirty, but otherwise it's okay, there's some kind of atmosphere. However, we are in a hurry, so we don't really catch what exactly it is) Then we head onto a straight road leading exactly west. The navigator asks us to turn left in 1000 km, so we turn off the device and continue driving. It's about 5 PM, the sun is getting closer and closer in the sky on the left, until it finally hangs right in front of us at the very edge of the horizon. The car is flooded with gold, people in the back seats are squinting happily. The chase for the star continues for about 45 minutes until it disappears somewhere 50 km further away). Then we drive through night Kansas City (by the way, it's not bad) and sleep again. In the morning we are on the road again. Around us is hilly terrain again, just like the whole way before. Perfectly flat plains start later and last for 5-6 hours. Yeah, the Americans' concept of greatness is definitely lacking) Around us is corn, silos, and other charms of the 60s :) We are waiting for the mountains. We are 30 km from Denver, and they are still not there. Suddenly, we climb another hill - and in front of us is just a wall. Not peaks in the distance. Not hills. Just a wall of mountains about 2 km high. Right there is a mark that we are already 1.5 km above sea level. Not bad. Denver is so-so. Nothing remarkable, except for the absence of Bank of America. It's forbidden here for some reason. So we are left without cash. We sleep and drive to the Rocky Mountains the next day.