Petrozavodsk and Svirstroy

We docked in Petrozavodsk early on Saturday morning and set out for a city tour after breakfast. Founded in 1703 for Peter the Great, Petrovskaya Sloboda (as it was called) maintained an iron foundry for manufacturing cannons and anchors. During WWII it was occupied by the Finnish troops until freed by the Soviet forces in 1944. Today Petrozavodsk is the capital of the Republic of Karelia with a population of about 266,000 people.

This is a giant statue of Joseph Stalin overlooking a park

 with an eternal flame honoring the war dead.

We visited one of many city markets where locals could

 buy anything from fresh fish to tennis shoes.

The food stalls were accessed by speaking to the proprietor through this little window.

 Transactions were made and purchases delivered here.

The Alexandro Nevsky Cathedral was constructed in 1825-32 to meet the spiritual needs of the foundry workers. The work was funded through donations from the workers themselves. In 1901 the original church was replaced by the current stone temple. It was closed down by the Soviets in 1929 and used as a museum until 1993. It is now the main place of Orthodox worship in the Republic of Karelia. The old legend says that if there is a functioning temple named after great righteous prince Alexander Nevsky in a town, then enemy would never trespass it.

We returned to the ship for lunch and a leisure afternoon, then went to the Karelian Folk Show. We enjoyed an hour of singing, dancing, and traditional Russian musical instrumental music. The young people are students at the State University in Petrozavodsk. Their music ranges from the ancient epic songs accompanied by Finnish harps to a capella Russian village songs, from old shepherd melodies on wooden flutes and trumpet to Finnish dances on accordions, and from scythe accompaniment to church bells.

In keeping with our "market" experience, our dinner on this evening was a selection of very traditional Russian food from a Market Buffet. After dinner we were treated to some humorous presentations of Russian Fairy Tales.

On Sunday we spend a quiet morning on ship as we make our way out of Lake Onega and into the Svir River. Once again the landscapes on the river are beautiful and picturesque.

We notice that most of the buildings along the river are bright and colorful, dispelling the notion that Russia is a drab and colorless country. It makes my heart happy.

The Matryoshka doll competition begins this morning and all the hand painted dolls are displayed at the Hospitality Desk. Passengers are encouraged to vote for their favorite and the winner will be announced tonight at the talent show.

At long last we arrive in Svirstroy and go immediately to a local home for Tea and Pirozhki. We divide into groups of ten and have a lively discussion with our hostess, exploring her way of life and sharing ours.

Following our home visit, it's back to the ship, but not before some quality time in the shops! We saw fur hats and coats, nesting dolls and shawls, children's toys and shoes, birch bark boxes and amber jewelry. You name it, someone had a stall with it! And we had the better part of an hour to enjoy it.

Tonight was the Captain's Farewell Dinner as we will dock tomorrow morning in St. Petersburg and end the sailing portion of our trip. What appears to be the traditional "Farewell" dessert is the parade of Baked Alaska! The chef and servers carried these beautiful flaming desserts throughout the dining room and then served ample slices at our table. It was a memorable ending to a delightful week of cruising. As we fall asleep tonight, our ship will take us to St. Petersburg and we'll awaken to this exciting city and all that it has to offer.

Kizhi Island, a Gem in Lake Onega

Friday marks the mid point of our river cruise and a highlight of the Grand Circle Russian line. At this juncture of Lake Onega, the two Russian ships, the Tikhi Don and the Rossia, cross paths. And when that happens there is much cheering, waving, and singing going on! This Lake is so huge, it's like two ships meeting in the open sea.

Our musicians delight us in preparation for the blini demonstration coming up.

In the early afternoon we assemble in the President's Lounge for a "Blini party." Our chef Aleksander will teach us how to make and, more importantly, how to flip a blin. This is the Russian version of a crepe, or thin pancake. Once the blin is cooked, a variety of fillings can be folded into it for a sweet or savory Russian treat. I put honey, jam and sour cream in mine.

A "real" chef doesn't need measuring cups and spoons!

No sooner had we eaten our fill of blini than the charming island of Kizhi appeared on the horizon. I had heard about this stop from Bill, who had taken this same trip five years ago, and knew it was going to be something really special.

As our ship closes in on the island we begin to see some of the wooden structures that mark this place a UNESCO World Heritage site. The population of the island is around 90, although thousands of visitors come annually to see the unusual churches. The area began to be populated by the Russians in the 11th-12th centuries. Kizhi soon became an important meeting place for orthodox believers and the earliest mention of the Kizhi churches was in the mid 1500's.

These are the two most prominent churches. On the left is the Church of the Transfiguration, originally intended as a summer church, with services held only in summer months. On the right is the Church of Intercession, built sometime in the mid 1700's. Both churches are now used as museums.

