Around 9:00 AM, Vera woke me up. She had come by to prepare breakfast and lunch, apparently following Oleg’s instructions. She stayed with me until noon before heading out for a walk with her dog.

Returning to Mamayev Kurgan

At 2:00 PM, I set out again for Mamayev Kurgan to take some photos with the statue in the background. Unfortunately, I had spent so much time in the park the other day that I forgot to take any. My camera battery was dead, so I could only use my GoPro. I arrived just in time for the 3:00 PM changing of the guard.

The park was crowded, making it difficult to get good photos. However, this helped record the 4:00 PM guard change from the upper level. As I was about to leave, I noticed it was already after 4:30 PM, and since the sun would set soon, I decided to take some night photos as well.

An evening drive with Vera’s friends

I got back to the bike post around 5:50 PM, and Vera told me to wait at her apartment for a friend of hers, Roman. He arrived with his wife, Elena, around 6:20 PM to take us for a night drive, dog included.

Our first stop was on the opposite bank of the Volga, where Vera wanted me to have the same view her grandfather had painted and engraved. She showed me some of his work the day before at her apartment. We then drove through the downtown area near the train station and along the seafront. Vera talked a lot during the drive, but since I couldn’t translate everything in real time, I kept nodding, not understanding most of what she was saying.

A quiet waiting day

Today was just a non-activity day. Vera stopped by the apartment and left me a salad. She had planned to cook more, but I told her not to since she had already brought too much food over the past few days, and I hadn’t eaten it all yet.

I checked the delivery status of the bike and saw that it had been delayed again. It was now expected to arrive tomorrow. Oleg and I had agreed to pick it up together, but I wasn’t sure when he would arrive. I decided to stay in and rest for the day.

Delays and unanswered calls

The bike delivery was delayed again and wouldn’t arrive until Wednesday. Vera stopped by and scolded me for not answering the phone. Oleg had told her yesterday I would let her in early, but I had never spoken to him about it. She came to offer me breakfast and to cook something for when Oleg arrived. She didn’t seem to understand that I wasn’t sleeping well and had my phone on the whole time.

After breakfast, she brought me porridge and told me not to eat the salad because it didn’t taste good. I didn’t eat the porridge either and decided to go out for a walk to clear my head. Since she was cooking, I left her the apartment keys. When I returned around 3:30 PM, Oleg still wasn’t back.

At 5:00 PM, Oleg finally arrived with two friends from Saratov, Konstantine and Anna. Later, another Konstantine arrived from Yakutia traveling by motorbike. He works in a gold mine and decided to buy a bike after many years without riding, planning to retire to Sochi for the winter. A little later, Aliona and Vera also joined us. As the night went on, the bike delivery was delayed yet again. Before I went to bed, I saw that it had been pushed back to Thursday.

The bike finally arrives

In the morning, we all had breakfast together. Konstantine left around 6 or 7 AM to continue his journey to Sochi. I contacted Artiëm and Roman to see if we could put pressure on the transport company or file a complaint. I had recorded a video of me complaining, but unfortunately, the shipping date wasn’t visible. The company had recently changed the estimated shipping date from November 2 to November 5. Oleg called multiple times, but nothing came of it. Roman explained that, according to the shipping conditions, since the new official shipment date was November 5, they technically had until November 10 to deliver it.

Anna suggested we go to the Volga-Don Canal Museum with Konstantine. Since the museum was closed for lunch, we left at 1:30 PM. On the way, I got two calls telling me the bike had finally arrived and was ready for pickup.

Photos and videos weren’t allowed inside the museum so I had to translate everything to understand it on the go. By 4:40 PM, we were back at the apartment. Anna and Konstantine took me to the transport company, but we spent quite a while just trying to find the right office. After completing the paperwork, we finally arrived at the warehouse. There was a large step to get the bike over, and after some back-and-forth, they finally agreed to help us with a mechanical forklift.

Konstantine helped me unpack the bike, and when everything was in working order, we returned to Oleg’s place. Someone had placed a sticker on the visor and the seat, and removing them back at the apartment was a real hassle.