Leaving Russia

This morning, we had to wake up at around 2am. The buses departed to the airport at about 3am to catch the 5:50am flight to Munich.

At around 3pm, I arrived in Nashville, via Munich and Chicago. Unfortunately, my suitcase did not make it out of Chicago. So, I stayed at the airport until about 5:30pm when the next United flight was going to arrive. Luckily, my suitcase was on this flight.

Catherine's Palace at Pushkin

Today was our last full day in Russia, and we went to Catherine's Palace at Pushkin. It was built for Tsarina Elizabeth and she named it in honor of her mother, Catherine I.

The palace was badly damaged during World War II, but about 20 of the state rooms are now opened. For a fee, pictures are allowed inside in all the rooms except for the Amber Room. This room is completely covered in amber. The Nazis looted the original amber panels but they were either lost or destroyed while in transit. The panels in the current Amber Room are reproductions.

Peterhof

We traveled a little outside of St. Petersburg to Peter the Great's Summer Palace, Peterhof. It is also known as Petrodvorets. It is considered the Russian Versailles.

The main highlight of the palace is the Grand Cascade. This is a collection of fountains that was partially designed by Peter the Great, himself. Also on the grounds of the palace are trick fountains that will surprise those who get too close. We didn't actually go into the main palace building. Instead we went into the Catherine Wing of the Palace. We had to wear booties over our shoes since it was wet outside and they didn't want the floors to get dirty.

In the afternoon, we took a courtesy bus into the city. The traffic was really bad. We walked along some of the canals and crossed the Bankovsky Most which is one of St. Petersburg's most photographed bridges.

Dinner had a Georgian theme. It included "Harcho", which is a medium spicy Georgian soup and Lula-kebab, which is a kebab made from minced lamb meat.

The Hermitage

On the way to the Hermitage Museum, we stopped by the Russian cruiser Aurora. A shot from it's gun signaled the Bolsheviks to storm the Winter Palace at 9:40pm on October 25, 1917.

After leaving the Aurora, we headed to the Hermitage Museum and stood in line. The Hermitage consists of a couple of buildings including the Winter Palace, the Large Hermitage, and the Little Hermitage. Building began in 1754 on the Winter Palace for Tsarina Elizabeth. Much of the interiors were remodeled by Catherine the Great and her successors.

The Hermitage has a collection of over 3 million items. Amongst the many artists who have works contained within the museum are Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael, and Rembrandt.

After the tour of the Hermitage, we had a little time to do some shopping in the museum store. There was also an internet cafe on the premises. It cost 20 rubles (80 cents) for 20 minutes of time.

After dinner, we went to the Menshikoff Concert Hall to see a folk show performance called the "Soul of Russia". Champagne and red caviar was served for free during the intermission.

Arrived in St. Petersburg

Today we arrived in St. Petersburg.

The SIM card I bought in Moscow wasn't working since the ship left the Moscow area to go to Uglich. I was hoping that maybe it was a coverage problem out of the big cities, but it was not working in St. Petersburg as well. So, I think the plan the SIM card is on must be set up to only work in the Moscow area. At least I was able to make a few calls and send some text messages so it wasn't a total waste.

Our first stop in the city tour was a quick stop at the Smolnyy Convent. Next, we stopped by the Rostral Columns to take in the view of the SS Peter and Paul Fortress and the Winter Palace. On the way to the fortress to see the Cathedral of SS Peter and Paul, we did a little souvenir shopping at a store next to the Cabin of Peter the Great.

After leaving SS Peter and Paul, we made another quick stop at St. Isaac's Cathedral. This is the 4th largest cathedral in the world behind St. Peter's in Rome, St. Paul's in London, and the cathedral in Florence.

Our last stop on the city tour was the Church on Spilled Blood. It is also known as the Resurrection Church of Our Saviour. It was built on the spot where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated on March 1, 1881. It bears a strong resemblance to St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow.

In the afternoon, we took a courtesy bus back into the city from the ship to the Square of Arts. From there, we took a short walk to Nevskiy Prospekt, St. Petersburg's main shopping street. Here we saw the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan which as inspired by St. Peter's in Rome. We also visited Gostiny Dvor which is a very large shopping area.

Somewhere along Nevskiy Prospekt, my father got his small camera stolen by a pickpocket. He's not sure when it happened.

After dinner on board the ship, we headed back into the city center again to see a ballet performance at the Hermitage Theater. The ballet we saw was "Giselle".

Mandrogi and last day cruising

We arrived at Mandrogi in the morning. This is a popular local winter vacation spot with quite a few resident artists crafting various souvenirs. For lunch we had a traditional Shashlik picnic. Shashlik is a Russian form of shish kebab.

Before dinner, we had the Captain's Farewell Reception since this was our last day of cruising. For dessert at the Captain's Farewell Dinner, we had "Baked Alaska" cake.

In the evening, there was a talent show put on by the passengers as well as some of the crew. It included singing, Russian music, a hilarious "ballet" performance, and some funny skits.

Kizhi

Today was a very relaxing day.

In the morning, we exited the final ship lock in the Volga-Baltic Canal and entered Lake Onega. While cruising the lake, we were given a tour of the ship's bridge. In the afternoon, we had a Russian Tea Party.

At about 5pm, we arrived at Kizhi Island. Here, we had a walking tour and saw the Church of the Transfiguration, the Bell Tower, and the Church of the Intercession. The Church of the Transfiguration was build without using a single nail in 1714. We also saw the small Church of Lazar of Murom (also known as the Church of the Resurrection of Lazarus). It was actually constructed elsewhere in the 14th century and moved here and may be one of the oldest wooden buildings in Russia.

