June 10

Moscow by Night

As the title indicates, this next event would totally challenge our natural circadian rhythms.  Raised with a solid (if not godly) midwestern mentality of “early to bed, early to rise,” Moscow by Night is particularly daunting when you realize how late night arrives in Moscow at this time of year . . .

[Boarding the bus . . . ]

[For the ride downtown . . . ]

[Again past the Radisson Royal Hotel on the Moskva River . . . ]

[To Victory Park, the Obelisk on Poklonnaya Hill . . . ]

[Chapel of St. George on Poklonnaya Hill . . . ]

[Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Victory Park . . . ]

[Victory Park:  In the 1960s, the Soviet authorities decided to put the area to use as an open-air museum dedicated to the Russian victory over Napoleon. The New Triumphal Arch was reconstructed here in 1968. The huge panorama “Battle of Borodino” was installed here in 1962.  The Victory Park and the Square of Victors are important parts of the outdoor museum. In 1987 the hill was leveled to the ground and in the 1990s an obelisk was added with a statue of Nike and a monument of St. George slaying the dragon.  The obelisk’s height is exactly 141.8 metres (465 ft), which is 10 centimetres (3.9 in) for every day of the War. A golden-domed Orthodox church was erected on the hilltop in 1993-95, followed by a memorial mosque and the Holocaust Memorial Synagogue.  At the 60th V-day celebrations in 2005, President Vladimir Putin inaugurated 15 extravagant bronze columns, symbolizing main fronts and navies of the Red Army during World War II (Wikipedia)].

[Moscow State University in the background . . . ]

[The Putin columns . . . ]

[About as close as we ever got to modern skyscraper Moscow . . . ]

[Memorial Complex Honoring Cities of Military Glory . . . ]

[Here we come; Walkin’ down the street; We get the funniest looks from; Everyone we meet; Hey, hey, we’re the Monkees . . . ]

[Hale and farewell, obelisk . . . ]

[On the road again.  This appears to be some sort of building under a black light?]

[It’s 10:24 pm – do you know where your children are?]

[Ahhh, back to Red Square – and GUM . . . ]

[Almost looks Las Vegasy, eh?]

[The ‘U’?]

[And now, you’ve seen them in daylight – now see them at night.  First up, the ever popular St. Basil’s . . . ]

[And the ever popular Kremlin clock tower . . . ]

[And GUM . . . ]

[FIFA is taking over . . . ]

[Not your everyday department store.  Well, unless you’re Russian . . . ]

[Quite the setting . . . ]

[The Super lines herself up with St. Basil . . . ]

[The Super’s selfie . . . ]

[And us by Pam . . . ]

[Of course, night shots are mainly just about being artsy-fartsy . . . ]

[To the boat!  We would now commence our midnight cruise . . . ]

[And Pam’s lovin’ it!]

[Turning a corner and under a bridge, our first sighting of some really amazing  . . .  sights!]

[Unknown (or maybe previously identified?) yellow buildings on the Moskva . . . ]

[Just cruisin’, soaking it all up . . . ]

[The tall one is the Swissotel Krasnye Holmy, a luxury hotel . . . ]

[Moscow International House of Music . . . ]

[Yup, the Radisson again . . . ]

[Previously known as the Ukraine Hotel . . . ]

[Zaryadye Park sits atop the territory of Moscow’s oldest neighborhood outside the Kremlin . . . ]

[Zaryadye Park is a landscape urban park located adjacent to Red Square on the site of the former Rossiya Hotel.  Zaryadye Park is the first public park built in Moscow for over 50 years, the last being the Soviet Friendship Park built for the 1957 Festival of Youth and Students.  The park was inaugurated on 9 September 2017 by Vladimir Putin and Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin.  ‘Time’ magazine puts Zaryadye Park on 2018 list of World’s Greatest Places (Wikipedia).  We were here again the next day, so stay tuned . . . ]

[Continuing on . . . ]

[To St. Basil’s and . . . ]

[The Kremlin . . . ]

[And bridges . . . ]

[To more Kremlin stuff . . . ]

[The Great Kremlin Palace . . . ]

[And the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour . . .]

[The aforementioned (and visited) Zaryadye Park with the “floating bridge” on the way back . . . ]

[And the previously visited Moscow International House of Music . . . ]

[Let’s call it a night at the hostel . . . ]

[We’re chilly, and damp, and  . . . happy!]

[See you again tomorrow for our last full day in Russia (photo by Pam).]

Yesterday I bought my first pair of American shoes. They were made in Italy.  ~  Vladimir Ivanoff

Up Next: The last full day in Russia.

June 10

Moscow

Our second day in Moscow would begin, in the afternoon, with a shore excursion to the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts . . . 

[This is the view from out boat’s “parking lot” . . . ]

[De-boating to board buses for the trip to the museum . . . ]

[It was a Sunday afternoon, the traffic was light . . . ]

[A reminder of soccer (futbol) games to come . . . ]

[We’re downtown now . . . ]

[And now a series of statues as we roll along – I believe this is Pushkin . . . ]

[Dunno . . . ]

[Dunno . . . ]

[Should know?]

