REFLECTIONS ON RUSSIA

After spending 12 days in Russia, along the canals, in the small towns and in the cities, John and I feel we "know" Russia, not perfectly but quite well. The trip was packed full of sightseeing, lectures and special cultural events. There wasn't much time for shopping but all on board seemed to find what they wanted to buy. Here are a few of my closing thoughts:

I do not like Russian writing; it gives me a headache. I will see some familiar letters and numbers in a word and then it goes crazy.

There are bronze statues everywhere of Russian heroes, good and bad. These statues are in parks, gardens, in front of buildings or next to a road. The most popular statue is that of Peter the Great.

At least 75% of what we saw in Russia were churches(palaces were second). John was thinking what we would visit if there were no churches. Even though Stalin closed the churches during Communist times, at least he didn't destroy them. I wonder why. Russians love their churches but the country has gone so long without religion that it is not considered necessary to appreciate their churches. Our guide, Svetlana, said only time will tell if a religious revival will occur.

To live in Russia one must have a lot of black clothes, jeans and a leather jacket. Girls wear very tight pants, very short skirts and very high heels or boots.







The traffic in Moscow is as bad as people say it is. The situation doesn't look to improve.

I never realized how vital the waterways are to Russia and I did not know about the lock system that made possible the trip between St. Petersburg and Moscow.

I do not know how to end this blog so I will just put in another beautiful sunset picture.

MOSCOW, DAY 3

Our last day in Moscow was cold and rainy, the only bad weather we have had on our trip. Our tour was to the Kremlin. Kremlin means fortress and many cities in Russia have Kremlins but the Moscow Kremlin is the famous one. It is huge, a city in itself with churches, monasteries, palaces, government buildings and barracks. The first wooden Kremlin was built in the 12th century. The brick walls, the 19 towers and other fortifications have been added over the years. At the center of the Kremlin is Cathedral Square where famous grouped churches rise into the sky. St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral is where many czars and their families were burried. I actually had my hand on the tomb of Dimitri, Ivan the Terrible's youngest son.



We had to go through security to get into the Kremlin.








The government buildings are colorful and restored, not grey as in the movies.












It is hard not to keep taking pictures of the churches!







These are views from inside the Kremlin to the Moscow River.



The new red hat John bought me is perfect for Moscow!



The Czar bell in Cathedral Square is the largest bell ever to be cast but it lies on the ground, flawed when a piece broke off during cooling.










These postcards show the Kremlin on a sunny day.
We were going to stay downtown all afternoon but the weather was too bad so we took the bus back to the boat and packed to go home. Below are pictures of our farewell dinner with friends. it was a perfect way to end a truly wonderful trip.



We enjoyed drinks and music in the Sky Bar with Bill and Pam.



Judy and I snagged a table for 8. We definitely had the most fun of anyone in the dining room.



Our Restaurant manager deserves credit for the pounds added.






Jo Jo and Forris made us promise that we would send pictures to their relatives in Indonesia.

MOSCOW, DAY 2

Today John went to the Russian Military Museum in the morning. He was disappointed because the emphasis was on the bravery of the Russian people during WWII not the military weapons and strategy of the Cold War. The guide spoke no English so one of the ship's guides had to translate everything. No conversation between guide and group was possible.
I went in the afternoon to the Old Tretyakov Gallery, one of the largest Russian art museums. It dates to 1856 when Pavel Tretyakov began his collection ranging from icons to the beginning of Russian painting in the 18th century to contemporary pieces. Tretyakov wanted Russian art housed separately. He gave his entire collection to the state and his house was expanded to become the museum.
Our guide was just the best! I learned that before Peter the Great the only art done in Russia was religious--icons and frescos. Peter sent artists to Europe to study and observe so in the 1700's Russian portraits and landscapes start to appear in the country.
The museum has paintings in rows to the ceiling on every wall. The portraits were my favorites especially those of children. I saw some paintings that took the artist 20 years to complete; they were the largest paintings I have seen anywhere in the world. There were beautiful sculptures and a whole floor devoted to icons, some dating to the 13th century. John and I decided that I definitely picked the better tour.



Going back to the bus we walked over a bridge that had trees on it with hearts hanging from the branches. It is a Moscow custom on one's wedding day for the bride and groom to go to the bridge, lock the decorated heart on the tree and throw away the key in the river. The couple vow that their love will last forever!

MOSCOW, DAY 1

We saw people having a picnic on the banks of the Moscow Canal as we approached Moscow. After lunch we went on a city tour that included a scenic look-out with motorcycles and brides.





















We took a ride on the Moscow Metro. Each station is a separate work of art filled with statues and marble floors and different kinds of wood. Also, it has the longest and deepest escalator in the world.






We are now in Red Square which is huge and surrounded by the Kremlin, the Lenin tomb, St Basil's Cathedral and The Gum Department store.




The statues here contain the ashes of the previous Soviet leaders.



Everyone gets their picture taken in front of St. Basil's.




Here is St. Basil's with the top showing.



This is a beautiful church on Red Square. I bought this Madonna icon before I saw it here.
We walked to the Bolshoi Theater, pictured below, but it is being renovated so we saw a performance of Esmeralda in another theater. It was magnificent.









Our last stop of the evening was the bar on the 12th floor of the Ritz Hotel. We went outside on their rooftop and could see all of Red Square lit up like a fairyland. I never thought I would describe Red Square in Moscow as a fairyland! Our cab home was twice what we agreed to pay but we decided we were just glad to be safely back at the ship at 12:30am, 45 minutes from Moscow with a non-English speaking driver!

UGLICH, the town and visiting a Russian home

The approach to Uglich is memorable because of the brightly colored churches. Uglich flourished in the 13th and 14th centuries and was favored by Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century. Dmitry, Ivan's son, was murdered by Boris Godunov as he seized the crown. On the spot where the murder took place the city built the magnificent St. Demetrius on the Blood.















We met our "movie star" guide, Robert, and he led us to the Church of St. Dimitrius on the Blood.




























Here, again, we saw more beautiful icons and frescos. We were then treated to a concert by a men's choir---and this was all at 9am!

We then were taken to a Russian home where a lovely Russian woman had prepared her table for us. We had toasts with her homemade vodka to health, happiness and continued travels. Svetlana translated for us and we all asked questions to her. She was born in this house that her parents built by themselves after WW II. She was a retired teacher and liked artistic hobbies. Everyone agreed it was one of the highlights of the trip.

























The sun came out so everyone enjoyed a Russian lunch on the outside deck. We went through locks on the Volga river, went under lovely bridges and admired the countryside. As we get closer to Moscow the homes along the river get bigger.





























Our evening ended with a fairy tale production by some of the passengers.