                            Coming up to the churches from the ship, we get a beautiful silhouette of the twenty-two domes on the Transfiguration church. The Church of Intercession is lovely in its simplicity.

One entire wall in the Church of Intercession is filled with colorful icons.



There were not as many little shops here as in the other villages we visited. Looking by myself was no fun and Graham wasn't the least bit interested. We came back to the ship before the others, so my best shopping buddy, Lois, wasn't with me either! I left Kizhi Island empty-handed!

We paused here for a glimpse of our ship at the dock. It's getting colder as we travel on our northward path towards St. Petersburg. Kizhi is our northernmost port.

Tonight we celebrate Ukrainian Cuisine in the dining room. Our waitstaff is dressed in Ukrainian attire and the menu includes Borsch and Chicken Kiev. We settle in tonight and anticipate our next stop on Onega Lake, Petrozavodsk.

Uglich, Our First Port of Call

We spent all of Wednesday morning sailing on the Volga River. Mid morning we came upon the flooded Belfry of Kalyazin. It was erected in 1800 as part of the St. Nicholas Cathedral on Kalyazin's Market Square. In the 1950's much of Kalyazin was forced to move to the higher bank as the low-lying portions were flooded to construct the Uglich Reservoir. Behind the belfry lies the town of Kalyazin, which today has a population of 15,000 people.

The belfry stands singularly amidst the waters making a beautiful and sad sight at the same time.

All along the river we witnessed the upkeep, and sometimes reconstruction, of village churches and monasteries. The similarities are evident in the onion domes, but each one has a personality of its own.

 Passage through this lock, and shared with a working boat, takes us closer to our first stop at Uglich. We continue to progress down each step as though descending a huge ladder.

 The lovely town of Uglich boasts many church domes, but the one we will visit is the pink and green one on the left. Talk about photo ops! Cameras were clicking in rapid succession as we made the bend toward our docking station. Uglich has a population of 37,000 but we will see only this riverside area on our visit.

Beyond these gates lie dozens of local "shops" featuring Russian handcrafts and souvenirs. It is a shopper's paradise! It's the end of the season and the shop owners are anxious to sell everything they can. We picked up some really good bargains on this day!

Graham met this lovely costumed lady on the bridge to the church. Our guidebook says about Uglich, "The City of Uglich is not in the present, it all lives in the past. Not much has changed since 1916."



This wooden structure lies adjacent to the Church of St. Dmitry on the Blood and the Transfiguration Chapel. It is a pleasant walk back through the shops to where the ship is docked.

As we leave Uglich and get underway down the river, the theme for dinner this night is "Russian Night." We are greeted at the door to the restaurant by wait staff dressed in bright red costume, herding us through a procession accompanied by the accordionist. What fun!



Tonight's soup is called "Solyanka," a Russian soup with assorted meat and vegetables. Dinner every night always started with an appetizer and soup. It was very easy to get spoiled at mealtime.

As part of the Russian Night celebration, all passengers who had purchased an article of Russian clothing, from Shawls to Hats and anywhere in between, were asked to wear their purchase to dinner. We then paraded around the dining hall and received a "prize," a tiny bottle of Russian vodka! I bought this beautiful shawl from a vendor in Uglich. It's one of my favorite purchases.

The evening ended with music and dancing in the President's lounge on the 4th deck. And we settled in for another restful night's sleep. Tomorrow we come to Goritsy.

Cruising from Moscow to St. Petersburg ~ Day One

After three and a half days in Moscow, our ship, the MS Tikhi Don, set sail for the cruising part of our trip. It took a little while to get out of Moscow as we sailed up the Moscow Canal toward the Volga River. You can see "old Moscow" with her high-rise apartments interspersed with industrial buildings and warehouses.

The trees along the water are just starting to change their color as the temperatures drop.

Cruise ships line the embankment of the Canal. Some are still moving passengers along the river ways, while others are getting ready to wait out the long winter ahead. Our ship will remain in Moscow after it makes a return cruise near the end of October. It will remain docked in the icy canal where needed repairs will be made under the Captain's supervision.

Soon after leaving port we are all instructed for the emergency drill. This "one size fits all" life jacket is reason enough to hope we don't have to utilize it! Once all passengers are briefed and sure of their places, we settle into a relaxing afternoon of sailing.

 As soon as we get away from the city, the shore takes on a park like atmosphere. There are many places with children's play equipment and picnic tables. As we get further north we notice the leaves on the trees are starting to turn brilliant hues of gold and red.

The canal is dotted with splashes of color.

There are many places along this part of the Canal where you find pleasure boats of all sizes. We saw many men out in small boats fishing, and in other boats, large and small, just enjoying the water.