[And back to the ever popular Vladimir . . . ]

[And now, we’re in the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts.  I did not shoot the exterior of the building until we left – so it will be at the end of this missive . . . ]

[So we begin a long series of what’s called “art” . . . ]

[I do not know much about “art” other than I take lots of photos of it . . . ]

[So commentary will be little befitting my knowledge . . . ]

[Just know that I shoot what ever captures the attention of the windmills of my mind . . . ]

[Our guide, obviously, with the Viking lollipop . . . ]

[This is generically called a “bust” . . . ]

[This is generically called a “painting” . . . ]

[And I have heard of such, so far, as Rodin (pronounced row-dan), Manet (man-ay), and Degas (day-gah) . . . ]

[And Renoir (wren-wha) – plus I think “Jeanne” is really cute . . . ]

[And this is “sculpture” . . . ]

[And this is called a “nude” – I know that because it’s the title of the “painting” . . . ]

[And Monet (mow-nay), not to be confused with Manet . . . ]

[This is called a “kiss” . . . ]

[Another bust, of Cezanne (say-zon) . . . ]

[Particularly partial to bald guys with beards . . . ]

[The best thing about works by the old masters, it’s not difficult to guess the titles.  Here is a man smoking a pipe, so logicically enough it’s titled “Man Smoking a Pipe” . . . ]

[The Super perusing “paintings” . . . ]

[And Van Gogh (van-phlegmish cough) . . . ]

[Girl with a jug, obviously . . . ]

[Guide with a pointing arm . . . ]

[Guide pointing out our previously recognized “Nude” . . . ]

[Did you know the artists used paint and canvas?]

[And Gauguin (go-gan).  We’ve been to Arles, but don’t recognize any of these French people . . . ]

[This is called a “still life,” because it doesn’t move . . . ]

[This is called a “caravan” . . . ]

[A/k/a, a water nymph . . . ]

[As should by now be obvious, Gauguin spent a lot of time in French Polynesia . . . ]

[Always remember while traveling, when you escape modernity you escape escalators and elevators . . . ]

[I don’t know about Bonnard, other than he died in the year I was born . . . ]

[Would you have guessed “Lady With Black Glove”?]

[We’re forever searching for benches – just standing is hard on the legs and back . . . ]

[And Matisse (meh-teece) . . . ]

[And Rousseau (rue-sew) . . . ]

[And one of my favorites for obviousness – “Young Acrobat on a Ball”) . . . ]

[Not to be confused with “Young Acrobat on a Ball” . . . ]

[Unknown (to me) artist’s woman’s portrait . . . ]

[And Chagall (shuh-gaul) . . . ]

[I supposed she could just be “sitting”?]

[Ahhh, the Romans . . . ]

[A favorite for reasons unknown . . . ]

[And I love the title . . . ]

[This has to be Parisienne?]

[Heading for the New York Times?]

[My first thought was teacher . . . ]

[Whom amongst us doesn’t like lutes?]

[Another “Nude”?]

[Again, great title . . . ]

[First emailed this photo to our travel agent, a horse enthusiast from her earlist years!]

[Or, On Being Shy?]

[Another title for the ages . . . ]

[Occasionally “Nudes” are standing . . . ]

[And we’re back to the beginning . . . ]

[And now outside . . . ]

[The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts . . . ]

[In Part 2, we will spend the rest of the day doing Moscow by Night.]

I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list. ~ Susan Sontag

Up Next: Part 2 . . .

June 9

Moscow

[By now, after having perused Part 1, I’m sure you realize that Moscow is not the gray, monolithic, dreary place we were always told it was.  We knew going over that St. Petersburg was a universally admired cultural and arts center, but Moscow was a surprise.  Of course, we just visited the highlights over three days, but this city of 12 million denizens was a big hit with our tour group.  So picking up where last we left off, in Manezhnaya Square . . . ]

[And here’s General Zhukov again . . . ]

[Studying the heretofore little known Manezhnaya Square insect population . . . ]

[And now hiking along the Kremlin’s outer wall . . . ]

[Patriarch Hermogenes Monument in Alexandrovsky Garden.  Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia from 1606. It was he who inspired the popular uprising that put an end to the Tine of Troubles. Hermogenes was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1913 (revolvy.com).]

[Romanovskiy Obelisk in the Alexander Garden . . . ]

[Spire of the main tourist entrance to the Kremlin . . . ]

[Alexander Garden . . . ]

[Kremlin tourist entrance . . . ]

[Strolling Alexander Garden . . . ]

[‘WC’ – universally, the most important initials to know in foreign travel . . . ]

[As noted, Moscow Kremlin Museums . . . ]

[Oh, you know . . . ]

[Fyodor Dostoyevsky, who wrote a few rather famous novels, outside the state libary . . . ]

[Russian State Library . . . ]

[Old building of the Russian State Library . . . ]

[The view from the old library . . . ]

[The old library . . . ]

[Another view from the old library, the Monument to St. Vladimir, in the center of Moscow, in Borovitskaya Square, with the Kremlin in the background . . . ]

[St. Vlad, closer-upper . . . ]

[Well, he is a central figure . . . ]

[Looking back at the old library . . . ]

[Sorry, don’t read Cyrillic . . . ]

[Appears to be adjacent to or part of the following photo . . . ]

[First sighting of (more to follow) of The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the tallest Orthodox Christian church in the world . . . ]

[Pushkin Museum, where we would go on the following day . . . ]

[Yvgeny and Natalia?  Or not?]

[Christ the Saviour and . . . ]

[The grounds around it . . . ]

[I believe we had the option to go in but were churched out and just wanted to sit in the sun . . . ]

[Notice the top of a “ship” in the left background?]

[Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and Patriarshy Bridge over Moskva River . . . ]

[A view from the bridge . . . ]

[Patriarshy Bridge is a steel pedestrian box girder bridge that spans Moskva River and Vodootvodny Canal, connecting Cathedral of Christ the Saviour with Bersenevka in downtown (0.6 kilometers west from the Kremlin). It was built in 2004; the second part of the bridge spanning Vidiitvodny Canal was opened in September 2007 (Wikipedia).]

[The Peter the Great Statue is a 98-metre-high (322 ft) monument to Peter the Great, located at the western confluence of the Moskva River and the Vodootvodny Canal in central Moscow.  It was designed by the Georgian designer Zurab Tsereteli to commemorate 300 years of the Russian Navy, which Peter the Great established. It was erected in 1997 and is the 8th-tallest statue in the world.  It weighs around 1,000 tons and contains 600 tons of stainless steel, bronze and copper (Wikipedia).]

