Camping on the Volga river 2012 On my 30th birthday I was given a present from my parents. The present was a return ticket to the Russian city of Samara, which is located on the Volga River where I had never been before, but I had heard a lot about the place. We arrived to the city itself and then sailed to the river bank where my stepmother’s friend had built a temporary structure that then became permanent as many temporary structures do. Our family, their friends and I spent three days living on the river’s bank among campers who occupy the Volga river delta for six months a year for many decades enjoying this kind of lifestyle. For the first time in my life I steered a motorboat and paddled in a kayak! The three nights I spent there were more vivid, awe-inspiring and with a better recreational effect then the 8 nights in posh five-star Hilton in Egypt. We also went for fishing, swimming and made an improvised sauna in which we jumped directly out of it right into the water. I had never been outdoors for such a long time before and the experience has had a deep impact on me. I didn’t realize that in our country there was something away from concrete jungles, Starbucks and office spaces. Especially I’d like to mention simple, but great and sincere people who I met there and to whom I hope I’ll come back to one day in the foreseeable future.