Still others were fishing from the shore.

Dotted all along the Canal were these lovely church steeples with their colorful onion-domed tops. It seems that every village, town, or city has an abundance of churches. We will find in the days ahead that in some cases, the buildings are used as museums. But most are still actively utilized for worship.

                                                                         There is no lack for creativity in the decor of the churches. We saw every color, gilt and shape imaginable. 

Over the next six days we will pass through 17 locks, taking us down over 800 feet, through rivers, reservoirs, and lakes. Many of the stations still bear witness to the Soviet Union and the circumstances under which the locks were constructed.

Passage through each of the locks was smooth and swift. When passing through them at night, we never had an inkling of activity. During the day, this procedure became a favorite viewing pastime for many of the passengers. We completed our first day of sailing with the Captain's Welcome Dinner and an accordion concert, then settled in for a comfortable night's sleep.

My next post will take us to Uglich. Stay tuned!

Starting Out in Moscow

We landed in Moscow on a Friday afternoon, tiredness setting in from little or no sleep on the plane, and a nasty sinus/cold thing brewing in my head. By the time we reached the ship it was after 8 p.m. and we were ushered quickly to the dining room for a late dinner. The greeting was a musical, colorful, noisily happy welcome from members of the crew who were to be our family for the next fourteen days. The landing was hard, but the promise of adventure was stronger. Tomorrow we would hit the ground running. There was much to see in Moscow!

This picture of St. Basil's in Red Square is probably the most recognized icon of all Russia. It really is breathtaking and we were able to get up close and personal with it. In the off-season the crowds are dwindling, so we weren't rushed or pushed around.

Our travel companions, Pat Wilson and Lois and Doug White, were just as awestruck as we, hungrily taking in every detail of color and structure. We couldn't take enough pictures as we captured every angle of every building. And yes, there are that many onion domes in Moscow!

 Yes, we all did the goofy tourist thing, standing beside the gorgeous buildings and having our picture taken for posterity, or maybe just proof that we really were there!

This is one of many red brick buildings, mostly government offices, that make Red Square the beautiful place it is.

I turn into a sour puss when Graham insists on pointing a camera at me. I love seeing everyone else in my pictures, just not me.

It's also very cold and windy on this day, and I am realizing to my sorrow that I did not prepare well when packing my "winter" clothes. I left my nice warm, flannel lined jacket in the closet at home, choosing instead this lightweight one. My first purchase on the ship, later in the day, will be a fleece vest that zips all the way up my neck!


Because of the cold and wind, and my unfortunate choice of clothing, in just a few hours I began experiencing that old familiar pain behind my heart. The more I walked, the more pronounced it became. And when we walked into the Metro station and the stuffiness of the large room, it was apparent that I couldn't continue with the group. Our wonderful Program Director situated us with a taxi and directions back to the ship where I was able to sleep off some cold medicine and catch up on much needed sleep.

After dinner, Graham, Pat, Lois and Doug took the optional "Moscow at Sunset" tour and were dazzled by the light show that illuminated the now familiar buildings. Night photography being what it is, not many of his photos were good, but this is surely representative of Moscow in the evening.

The next day was one that I could enjoy staying on the ship while my companions took off for more sightseeing of Moscow, including a visit to the New Maiden Cemetery where large and realistic statues memorialized the deceased residents. In the afternoon two Russian veterans of World War II came to talk to our passengers about their experiences in the war. It was a good time to explore the Tihki Don and become acquainted with my temporary home. Just down the hall from our cabin were my two favorite places - the Library with two internet enabled computers, and the most lovely on board gift shop. Lois and I would soon become fast friends with the sales girls!

 Our final full day in Moscow included visits to the Kremlin and the Armory. The word "kremlin" simply means "fortress;" thus, the Russian Kremlin is a walled area which surrounds palaces and cathedrals. The official residence and workplace of the Russian President is within its walls.
The Assumption Cathedral (left) was the site for the coronation of the Russian tsars.

Red buildings and red brick walls surround the Kremlin, where security is very tight and tourists have access to only a small portion of the area.

By this day we are much smarter in our choices of winter wear and we are all wearing many layers of warmth to protect us from the cold! The temperatures remained between 45 and 55 degrees the entire two weeks we were there.


In the evening we were blessed to hear a concert of acapella singers, the Zlatoust Singers. Their sound was magnificent and the costumes in the second half became an inspiration for a Russian quilt.
Our ship will depart Moscow at noon the next day and begin our cruise on the Moscow Canal, the Volga River, Lake Onega, the Svir River, Lake Ladoga, and finally the Neva River. Stay tuned for some of the most beautiful countryside you'd ever imagine seeing in this giant country of Russia.