[The bridge view opposite Peter the Great includes the Kremlin, et al . . . ]

[A chilly wind was blowing . . . ]

[Impressive!]

[Impressive!]

[In the center background appears to be the Old Building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs . . . ]

[Possibly an oligarch roaring by in a blue Porsche . . . ]

[Another World Cup reminder . . . ]

[A new tall building . . . ]

[Another new tall building . . . ]

[With the three preceding pictures, we were on our way to a classical folklore concert.  So, I believe this a view from Sparrow Hills (Vorobyovy Gory) and Moscow State University – a scenic overlook of the city as we’re riding in the bus.  It would have been nice to stop along here to enjoy the view, but there was no where to park . . . ]

[More FIFA Fanfest . . . ]

[Another overlook shot while on the go – kind of a “hello, young lovers” spot . . . ]

[And we have arrived at the concert venue . . . ]

[Alexey guides us in . . . ]

[The empty stage . . . ]

[The overhead lights . . . ]

[The full stage . . . ]

[As the performance has begun . . . ]

[The maestro . . . ]

[Starring traditional Russian instruments – balalaikas, domras, guslis, bayans . . . ]

[We very much enjoyed the concert . . . ]

[I wanted to ask if they would perform at our high school’s Performing Arts Center . . . ]

[But we were nearing the end of our trip, and I was running short on rubles . . . ]

[This appears to be our group performing, on loan from YouTube . . . ]

[And now the sights and sounds of the city as we bus back to our boat . . . ]

[I don’t recall what this building once was, but now it’s a Radisson . . . ]

[And a bit of the modern skyline . . . ]

[Say good night, Moscow . . . ]

If you think adventure is dangerous try routine, it’s lethal.  ~  Paulo Coelho

Up Next:  More Moscow . . .

June 9

Moscow

We finally made it to the capital city – hoping for high tea with Vladimir . . . 

[The outskirts of the city – a tight squeeze, but both boats made it . . . ]

[The Moscow Canal, named the Moskva-Volga Canal until 1947, is a canal that connects the Moskva River with the Volga River. It is located in Moscow itself and in the Moscow Oblast (Wikipedia).]

[A beautiful morning for cruising the canal with Mimosa in hand . . . ]

[Looks like the final lock ahead . . . ]

[A bridge to somewhere under construction . . . ]

[The excitement builds among the passengers . . . ]

[A final lesson from our crack guides . . . ]

[Sasha is always a good one to warm up the crowd . . . ]

[We have to start teaching this again in our own country . . . ]

[Reaching the exurbs . . . ]

[If the Russian economy is struggling, it wasn’t apparent amidst all the new construction going on . . . ]

[Nice day, if a tad chilly for the 2nd week in June . . . ]

[Carb up before the march into the city . . . ]

[OK, a little vino doesn’t hurt either . . . ]

[We’ve docked and are now . . . ]

[Off and hiking to one of the world’s great subway systems . . . ]

[Passing a few artifacts along the way . . . ]

[We’re at the subway!  ATM’s can be problematic anywhere . . . ]

[And here we go . . . ]

[Pam and Tom lead the way through the turnstiles . . . ]

[The Moscow Metro opened in 1935 with one 11-kilometre (6.8 mi) line and 13 stations, it was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union. As of 2018, the Moscow Metro has 222 stations and its route length is 379.1 km (235.6 mi), making it the sixth longest in the world. The system is mostly underground, with the deepest section 84 metres (276 ft) underground at the Park Pobedy station, one of the world’s deepest (Wikipedia).]

[Long distances between stations have the positive effect of a high cruising speed of 41.7 kilometres per hour (25.9 mph). The minimum interval between trains is 90 seconds during the morning and evening rush hours. (This is amazing!) As of 2017 the system had an average daily ridership of 6.99 million passengers. Peak daily ridership of 9.71 million was recorded on 26 December 2014.  Free Wi-Fi has been available on all lines of the Moscow Metro since 1 December 2014 (Wikipedia).]

[One train just left – but here comes another!]

[The downtown stations, of course, are also known for their artwork . . . ]

[Art museums themselves . . . ]

[As our guide explains it all to us . . . ]

[Mosaics . . . ]

[Amazing stuff . . . ]

[We weren’t in any hurry to leave the system . . . ]

[But tried not to get tampled by the 7 million daily riders . . . ]

[Another long escalator ride to . . . ]

[More art . . . ]

[The Super found a friend . . . ]

[Or two . . . ]

[And we’re up and out at – a beer restaurant?]

[Just outside our subway stop in the vicinity of Red Square.  The building in the background to the right of the carousel is the Bolshoi Ballet Theatre . . . ]

[The Super found another friend . . . ]

[Gathering for our walkabout instructions.  We would be free to wander wherever we wanted meeting later at a designated time and place . . . ]

[Ready, set, go . . . ]

[We would eventually make our way to the Bolshoi . . . ]

[But first, the Four Seasons Hotel . . . ]

[Though the Bolshoi never leaves our sight . . . ]

[Good Wine Bar – who’da thunk?]

[On Manezhnaya Square, the City Duma in the foreground; the State History Museum in the background . . . ]

[Resurrection Gate, the main gate into Red Square, between the Duma and the History Museum . . . ]

[The Duma (City Hall) . . . ]

[Panning Manezhnaya Square, the front of the Four Seasons Hotel on the right . . . ]

[The State History Museum at Manezhnaya Square . . . ]

[With the statue of Marshal Georgy Zhukov.  In recognition of Zhukov’s role in World War II, he was chosen to personally take the German Instrument of Surrender and to inspect the Moscow Victory Parade of 1945 (Wikipedia).]

