To Russia With Curiosity Part 2: Volga: Riverboat Experience – Volga, Russia

To Russia With Curiosity Part 2: Volga: Riverboat Experience
Volga River, Russia

The village of Svirstroy was a quiet relief after the hustle and bustle of touring St. Petersburg.

We were told locals might approach and invite us into their homes. I know what you’re thinking. A touristy trap. Ah, so what. I’m game. I’ll never come here again.

We kept walking along a road toward a grocery store. This “grocery” store had not much on the shelves. I bought two bottles of beer and two chocolates. As we made our way back, I was disappointed that no local invited us into the home.

Then a toothless man approached us near the pier. We were offered cherry vodka (yuuuuuummmmmmy!!!!), tea and cookies. Yes, we handed them money for their “kindness”. We sat in a room with a small table and two beds. Beside the room was a kitchen. We didn’t peak to see what was behind the kitchen.

Our lunch was outside over a tent. The smell of barbecue chicken, pork (shish kabobs) stirred the hunger. Salads of all kinds. Included in our lunch were wine and soft drinks.

It was 11:00 p.m. I strained to stay awake, as I wanted to watch the sunset. Only about four hours of darkness. They pay for it a few months down the road with only a few short hours of brightness.

View of Transfiguration Church

Kitzhi Island is a UNESCO heritage site. Our riverboat docked between 8:00 a.m. to noon. The tour of the island included the church, peasants’ homes of the 19^th century and climbed into a miniature sauna. We were warned to keep on the path and not the tall grass where the rattlesnakes slithered. Yuck. Made me squirm just thinking about it. I hate snakes.

Kitzi is small and narrow measuring 6 kilometres by 1 kilometre. The impressive Transfiguration Church, built in 1714, has 30,000 shingles on 22 domes. The shingles are made of aspen wood; which resists weather fairly well. When our riverboat approached the island in the morning, seeing this church was incredible.

Our short stay in Goritsky featured the Monastery of the White Lake in Kirillov, a four-kilometre bus ride from the pier. It was founded in 1397. After our tour of the monastery, I sat down and had an ice cream bar, a favourite pastime for me here in Russia.

Market in Town

We didn’t dock at Yaroslavl until 4:00 p.m. We visited the Church of St. Elijah with a beautiful interior of bright frescoes. We were given some free time to explore the town and found a local colourful market. Fresh fruits and vegetables made me want gobble them up. They were stacked one on top of another in a triangle shape.

We were treated to local music and dancing, which I love to see and hear. It wasn’t the lack of air-conditioning that put me off but the mediocre entertainment. I guess this is a start for the people to perform and hopefully move on. I kind of felt sorry for them. They ran out after the show and waited for us to sell their cds.

July 1. HAPPY CANADA DAY! It’s our birthday today and some of my fellow Canadian travelers brought flags and buttons to celebrate.

Kostroma has a statue of Lenin pointing to Moscow, where in a few days we will step on the soils of the capital city. The local guide mentioned the statue is to be replaced in 2013 for another dedicating, the Romonov family. Another gorgeous sunny day as we strolled along this park with a view across the water.

One of the 16 Locks we Crossed

We stopped at Ipatiev Monastery. Many historical events took place here including a fierce challenge between the Gudunov and Romanov families before the Romanov’s established their 300-year dynasty in the 17^th century. For the linen lovers, there are plenty of stalls selling linen just outside the monastery. A few of us broke away from the shops and walked around the neighborhood. I love getting to the heart of places.

That night, celebrating our nation’s birthday, the staff made a cake with a design of Canadian flag.

A few of us decided to skip the walking tour of Uglich, one of Russia’s old cities, founded in 973 according to legends but first written records date back to 1149. Church of St. Dmitry on the Blood has a cluster of blue domes. It was built in the 1690s where Dimitry’s murdered body was found. Dimitry was the son of Ivan the Terrible. I walked further away from the hustle and bustle of the souvenir shops by the pier. I just meandered what looked to be the main street of Uglich.

It’s the Captain’s Farewell already! It sounded so final yet we still had three nights in Moscow.

The next morning I woke up early. The sun came out at 4 a.m. We were making our way to Moscow. Check out Part 3 of “To Russia With Curiosity” by clicking on the author’s name below.