At around 7pm we departed Kizhi. Quite a few passengers were late re-boarding.

We had a Russian themed dinner which included Pelmeni, which is a Russian dumpling soup, and Russian ragout.

Goritsy

In the morning, there was a talk on Russian Vodka by one of the ship's bartendars, Eugene.

After lunch, we arrived in Goritsy and took a bus to Kirillov to visit the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. This monastery is currently a museum and has a nice collection of Orthodox icons.

After getting back on the ship, we had a blini cooking lesson by Chef Pavel. Blinis are Russian pancakes. Following the demonstration, there was a blini and vodka tasting. The blinis were served with red caviar. We were also able to sample 3 types of vodka: clear, pepper, and cranberry. The clear and pepper vodka has 40% alchohol, while the cranberry is has only 20%. I had 4 shots.

Following a, um, short nap, there was a special dinner. The dinning staff had transformed into pirates.

Yaroslavl

Today we visited the city of Yaroslavl. Our first stop was a Puppet Theater. After that, we visited the Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Saviour. After a short stop at an outdoor market, we walked over to the Church of Elijah the Prophet.

We left Yaroslavl shortly before lunch.

In the afternoon, we painted Matryoshka dolls.

Before dinner, we exited the Volga River through a ship lock and entered the Rybinsk Reservoir.

We had a Ukrainian themed dinner that included Ukrainian borscht for soup and Vareniki which are Ukrainian dumplings. After dinner, the was a Russian Dance class and a performance of "Russian Soul" by Igor, the Neva bar musician.

Uglich

We didn't arrive in Uglich until the afternoon. So in the morning, we had a short Russian Language Lesson by Lidia, and a presentation on Russian Handicrafts by Anna, the Arts and Craft Consultant who ran the ship's gift shop.

After lunch, we arrived in Uglich where we visited the Church of St. Dmitry on the Blood and the Transfiguration Cathedral. We also had some time to do some shopping at the stalls near the pier.

For dinner, we divided up into smaller groups since we were going to have home-hosted dinners. The group that I was in went with a lady to her apartment. Her niece helped out serving the meal, but her husband was hiding at their dacha (country cottage). We were served Uglich "moonshine" made from sugar and yeast. It had a nice caramel-like flavor with a very strong kick.

Last day in Moscow

Today was our last day in Moscow. In the morning, we visited the Tretyakov Art Gallery to see their collection of Russian paintings and icons.

After lunch the ship set sail to Uglich along the Moscow Canal on the way to the Volga River.

In the evening, there was the Captain's Welcome Reception and the Captain's Welcome Dinner, and after that a short folk concert by the on board musicians.

The musicians were also photographers/videographers, and were selling photos and a video of the trip.

Moscow Metro and Arbat Street

Today, we took a tour of the Moscow Metro. The subway stations in Moscow are very decorative and ornate. We got on the subway at Ploshchad Revolyutsii and headed 3 stops to the Kievskaya Subway Station. From there, we went back one stop to Smolenskaya.

Smolenskaya is near Arbat Street which is where we did a little shopping. Amongst other things, here I was able to purchase a SIM card for 500 rubles so that I could send SMS messages back to the U.S.

On the way back to the ship, we stopped by a grocery store where we bought soda and chocolate. There was black caviar behind a locked refrigerated case.

After lunch, we took a courtesy bus back into the city center to look around some more.

The Kremlin and a Ballet Performance

In the morning we went to the Kremlin. The first thing we visited at the Kremlin was the State Armory to see it's collection of armor, clothes, carriages, icons, silverware, and Faberge eggs. Also on the grounds of the Kremlin, is the Cathedral of the Archangel, the Cathedral of the Assumption, the Cathedral of the Annunciation, and the Ivan the Great Bell Tower. We also saw the Tsar Bell and Tsar Cannon.

After a late lunch on the ship, we headed back into the city to see a ballet performance by the Imperial Russian Ballet at the New Opera Theater at the Moscow Hermitage Gardens. We saw exceprts of Shaharazade, Walpurgis Night, and Bolero.

First day in Moscow

My suitcase arrived in the morning.

After breakfast, we got on the Blue Group bus (the people on the ship were divided into one of 6 color coded groups), where we met our Program Manager for the group, Lidia Usikova. We then departed for a city tour of Moscow.

Our first stop was the Red Square. Here we saw (but did not enter) St. Basil's Cathedral, Lenin's Mausoleum, the State History Museum, and Resurrection Gate. We also saw and went inside the Kazan Cathedral and GUM. GUM was once a government department store, but now it's a shopping mall.

While at GUM, I tried looking for a store that would sell a SIM card. The one cell phone store that I found would only sell a SIM card if you could show your passport. Unfortunately, the ship was holding on to mine.

From the Red Square, we headed to Novodevichiy Convent. A ticket to take still photos cost 80 rubles ($1 equals about 25 rubles).

We had lunch on pleasure boats on the Moskva River. The cruise along the river provided excellent views of the Kremlin, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and Gorky Park.

After lunch, we headed to Sparrow Hill (formerly Lenin Hills) which had a good view of the city. Then, we headed back to the ship.

Dinner was on the ship. The presentation of the food was excellent.

After dinner, we went to see a performance at the Nikulin Circus (Old Moscow Circus).

Arrived in Moscow

This afternoon, I arrived in Moscow via Chicago and Frankfurt. Unfortunately, my suitcase did not make it.

At Sheremetyevo 2 Airport, we met some program managers from Vantage who escorted us to the bus that would take us to the M/S Nikolay Chernyshevsky which was docked at the Northern River Terminal.