[The Super leads us toward Red Square . . . ]

[And we’re in!  Here’s the Kazan Cathedral . . . ]

[In Red Square with GUM on the left.  GUM is the main department store in many cities of the former Soviet Union, known as State Department Store.  The most famous GUM is the large store in the Kitai-gorod part of Moscow facing Red Square. It is currently a shopping mall (Wikipedia).]

[On the right, the Kremlin wall.  Reminder again – the FIFA World Cup was just days away so lots of contruction going on . . . ]

[Nikolskaya Street, next to GUM, with the hanging lights . . . ]

[Spasskaya Tower, the Kremlin’s clock tower . . . ]

[Apparently a tourist hotel on Red Square?]

[The Super enjoying Nikolskaya Street . . . ]

[As were many others . . . ]

[We entered GUM ISO ice cream!]

[Your guess is as good a mine?]

[Exiting GUM . . . ]

[Sidewalk cafes outside GUM . . . ]

[GUM has been around a while . . . ]

[And now the star attraction on Red Square – St. Basil’s Cathedral.  The Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed, commonly known as Saint Basil’s Cathedral, is one of the most popular symbols of the country. The building, now a museum, is officially known as the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat or Pokrovsky Cathedral.  It was built from 1555–1561 on orders from Ivan the Terrible and commemorates the capture of Kazan and Astrakhan. It was the city’s tallest building until the completion of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower in 1600 (Wikipedia).]

[A good backdrop for modeling . . . ]

[5 from the Super in Red Square . . . ]

[And 5 from me in Red Square . . . ]

[And the clock tower again . . . ]

[And GUM . . . ]

[Pam displays in front of St. Basil’s . . . ]

[The entranceway to the Red Square through the Resurrection Gate from the side of Tverskaya street and Manezhnaya Square is historically considered to be the front gate of the city.  It is no exaggeration to say that any modern traveller to Moscow passes through this gate. The Resurrection Gate arch establishes a visual link between two other remarkable buildings – the State Historical Museum and the Museum of the War of 1812, while the small chapel by the gate houses one of the most venerated icons – the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God. Right in front of the gate there is the “Kilometer Zero sign“ – this is the centre of Moscow and the starting point for measuring all distances in Russia (moscovery.com).]

[And as the Super demonstrates, this is where tourists stop and make a wish throwing a coin over their shoulders . . . ]

[Strolling outside Red Square . . . ]

[Outside the Kremlin Wall . . . ]

[To the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier . . . ]

[The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a war memorial, dedicated to the Soviet soldiers killed during World War II.  It is located at the Kremlin Wall in Alexander Garden (Wikipedia).]

[Looking back out at the Four Seasons Hotel . . . ]

[Leaving the Tomb of the Unknown . . . ]

[Back out onto Manezhnaya Square, where will next begin Part 2 of the same day . . . ]

To Moscow, to Moscow, to Moscow!  ~  Anton  Chekhov

Up Next: Moscow . . .

June 8

Uglich

The last stop before Moscow . . . 

[This was dee-lish!!]

[Buildings on the river front . . . ]

[A monastery?  A resort?]

[Boats on the river with the Transconfiguration Cathedral in the background . . . ]

[A double header of St. Dimitry on the Blood Cathedral and the Transconfiguration Cathedral . . . ]

[The Church of St. Dmitry on the Blood stands on a steep bank of the Volga, but initially at the same location there was a wooden chapel built in memory of the tsarevich. Later on, in 1603, the chapel was replaced by a wooden church, and only in 1692 a church of stone was erected in lieu of that wooden one. The templar part of the church has preserved ancient wall painting depicting the death of tsarevich Dmitry and a massacre of the crowd over the alleged killers. Stylistically, it looks like a monumental Yaroslavl and Kostroma painting of the XVII century, but is much inferior to it in grace and colors. The wall painting in the refectory was done later, in 1788, by Pyotr Khlebnikov. In a realistic manner, he depicted scenes of the traditional Biblical legend from the Old Testament “On the Creation of the World and the Fall of Adam and Eve”.  Decorated with wrought metal plates, the refectory ancient painted door, extant from the time when the church was built is also of great interest in the interior design of the temple. In addition, the temple displays an infamous “exiled” bell – the very bell whose toll shook the world at the day of tsarevich death. The bell tongue was drawn and the bell itself was sent into exile, and only after a long time it was returned to Uglich.  Today the Church of St. Dmitry on the Blood belongs to the local museum, the admission to it is paid (adventour.com).]

[A raw, ugly day in Uglich . . . ]

[Up close with St. Dimitry on the Blood . . . ]

[Prince Dmitry . . . ]

[Pam and the prince . . . ]

[Huddled masses . . . ]

[Readying for assault on the church . . . ]

[Pam’s shot of our guide.  No, that is not a clown’s nose . . . ]

[The Transfiguration Cathedral was erected in 1485 in place of a dilapidated wooden church of the XIII century.  The present building of the Transfiguration Cathedral was erected in the period from 1700 to 1713. The temple was built of stone by Yaroslavl masters, who decorated the magnificent five-domed building with lush platbands in baroque style.  In 1730 an octagonal stone bell tower in “Naryshkin” style was attached to the cathedral. The remarkable fact is that the bell tower was built particularly on the spot, once occupied by the old wooden church bell tower, from which the bell ringer announced the death of Tsarevich Dmitry to the Uglich people by a peal of bell.  After many years of exile, the bell was returned to Uglich and today it can be seen in the Church of St. Dimitry on the Blood.  In 1809–1811, masters from the serf artist Medvedev workmen’s cooperative association painted the cathedral walls. Among the subjects of painting there is a copy of the works of Italian artists Guido Reni, Guercino, Domenichino.  The “Transfuguration” the main temple composition is a copy of the Raphael Sanzio’s painting, kept in the Vatican. The scenes of the painting also show the life of Christ and illustrate the Gospel parables. In 1853 the cathedral was fitted with a golden carved iconostasis filled with sixty ancient icons, dating back to the XVII-XVIII centuries (adventour.com).]

