volgograd blues: a freezing rant about bridges and bad coffee

i didn’t expect to fall asleep in a bus station but here we are. woke up to a driver yelling at a pigeon because it kept stealing his sandwich. the cold was brutal. i checked and it’s -7.66°C right now, hope you like hypothermia vibes. my toes feel like they got stuck in a freezer.


this place is weird. the bridge of ivan iii looked like it was made of brittle glass. some old man told me it’s ‘well-preserved decay’ which is just poetic cemetery talk. i walked across it at 2 am to chase the sound of my own thoughts. it was quiet. too quiet. couldn’t shake the feeling someone was judging me. or maybe that was just my lungs freezing.


i grabbed a coffee from a place called omsk café. the barista didn’t ask for my name. just handed me a cup that was probably 5 years old. smelled like regret and burnt sugar. i heard through a cracked window that someone told me the barista’s actually a former engineer who builds robots at night. sounds like a decent backstory. would probably spend more time here if the coffee didn’t taste like floor wax.





the neighbors? well, there aren’t many. mostly empty houses and a park where kids probably throw rocks at random. i asked an old lady if it was safe to walk alone. she said ‘if you get bored, kash길 is just a short drive away.’ kash길? i think that’s kashmir. maybe she was drunk. maybe she was high. either way, i rolled my eyes and kept going.


someone told me that the local fair had a weird tradition. they’d parade a guy in a bear suit yelling ‘free pierogi!’ for a week. didn’t believe it until i saw a group of teenagers chasing him with a badminton racket. don’t ask how that started. probably a drunken bet.


i took some photos. not great. my phone camera hates snow. here’s one of me pretending to shiver next to a grumpy tree.

i asked for directions to a ‘hidden gem’ on yelp. turns out it was a dumpster fire called volgograd wine bar. the reviews said ‘tastes like history but with more regrets.’ i ordered a drink and the bartender handed me a thermos. it was hot water. when i asked why, he said ‘it’s not clear yet.’ i left money on the table.


volgograd is not for the faint of heart. it’s cold, it’s empty, and everyone seems to be fleeing from something. or maybe they’re just here for the ironic vibes. if you’re coming, pack layers. and don’t trust anyone who mentions kash Margin.


p.s. i heard that the government here is testing some new ice cream. it’s supposed to be made from mountain snow. sounds suspicious. will update if it actually happens.

You might also be interested in:

• https://votoris.com/post/the-slurpy-spicy-truth-what-chengdu-locals-actually-shove-in-their-faces
• https://votoris.com/post/local-etiquette-and-traditions-how-not-to-offend-people-in-crdoba-seriously-dont-be-that-tourist
• https://votoris.com/post/hanoi-why-im-still-here-even-though-its-24-degrees-and-everyone-hates-me
• https://votoris.com/post/sweat-stone-and-savasana-the-unfiltered-guide-to-mwanzas-fitness-grind
• https://votoris.com/post/sao-paulo-static-rain-rumors-and-really-weird-vibes