Group G
England V Tunisia
Volgograd Arena
Volgograd, Russia
18 June 2018
After a 6 month wait the World Cup is finally here. To be fair the journey hasn't been an easy one especially with the deteriorating relationship between the UK and Russian governments. First we had claims that the Russians were medalling with UK Government computer systems, then we had the Salisbury nerve agent crisis which led to the 'tit for tat' expulsion of diplomats. So am I going to Russia? Damn right !
Despite concerns in the UK media I can confirm the following:
1. There are no wild bears in Volgograd.
2. There were no hooligans looking for the English.
3. I was not recruited.
4. No drunks tried to rob me.
5. My credit cards were not cloned.
6. Russians can smile.
Tunisia v England Highlights
Tunisia 1 England 2
Attendance: 41,064
Referee: Roldan (Colombia)
As expected this was a tense match but England started like a runaway train and frankly Tunisia were not in the game. England scored the opener on 11 minutes when Harry Kane slotted home after Mouez Hassen had made an amazing save from John Stones' bullet header. Hassen injured himself in the feat of saving the header but had to come off. England then went through a period of total dominance but failed to score a second. Then on 35 minutes the referee awarded a dubious penalty after Kyle Walker's trailing arm struck Youseff in the face, the striker went down like he had been shot. The penalty was converted and at the interval it was level at 1:1.
In the second half Tunisia dug in to frustrate England but Harry Kane was the match winner in stoppage time when he powered a header passed Tunisia's replacement keeper, following a flick on by Harry Macguire.
This was a fair result because England had two blatant penalty claims rejected. The Colombian referee and his VAR assistants had failed to see Harry Kane get wrestled to the ground on two occasions. The scene is quite comical.
Pano of the Volgograd Arena from the South Stand
Day 1 - Arriving in Volgograd
Volgograd International Airport
The Volgograd Volunteers sharing the love
As you leave the airport you are met by this statue of a women greeting guests with bread and salt
A classy hotel for the 1st night but its all downhill from here but a snip at £89 p/n
Mrs H has fallen in love with the staircase
First night and we're out with Tommy Truman and Craig Mac
Tommy, Stevie and the Russian Babes from Harat's
Party time
Tunisian chant
Tommy, Susie and the Tunisian boys
Fez time
Rocking the Kasbar
Russian vodka mates
Harat's Bar, Volgograd
Day 2 Battlefield Study Part 1 (central region).
Above photo is the Theatre of Performing Arts, 'нет'
Downgrading to the Hotel Gallery Park (only 4 stars ****) 😀
💩..but spare a thought for how the other half live!
Pose like a Russian💋
'Memorial to Yakov Pavlov'; true hero of the Soviet Union.
He reinforced Stalin's order No 227 "not one step back"
The remains of Pavlov's House - an
impenetrable fortress the Germans couldn't take. Pavlov and his men held out in the building whilst under intensive fire from the German Army between 27 Sep - 25 Nov 1942.
The Flower Mill
The Battle of Stalingrad Panorama Museum
Museum front
Katyusha Rocket launcher
The Barmaley fountain outside the museum depicts 6 Russian children dancing the Khorovod (circle dance) with a crocodile in the middle whose name is Barmaley. The original location was outside the train station. It was famous because of a photo taken in August 1942 (see below) after Stalingrad had just been carpet bombed and an estimated 40,000 citizens had lost their lives. The fountain is now restored to its original location at the train station. President Putin attended its opening.
The original photo taken in August 1942
This has got to be the best England trip ever
German 88mm AA Flak Guns
Museum and Flower Mill (with chimney)
Grudinin's Mill was defended by the 42 Guards Rifle Regiment. It is one of the few buildings left standing following the bombing of Stalingrad
Yak
Sniper rifle belonging to Vasily Zaytsev. He killed 32 Axis soldiers with a standard issue rifle and a further 225 (including 11 snipers) with this rifle
The Sword of Stalingrad was presented to Joseph Stalin by British PM Sir Winston Churchill at the Teheran conference. The sword is a token of homage from the British people to the defenders of the city
This scene shows pilot Vladimir Zemlyansky whose
aircraft has been hit by flak but instead of bailing out,
he aims his aircraft at the German tanks to succeed in destroying a number of Panzers. He is remembered at Mamayev Kurgan....which is our next stop.