[Tom checks to see if we’re still on schedule . . . ]

[Transconfiguration Cathedral . . . ]

[Chapel of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky . . . ]

[A monument to the people of Uglich who died defending their homeland . . . ]

[Then onto the bus for a visit to a local family home . . . ]

[At the table of . . . ]

[Vladimir and Rita, who have been hosting such events for several years now . . . ]

[Snacks, water, and, of course, more than one shot of vodka!]

[Their family – the visits to local families provides a nice touch to these cruises . . . ]

[Photos by Pam of our hosts . . . ]

[Interesting characters . . . ]

[Further explanation three photos down . . . ]

[The Kalyazin Bell Tower is a Neoclassical campanile rising to a height of 74.5 metres (244 ft) over the waters of the Uglich Reservoir on the Volga River opposite the old town of Kalyazin in Tver Oblast.  The steepled belfry was built in 1796—1800 as part of the Monastery of St. Nicholas, with a pentacupolar katholikon dating from 1694.  Of its 12 bells, the largest weighed some 17,000 kg. It was cast in 1895 to commemorate the coronation of Nicholas II.  When Joseph Stalin ordered the construction of the Uglich Dam in 1939 to form the Uglich Reservoir, the old parts of Kalyazin, including several medieval structures, were submerged under the reservoir’s waters. This included the Saint Nicholas Monastery and Troitsky Makariev Monastery.  The katholikon was dismantled, while the campanile was left, a landmark towering above the water (Wikipedia).]

[This is not part of the campanile.  ET, call home . . . ]

[OK, final shot of the campanile . . . ]

[How’d we get on Rainy Lake?]

[Strangely . . . ]

[Not identified in the Google machine . . . ]

[As we appear to be . . . ]

[Exiting a lock . . . ]

[To open water and a sculler . . . ]

[Back to school . . . ]

[This time with Alexey . . . ]

[Alexey thought Yeltsin was the most important leader of the Soviet era (he initiated a market-based economy); Sasha thought Gorbachev.  I wonder if Yeltsin would have been able to do what he did if Gorbachev hadn’t preceded him?]

[Then it was time for another PAR-TAY . . . ]

[As the sun begins to set over the Volga . . . ]

[Moscow’s North River Terminal (this may be the next morning?) . . . ]

It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on earth has ever produced the expression, ‘As pretty as an airport.’  ~  Douglas Adams

Up Next:  Spain? (nah, not nyet)  . . .

June 7

Yaroslavl

[We’re still at the Governor’s House – in the backyard to look at art.  It was a whirlwind tour – we had to run to get back to the bus . . . ]

[The photo above was the first one taken in the garden.  The one below, the identifier, was the last one I took as we were racing for the bus . . . ]

[The Governor’s House from the backyard garden . . . ]

[It was about here that I believe Pam got this shot . . . ]

[This was nice . . . ]

[The Super loves her animals . . . ]

[Isn’t he cute?]

[We were racing around trying to visit every sculpture in the garden . . . ]

[You may have noticed that while I was shooting the identifiers I was also taking selfies . . . ]

[Flowers (not sculptures) . . . ]

[Out of the Governor’s House and back at the Church of Elijah the Prophet . . . ]

[This is known as “the Government building in the middle of Yaroslavl.”  Seriously.  That’s all I could find on it . . . ]

[We’ll visit the inside in a bit . . . ]

[Seriously, “Government building of Yaroslavl region.”  May also be known as city hall?]

[And now a walk this way . . . ]

[Sighting the church behind us as we head to a different neighborhood . . . ]

[Yaroslavl’s coat of arms . . . ]

[We arrived at Alexander Nevskiy Chapel in the city park . . . ]

[And the fountain and themed flower beds thereof . . . ]

[And across the street to the Central Market . . . ]

[Quite a place . . . ]

[Whoa, that’s our chef!  Leonidas Kritharas, from Greece, the executive chef on the Viking Akun  . . . ]

[I don’t think he was making baklava . . . ]

[Back out to the Nevskiy Chapel park . . . ]

[And past what certainly appears to be a restaurant . . . ]

[And back to what I guess is called government center . . . ]

[The most beautiful church of the city, the Church of Elijah the Prophet is the pride and joy of Yaroslavl and the favorite tourist attraction. It was built in 1647 – 1650 and is one of the most complete and best-preserved monuments of Yaroslavl. Built on the site of two churches, the Intercession and Elijah, the church is considered a real masterpiece of ancient Russian art. The main structure of the temple is a massive building on high foundation topped with five heads resting on light drums. The drums are decorated with arches and columns and surrounded by the rows of kokoshniks. But the main thing is, of course, the interior painting, made by famous Kostroma masters. They have no equals in beauty, richness and brightness of colors (advantour.com) . . . ]

[Will some day be on the Olympic hockey team.  I should have got her autograph . . . ]

[And now inside the church . . . ]

[I don’t know what to say about all this . . . so I won’t . . . ]

[(Psst, it’s all kinda spectacular sensory overload . . . )]

[From the wonders of inside art . . . to outside art . . . ]

[As we stroll through another park to Assumption Cathedral . . . ]

[Assumption Cathedral of Yaroslavl was laid down in 1215, a year before the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery that survives to the present day. The Assumption Cathedral was more than once rebuilt and was destroyed in 1937, but on the occasion of the celebration of 1000th anniversary of the city it was restored on its original place.  Today Assumption Cathedral, that you can see at the Spit of the Volga and the Kotorosl’, is much different from the previous cathedral and first of all by its large size. But, the natives will certainly get used to its appearance, and the cathedral will become of the main sights of the city (geomerid.com.]

