New Europe
Day Ninety-five: Kaliningrad

Pom-poms are shaken, songs sung, red, white and blue balloons are sent billowing skywards. Speeches are made by visiting dignitaries from Moscow, by the governor of the Kaliningrad oblast, the mayor of the city and a general in a peaked cap wide enough to land a helicopter on, but there are few people to listen to them and the words blow away in the wind, chased off by more thunderous music from the PA system.
An hour or so later the Married Couple of the Year competition upstages the opening in two crucial areas. It has a crowd and they're enthusiastic. Meanwhile the Brides Bus cruises the street. All decked out in pink and full of adolescent girls, it rumbles past like a mobile bordello, contributing to an infectious, and quite unexpected, atmosphere of cheerful anarchy.
On my way from the park, after watching men dressed as medieval knights knocking each other about, it's impossible to miss the bright yellow tank of kvass, parked up by the side of the road and presided over by a huge woman in a yellow cap.
I ask Olga what it consists of.
'Kvass? It's a summer drink, made from fermenting rye bread, sugar, leaves... ' Fearing she's not yet made it sound irresistible, she adds, 'It's a traditional Russian drink. A good remedy when you have a headache after taking vodka.'
I try some, ahead of the hangover for once. A curious taste which I can only describe as a mix of Pepsi-Cola and gravy.
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PALIN'S GUIDES
- Series: New Europe
- Chapter: Day Ninety-five: Kaliningrad
- Country/sea: Russia
- Place: Kaliningrad
- Book page no: 224
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