Days 33 – 36 Vladikavkaz, Nevinnomyssk, Rostov-on-don, Voronezh
Let me start off by saying, Russia is a HUGE! It took us four days to reach Moscow after entering from the southern Caucasus, covering a staggering 1728 km! This road took us through villages, towns and cities that I have never heard about; never mind having great difficulty to pronounce 🙁 Each city we stayed in would be characterised by housing blocks of apartments mostly from the Soviet era. But newer homes and buildings were evident of constant development of these towns.
The south Caucasus region, where we entered Russia, lies between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. The single lane highway passed through farming villages with fields of sunflowers, apples, tomatoes, watermelon or maize. Our first stop was in Nevinnomyssk. We liked this place as we found a great place to stay and some good food reminiscent of our childhood favourites, stewed beef with potatoes.
Our next stop Rostov-on-don, a city on the Don river was established more than 300 years ago in the 16th century but also inhabited by ancient cultures. At the beginning of the century it was notoriously known as the most dangerous city in Europe. Gratefully no longer. We even managed to squeeze in a salon visit 😉
The last stop before Moscow was Voronezh, a very picturesque city. We entered it crossing a bridge spanning the Voronezh river with the city perched on a hillside. In 1958 the world ‘s first wireless telephone was created here by Altai. The city is also known for other mechanical engineering feats. We however preferred wondering around the sights along the Voronezh river 🙂
As we headed further north it became colder and many days started off with rainy showers. The highways became wider, 4 laned as we entered Moscow region. These roads are cleverly crafted through some beautiful countrysides that were covered in cultivated fields. At times rolling over hills as far as the eye can see. These are by far my favourite part of our journey.