[An eternal flame burns in front of The Assumption Cathedral in Yaroslavl, Russia. It is flanked by monuments to men and women who served in the “Great Patriotic War” of 1941-1945. The cathedral was rebuilt in 2010 (alamy.com).]

[The sunny weather really made the golden cupolas glisten . . . ]

[Let’s go in . . . ]

[And back out again.  It must have been a non-photos inside . . . ]

[And the ringing of the bells, bells, bells, bells . . . ]

[Now I seem to recall choir practice was going on inside . . . ]

[So, onward to the Volga-Promenade . . . ]

[The oldest part of Yaroslavl is located on the cape at the confluence (there’s that word again) of the rivers Kotorosl and Volga. The area is known as the “Arrow” of Yaroslavl (Google images).]

[And now were heading back to the confluence of tourists and our bus . . . ]

[Back to the boat.  I already miss Olga.]

[After a long day out amongst ’em, a bowl of nice hot soup really hits the spot.]

The wicked at heart probably know something.  ~  Woody Allen

Up Next: Maybe volleyball?

June 7

Yaroslavl

Yaroslavl is the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, located 250 kilometers (160 mi) northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city, a World Heritage Site, is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl Rivers. It is one of the Golden  Ring cities, a group of historic cities northeast of Moscow that have played an important role in Russian history. Population: 591,486  (Wikipedia).

[On this morning we’re cruising the Rybinsk Reservoir, the 3rd largest lake in Europe (and the largest manmade body of water on the world) at 1,770 square miles.]

[It was sunny, but brisk.  So the Super decided to remain cozy in the confines of our little breakfast “cafe.”]

[We were out and about because the bridge advised of an upcoming photo op . . . ]

[Tom’s already outside, Pam’s on her way . . . ]

[And there’s our first sighting . . . ]

[The Nativity Church was built at the end of the 18th century (approximately in 1790) in Krokhino settlement (Belozersky District of Vologda Oblast). The church was at the water’s edge on the coast of Lake Beloye, at the origin of the Sheksna River.  At the beginning of the 1960s, Krokhino, Karlugino and other settlements of Belozersky District got into the inundation zone at the time of construction of deep Volga-Baltic Waterway.  The level of water in Lake Beloye has risen to guarantee depth for ships, and ancient villages and their whole history have gone underwater. The inhabitants of the inundated areas disassembled their houses and moved away.  The Nativity Church in Krokhino, famous for its location, is more likely to collapse as it stands in water. The Nativity Church became well-known because of the tourist routes that travel on Sheksna River. In 2009, a project to salvage the church was organized (Wikiedia).]

[In an otherwise isolated area . . . ]

[Moving onward . . . ]

[From sunrise . . . ]

[Across big water . . . ]

[Land ho!]

[And now, the morning’s next big photo op . . . ]

[We’re approaching Mother Volga . . . ]

[The Super’s getting excited . . . ]

[There she is!]

[Mother Volga stands on a spit of land on the reservoir side approach to the locks at the Rybinsk dam. With out stretched hand she faces the huge reservoir, one of the largest in Russia. She holds a document in her other hand, said to represent the plans for the for the lock and a bird flies at her feet.  The system of dams on the Volga have provided electricity to vast areas. Words of Lenin are engraved on the base of the statue -“Communism is the power of the Soviets plus electrification”. However in recent years there is increasing concern about the the ecological damages and pollution caused by the system of large reservoirs on the Volga.  Mother Volga displays a stylish white forelock, courtesy of the local gulls  (waymarking.com).]

[And next . . . ]

[After completing our pass of Mother Volga . . . ]

[She’s at the confluence of the Volga and Sheksna Rivers.  And no, “confluence” is note a dirty word . . . ]

[The lock at Rybinsk is at a busy junction, serving Volga River traffic headed to and from both Moscow and St. Petersburg. There are two parallel lock chambers, each 950 feet long and 98 feet wide. The rise/drop here is 46 feet but the chambers fill or empty rapidly.  Before the construction of the Rybinsk Dam, 1935-1941, the Sheksna River joined the Volga near this point. The locks are located in the bed of the Volga while the associated power plant lies in the bed of the Sheksna (waymarking.com).]

[And now through the lock . . . ]

Now let’s see the preceding sequence from the vantage of my smart phone camera, lest there would be immediate FaceBook worthy photos . . .

[And coming out of the lock . . . ]

[Vvedenskiy Tolga Convent is located on the outskirts of Yaroslavl, on the left bank of the Volga River. Founded as a monastery in 1314, it was named after the Tolga River flowing nearby. In 1987, after nearly sixty years of closure, it was reopened as a convent (russiatrek.org).]

[Pam checks it out . . . ]

Meanwhile, back to the camera camera . . . 

[It’s time for another class before they release us upon the local populace . . . ]

.

[Sasha is teaching us all about Mr. Gorbachev.  We agree he was a most significant figure of the 20th century . . . ]

[Still in view of the convent . . . ]

[Unknown church . . . lighthouse?]

[Tom and the Super in class . . . ]

[We have landed, the “Alex”bus awaits us . . . ]

[Lenin statue in bustling downtown Yaroslavl (as big as Minneapolis and St. Paul combined, with the same climate) . . . ]

[Church of Elijah the Prophet . . . ]

[The most beautiful church of the city, the Church of Elijah the Prophet is the pride and joy of Yaroslavl and the favorite tourist attraction. It was built in 1647 – 1650 and is one of the most complete and best-preserved monuments of Yaroslavl. Built on the site of two churches, the Intercession and Elijah, the church is considered a real masterpiece of ancient Russian art. The main structure of the temple is a massive building on high foundation topped with five heads resting on light drums. The drums are decorated with arches and columns and surrounded by the rows of kokoshniks. But the main thing is, of course, the interior painting, made by famous Kostroma masters. They have no equals in beauty, richness and brightness of colors (advantour.com).]

