The Volga, often called 'Volga-Matushka' (Mother Volga) in Russian folklore, is the lifeblood of many of Russia's most important cities and one of Europe's oldest trade routes, connecting Northern Europe with Persia and India. In the world's largest country, rivers were up until recently the threads that held the country's disparate regions together, and the barges that haul hundreds of tonnes of goods past Nizhny's Kremlin every day still carry the romantic air of travellers to and from distant lands.

The large majority of the cable car's passengers are commuters between Nizhny and the town of Bor: and surely this has to be one of the best ever journeys to work. Bor is nothing out of the ordinary - it's an entirely typical Russian town, but therein lies its charm. You might take a walk along Ul. Lunacharskogo, turning left out of the cable car, which will take you along a quiet street of multicoloured wooden houses leading to tiny churches. Or you could choose, weather permitting, to wander into the surrounding countryside, with its lakes, forests and dachas.