Underground Tram stop at Lennin Square
The highly efficient 'high speed tram'
Entering the Avenue of Poplars under the guidance of Viktor our superb tour guide and the coolest guy in the city.
This sculpture is entitled "Not one step back"!
The first lasting impression of Mamayev Kurgan
The eternal flame at the hall of military glory. The guard changes daily at 1200. Earlier Sue had laid some flowers (цветы -'tsveti'). When remembering the dead you always give an 'even' number of flowers, when giving flowers to the living it is always an 'odd' number! Important!
Mamayev Kurgan (Motherland's Calling)
Volgograd Arena from the memorial complex
Mamayev Kurgan on height 102
The Motherland's Calling statue is 85m tall and is believed to be the world's tallest free standing statue
The Hall of Military Glory
At the rear of the Motherland's Calling statue is
a memorial to those who fell protecting the hill
Church of All Saints at Mamyev Kurgan
Wall depicting the defeated fascist army
The wall of ruins
If Carlsberg did Ice Cream.......😎
The Univermag department store was the final HQ of the German 6th Army and is the site of the surrender
Field Marshall Paulus surrendered to the Russians
on 31Jan 1943. This is the main passage in the bunker
The Germans dressed some of their offices to remind
them of Christmas back home in Germany
Day 3 - Match Day
Monument to Alexander Nevsky; a key figure in Russian history. For his victories against the Germans and Swedes and the truce he arranged with the powerful Golden Horde in the 13thC he was later canonised as a Saint in 1547
The Fire Station Watch Tower: a survivor from
the days when the city was known as Tsaritsyn
This helped a lot with our frequent hangovers.
Struggling!
The Politisia (полиция) are taking no chances today
The eternal flame on the Alley of Heroes
Poplars line the route on the Alley of Heroes
Fan Fest on the Central Embankment
The Central Embankment is named after the 62nd Army
Looking back to the city
If Carling did volunteers.....
волгоград (Volgograd)
RUSSIA 2018
Sail Flats
The River Port - Caution 'Midgie alert'
Bars and clubs at the River Port
Sue is turning Russian 💋
Huddersfield Town on early doors
Dark Beer in 'квартира' (the appartment)
Having a beer with the Boss
Matchday prep
Switching to Bud for an easy life
Time for a change of bar, "до свидания квартира"
Central Volgograd
Peterborough at the 'Porter'
We've found a beer 'take away' in the central market.
₽116 for a bottle of the good stuff (about £1.40)
Shashlik and beer at бочка (Barrel)
Harry's looking younger every day
Next up is бамберг (Bamberg)
The Gulliver's travel day trippers have arrived
England's finest
England Bus outside the shuttle stop
Through central park to the stadium
'Mime time'
First close up glimpse of our destination
The shiny new Volgograd Arena
If Carling did stadiums....
Bay Watch or Volgograd?
So we are collecting these as well
View from the concourse in Block D
View across the Volga
Sue has now moved from Coke to Bud
.......and from the Makems to the Mags
Block 110
Block 111 looking distinctly non English,
hopefully the natives are friendlier this time
Anthems 1
Anthems 2
England ready to kick off their World
....11 minutes on the clock and there is a header by Stone,
...followed by an unbelievable save by Hassen
....Kane is first to the ball
1:0 England
Stalingrad Sue looking confident
...35 minutes on the clock and Tunisia are gifted a penalty
...Pickford gets a finger to it but it slips in 1:1
....in Southgate we trust...
....More beer required
....Craigski's new flag is willing us on
WTF! He's blagged his way into the FIFA VIP seats...
....England expects
...91 minutes on the clock and Boom!
Harry Kane scores at the death, 2:1 to England.
The crowd went mental!
Goooooooal!
It's bouncing now
First WC victory since England defeated Slovenia 1:0 at Port Elizabeth in South Africa in June 2010.
I had to console theseTunisian lads following their defeat to the glorious English team.
Happy dayz
The Vodka song is being belted out as we leave the arena
Россия (Rossiya)
"Rossiya, Rossiya"
Day 4 - Old Sarepta
Today we have decided to visit the Volga Deutsch settlement of 'Old Sarepta' which is about 30km from the centre of Volgograd but still within the city limits. Anyway, its time to experience the Russian train system.