[Then it was on to the Governor’s House where, out of dozens of other decrepit old men, the lovely and talented Olga selected me to dance with her.  She was in early 19th century attire, as were the musicians. This is Olga, addressing us all, in perfect English . . . ]

[The aforementioned similarly-attired musicians . . . ]

[The similarly attired ballroom . . . ]

[My fan club (OK, they were there to see Olga) . . . ]

[And here come the dancers . . . ]

[With the aforementioned similarly-attired Olga . . . ]

[These guys had a definited attire advantage on me . . . ]

[Now joined by the “fan club” . . . ]

[Fortunately, the “fan club” did not join the musicians . . . ]

[Now you know how to do it!]

[And here we go, the Super grabbed my camera so there would be photographic evidence . . . ]

[I tried to be delicate . . . ]

[A perfectly executed right heel lift . . . ]

[And a spin (we opted not to go for the lift and toss) . . . ]

[Do-si-do . . . ]

[And allemande left . . . ]

[Well, I did make her laugh.  I think it was an Ole and Olga joke . . . ]

[And another spin . . . ]

[And this was the last spin (uffda) . . . ]

[Spasibo, Olga!]

[The Super won a flower for her journalistic coverage of the ball . . . ]

[Olga recovered in time to continue leading our tour.  Believed to be a “governor” on the wall behind her . . . ]

[Empress Ekaterina II . . . ]

[Seriously, I love this!]

[Rustic Love (does not involve a “confluence”) . . . ]

[Really liked this one, too!]

Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.  ~ Woody Allen

Up Next:Why not Russia?

June 6

Goritzy

[Heading into another “can’t see across” lake this morning. Lake Beloye (White Lake) is the 7th largest lake in Europe at 440 square miles. It’s part of the Volga-Baltic waterway as we’re heading south now, ultimately to Moscow.]

[A teaching session by Sasha.  We really enjoyed the Russian history lessons.  Sasha differed somewhat from Russians in general.  He thinks Gorbachev was the most important leader of the Soviet Union.  One of his peers, can’t remember if it was Alexey or Vadim, think it was Yeltsin because he brought capitalism to the country.  I’m in the Gorbachev camp, thinking he was one of the most important people of the 20th century.  But then I’m just a retired guy from Alex . . . ]

[The Church of the Nativity in the village of Krokhino.  For 50 years, it has been surrounded by water after the village was flooded during the construction of the Volga-Baltic Canal in 1964 (www.rbth.com).]

[Hence, we’re here as a result of the Volga-Baltic Canal . . . ]

[[I]n 1964, during the construction of the deep-water Volga-Baltic Canal, the water level in the Sheksna River was artificially raised – and the village was submerged by the lake, leaving only the white-stone church rising out of the water (www.rbth.com).]

[In Goritzy, a merchant house museum – the person standing in the door will be identified two photos down . . . ]

[We’re leaving the museum, must not have had any inside photo ops . . . ]

[This is Natalya, the person standing in the door.  She runs the place.  My Mom’s name was Natalia.  I told her that when I asked to take her picture.]

[Next:  Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, translated into English as White Lake [translation of the town name of Beloozero] St. Cyril’s Monastery, used to be the largest monastery and the strongest fortress in Northern Russia. By the 20th century, the town of Kirillov had grown nearby (Wikipedia).]

[The vast walled area of the monastery comprises two separate priories with eleven churches, most of them dating to the 16th century. Of these, nine belong to the Uspensky (Dormition, the Orthodox equivalent of the Catholic holiday known as the Assumption of Mary) priory by the lake. The Dormition cathedral, erected by Rostov masters in 1497, was the largest monastery church built in Russia up to that date. Its 17th-century iconostasis features many ancient icons, arranged in five tiers above a silver heaven gate endowed by Tsar Alexis in 1645. A lot of valuable objects kept in the sacristy are personal gifts of the tsars who visited the monastery (Wikipedia).]

[Inside, lots of restorations going on here . . . ]

[Walk this way . . . ]

[Restorations financed by tourism?  Well, why not . . . ]

[A rose by any other name . . . ]

[Let there be blue skies . . . ]

[Our guide, name now lost in the ether of 4 months time . . . ]

[But we can blow up her name tag:  “Lyuba.”]

[She’s likely telling the story of the cupola?]

[Again, designer scaffolding . . . ]

[May be getting mixed messaging?]

[OK, back with Lyuba . . . ]

[She’s telling the story of White Lake . . . ]

[Lake Beloye or White Lake is in the northwestern part of Vologda Oblast.  The town of Belozersk is located on its coast. In terms of area, Lake Beloye is the second natural lake of Vologda Oblast (behind Lake Onega), and the third lake also behind the Rybinsk Reservoir. It is one of the ten biggest natural lakes in Europe (Wikipedia).]

[I believe she told us the lake has healing or restorative powers (though I could find nothing in the literature).  All you had to do was touch the water.  Dr. Kiehne, showing a nimbleness beyond his years, squatted and touched the water.  Final results have yet to be determined . . . ]

[From cupola to cupola . . . ]

[Back on the bus, Gus.  The Super looks chilled . . . ]

[Nice views from the other side . . . ]

[No, not the entire lake . . . ]

[The bus guide with rolling commentary . . . ]

[We’re back to the ship which has moved from Goritzy to . . . ]

[Kuzino . . . ]

In time for fine shipboard dining . . . 

[More people you meet along the way. Dasha, from Russia, is there every morning at breakfast and still there when we leave after dinner at night. Rina, from the Philippines, is there to pour our wine every night. They will make 14 trips between St. Petersburg and Moscow this season. As you can see from their attire, it was “traditional” Russia night . . . ]

[Mmmmmmmmm, borscht!!!]

