Paris-Beijing E-Class Experience – Day 3 of Leg 2
Day 3 started simply enough. There was no ceremony- we just had an early breakfast by 7.30 am, checked out and just packed our bags into our car No. 35, and left at our own pace. We had 395 kilometres to cover, and our destination was Kazan, the centre of Islam in Russia.
It had snowed the previous night, and although it was not heavy snow, by the time we got up, the whole landscape was covered in a white hue, and a couple of inches of snow were deposited on the car roofs, bonnets and boots. Coming from our hot country, it was like Christmas, or seeing a postcard ‘live’. Of course the difference is that you also feel the cold; you really don’t want to stay out in the open too long, because first of all, if you don’t have gloves on, your hands go numb, and cannot feel anything. Then, if your head in not covered, your ears start to feel like they will snap off.
Fortunately, the organizers had earlier given each of us a ski cap, and a thick, double layered jacket; I only wish they had wired us before we left our homes, because there I was, with two pullovers, two jackets, an overcoat, and a pair of gloves. These alone were enough to make it necessary to bring my largest sized suitcase, and now with the additional jacket, I could have easily traveled much lighter, and carried a smaller bag.
On top of that, they also gave us a rucksack with three compartments, and a thermos flask, which meant that now I have two rucksacks, because I had also brought one along to carry my laptop and emergency supplies. Going back will definitely be a problem. As it is, I dare not buy anything because after all is said and done, there is absolutely no space for anything else in my bags.
Back to the cold; even if you are wrapped up, you will not last more than a few minutes before the cold gets to you. Which makes me wonder how those cops can stand out there in the cold wind for hours on end, just to make sure we behave on the roads. We have the heater turned on in the car, and the E-Class has this timer that you can pre-program into the system, so everyday, at 7.30 am, our car automatically turns its heaters on to warm up the interior, so that when we get in, we will not be sitting on cold seats.
With the heater on, you can actually sweat, especially if you are bundled up in your thermals, sweaters and your jackets. You don’t really want to take them all off, just in case you have to get out of the car, to take a picture, or take a leak, or for whatever reason. So it is a kind of balancing game you play, setting the temperature just right that you are nice and warm, without being hot.
Well, for those who think driving in the snow can be fun; I used to think so myself, having visions of a snowy white surrounding, gentle snowflakes floating down, and everything like else like in a fairy tale. The harsh truth is, first of all, when cars go over snow, they stir up the snow into either a black or brown slush. The surface is wet, and when you step on it, your shoes get dirty instantly. Also, when you stand near the side of the road, passing vehicles ‘throw’ spray, sand, and other muck at you. A snowy road is not the nicest feast for the eyes. Driving on the roads can be tricky too. Water that collects on the road can freeze into ‘black ice’ so called because of its dirty colour; black ice is almost invisible to drivers, and if you happen to hit a patch of black ice, you will have zero steering feel, and can fly off the road at any time.
Anyway, after an hour or two of driving out of Nizhny Novgorod, the snowing stopped, and the weather was fine again, and remained that way for most of the time until we got to Kazan at about 4.00pm in the evening.
At Kazan, we parked at the Kremlin (at Kazan), and the cars would remain there until the next day. While we took a short tour of the Kremlin, which also housed the office of the president of Kazan, a modern Muslim mosque built in 1999, and a cathedral built in 1556 by Ivan the Terrible (according to our guide Katarina). We were not allowed to take photos inside the mosque, but the caretaker in charge of the cathedral said it was okay if we did. I took some pictures, but they really don’t do justice to the historic, beautiful paintings found on the walls and the inside of the domes. You really must be there to appreciate it. I did, and I walk away enchanted by it all.
Kazan is a city with a population of 1.1 million people, and is the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan. The Turkish speaking Tatars are the descendants of the Volga-Bulgars, who settled by the Volga and Kama between the 7th and the 13th century. Kazan itself was founded in the 10th century, and later on it became the capital of the Tatar state of Kazan. Csar Ivan the Terrible conquered the flourishing metropolis in 1552, integrating it into the Moscow Empire as the first non-Russian city. Today, Kazan is the centre of a region with very good economic development. Its importance is based primarily on oil and gas extraction. The food and textile industries also contribute to the well being of the region. Kazan also has two large aircraft factories, as well as a thriving chemical and pharmaceutical industry.
In terms of architecture, Kazan has a lot to offer the tourist. Occidental and Oriental architecture influences supplement each other in the city. More importantly, Kazan is a great example of peaceful co-existence of the Muslim and the Orthodox populations.
The night stay was at the Palace Hotel, situated right in the heart of the city, next to a long ‘walking street’. Dinner was a grand affair at a restaurant a short walk away; the food looked great, but there were many strange dishes, some of which looked ‘strange’, and I am not the very adventurous type. I did try some, though, including a little piece of candy that looked like it was candy floss packed tightly into a cone. Tasted okay, though.
Tomorrow we will go on the penultimate stage of 700 kilometres to a city called Perm. It is eleven at night, and it is snowing gently again. I look forward to tomorrow morning