The train was bang on time and dropped
us off at Krasnoarmeyskaya.
The ticket conductor and passengers all wanted to help us find the museum and we ended up being taken there by a passenger. How nice are these people.
Old Sarepta was founded in 1765 when Catherine II sort to attract German settlers (Volga Deutsch) to expand crop production in Southern Russia and to defend against invasion from Kalmyk, Kazakh and Tartar tribes.
When the Soviets came to power in May 1920, Sarepta was renamed Krasnoarmeisk and Church Square became Freedom Square.
Atheism propaganda was spreading across the Soviet Union and many churches were destroyed or closed. The German churches were no exception. The last pastor of Sarepta was arrested and exiled to Siberia in 1936. In 1939 the church was plundered and closed. The church and houses round it became shops, warehouses and a hospital.
Sarepta was just one of the locations that Catherine II chose for settlers. The produced may things from here but it was especially famous for mustard production. During the Great Patriotic War (WWII) no buildings in Sarepta were destroyed because the fighting took place north of the city.
Waiting for the train back
Volgograd train station and the reconstructed Barmaley Fountain in its original location
Anyone for квас (kvass)...well technically the red stuff is not kvass at all, kvass is brown and tastes of bread!
Russian v Egypt at the fan fest
Live from the 'квартира' at the River Port, Volgograd.
Russia win 3:1 and progress to the round of 16
...and the party goes on
Day 5 - Battlefield Study Part 2 (North and South areas)
Nursing hangovers we all get into Viktor's car for round 2
The first stop is the Red October factory which during the war produced armoured steel for military equipment and ammunition. It was the scene of fierce battles during the autumn of 1942 and was a priority target for the Nazis
Olga Kovaleva is a famous hero of the Soviet Union, she worked at the Red October factory and fought with the militia
This marks the passage of the front
edge of the 138th Rifle Division
"Soldiers and Officers of the 138th Rifle
Division who fell in battle at Stalingrad"
In this house stood the command post
of the 138th Rifle Division
Defensive plan of the 138th Rifle division on Lyudnikov's island (острове на людникова )
17 x mounted T34 turrets form a monumental defensive front line of the city of Stalingrad. This is the 11th turret and commemorates the 138th Rifle Division located near the Barrikady armament plant
Sue laying flowers at the monument of Mikhail Panikakha
Mikhail Panikakha (микхаил паникаха) is perhaps the most impressive of all of the heroes of the Soviet Union. He attacked and destroyed a German tank by throwing himself at it whilst holding 2 burning Molotov cocktails which would have reached a temperature of 1000 degrees Celsius.
The impossible deed!
Craig at the Tractor Plant. During the war the tractor plant was converted for the mass production of T34 tanks. It continued to produce tanks despite being under intense attack throughout. The factory was finally put out of action on the 16 Oct 1942 following an assault by the 24 Panzer Division and 389th Infantry Division after days of brutal hand to hand fighting.
Sue at the statue of Dzerzhinsky at the Tractor Plant
T 34 - Tractor Plant
Stalinist propaganda depicting Soviet
Industry at the Tractor Plant
This poster depicts how the factory
was defended to help the war effort
A Marine holding an anti tank rifle guards
the grain silo in the south of the city
Nothing will pass through him....
...unless you are a friend
Our guide Viktor
On request Victor makes a detour to a local brewery
Viktor brings the dried fish and we get the beer.
The house in Beketovka where
Field Marshall Paulus was interrogated
HQ of 64th Army in Beketovka
From here 64th Army had good vantage over the southern and central area of Stalingrad
Memorial of the Russian civil war where the White Army massacred 1500 defenders of Red Tsarytsyn
Viktor's wife has just prepared the table
Sue and Maria on the Volga
leaving port
Tommy and Craig
A Gunboat of the Naval Flotilla from the battle of Stalingrad
Passing the museum complex
Dinner on the Volga
The Arena
'Team Volga'
Tommy inspecting his Strawberry beer
Smile!
Stan 1
Stan 2 (spot the difference)
Lovely Russian couple who took us home
Party time
Saying goodbye at reception to our expensive but fabulous Hotel Gallery Park Volgograd, a snip at £733 for 4 nights👅
After 5 wonderful days we are leaving Volgograd to continue with our adventures in the Russian Federation. I will miss this place and its incredible people.
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