Samara, our next port of call, was much more interesting than Tolyatti. In fact, it was really quite attractive in the cold sunshine and it became even more attractive to Bruce when he discovered that they make very good chocolate there - guess what we bought?

Our ship at Samara river station

We visited the building which houses Stalin's bunker during the Second World War: impressively expressionist on the outside, there was a deep, deep bunker within.

The main square houses the concert hall where Shostakovitch's Seventh Symphony, "The Leningrad", was first performed.

Another statue of Lenin

Bruce buying sunflower seeds from a sweet babushka

The massive monument to flight