[And other food products . . . ]

[Purchased by the Super on the open market this day . . . ]

[The aforementioned Rina . . . ]

[Pouring our wine . . . ]

[We ate with them several times. Interesting couple whose names I can no longer remember, of course.  This was an anniversary night for them.  As I vaguely recall, I believe he escaped from behind the Iron Curtain as a young boy, on his own. I think they live in Pennsylvania or Michigan, or maybe Ecuador, who remembers such things?]

Why buy good luggage? You only use it when you travel.  ~  Yogi Berra

Up Next:  Yeah, Russia.

September 21

Homecoming Weekend

[The weekend began, as usual, with the Hall of Fame luncheon at Broadway Ballroom for three new inductees . . . ]

[Good lunch!]

September 22

[I somehow managed to miss the Homecoming parade and game (we won both), but we did make the fundraiser for the Education Foundation the next night . . . ]

[‘Twas a big crowd at Holiday Inn . . . ]

[The Super managed again to come away with 6 bottles of wine at the auction . . . ]

[And here she comes again with another “jewels” victory!]

[Woo-woo!]

September 26

[The AGC Wednesday fine dining moved to The Depot as the dining season at the golf club ended last week . . . ]

September 27

[And the monthly Class of ’65 lunch invaded Angelina’s where we talked about such as cataract surgery . . . ]

September 28

[And then the annual fundraiser for the Central Lakes Symphony Orchestra at Broadway Ballroom . . . ]

[The Super presents sumphony violinist Lesley Donahue with a bag of MY bathtub toys for her two young daughters . . . ]

[The Super and Kathy Schultz check out the auction items . . . ]

[Music fans begin to arrive . . . ]

[The Super and Kathy are still shopping . . . ]

[A string quartet begins the evening’s entertainment . . . ]

[Then the full orchestra . . . ]

[Erik was wondering if they needed a guitar player . . . ]

[And dancers took the floor . . . ]

[Dressed in our finest finery for the symphony . . . ]

[With a flutist with Trumm Drug connections . . . ]

[Then a tuba quartet . . . ]

[A flutist with Carlos Creek connections . . . ]

[Did I mention the Super got 6 more bottles of wine here?]

[John and Fran Obert?  No idea?]

[Students from senior college dance with freshmen from Alexandria Area High School . . . ]

[The high schoolers are violinists and sat at our table where they displayed a unique ability to devour meatballs . . . ]

September 29

[Where we noted the change of seasons . . . ]

[Then an afternoon at Carlos Creek Winery with the Salty Dogs.  You may recognize fiddler Greg as the tuxedoed violinist with the orchestra the previous night . . . ]

[They drew an SRO crowd – winery crew kept bringing in more tables and chairs . . . ]

[Foreground Dave was also Class of ’65, but he was only in Alex from 7th through 9th grades . . . ]

[Joined by a bride-to-be . . . ]

See the leaves fall; gee, the leaves are clumsy.  ~  (I forgot)

Up Next:  The next stop in Russia?

June 5

Kizhi

3:00 am and we’re on Lake Onega, the 2nd largest lake in Europe (4,000 square miles). We’re heading to Kizhi Island, at 62 degrees north the 3rd farthest north I’ve ever been (Fairbanks and Reykjavik at 65 degrees north). It’s now also much colder – gonna need the woolies today. And we’re trending toward White Nights – almost to 24 hours of daylight here . . .

[A cruise boat race across Lake Onega . . . ]

[First sighting of land structures . . . ]

[But the 9 days of sun and warmth have given way to cool and rainy . . . ]

[A marker “island” . . . ]

[Navigation markers . . . ]

[Aproaching the Kizhi Island Open Air Museum . . . ]

[And there it is . . . ]

[This morning on Kizhi Island. Temperature low 40’s, on-and-off hard rain, great day to visit the 22-domed Transfiguration Church, a UNESCO World Heritage site.]

[Whereas Mandrogy made no pretense of being anything other than a tourist trap (and they should be trapped every once in a while), Kizhi is the real deal.  Kizhi is an island near the geometrical center of Lake Onega in the Republic of Karelia. It is elongated from north to south and is about 6 km long, 1 km wide and is about 68 km away from the capital of Karelia, Petrozavodsk.  Settlements and churches on the island were known from at least the 15th century.  In the 18th century, two major churches and a bell tower were built on the island, which are now known as Kizhi Pogost.  Nowadays, the entire island and the nearby area form a national open-air museum with more than 80 historical wooden structures. The most famous is the Kizhi Pogost, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. (Wikipedia).]

[Photo by Pam . . . ]

[On the ground, did I mention it was cold and rainy?]

[But we puddled on . . . ]

[And there is our destination.  The light created by the changing weather was perfect here – the church appeared “lit” against the dark cloud background . . . ]

[The church is the last surviving original example of an elaborate form of north Russian church architecture consisting of ascending octagonal tiers buttressed with rectangular extensions at the points of the compass. The various components of the pine log structure are crowned with barrel gables, which support cupolas covered with aspen shingles. For the 22 cupolas of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior there are some 30,000 shingles, which were replaced in a restoration during the 1950s. The shingles are cut in a curved form to fit the contours of the cupola frame and are wedged into place beginning with the top row, which fits into a neck at the base of the cross (www.wdl.org). As is obvious, the church is currently undergoing another restoration.]

[In 1714, the 22-dome Transfiguration Church was constructed and soon after the bell tower was added, thereby completing the Kizhi Pogost. The bell tower was entirely rebuilt in 1862 (Wikipedia).]

[Not an easy makeover, the scaffolding alone is an architectural wonder . . . ]

[The existing cupolas . . . ]

[Other buildings in the “museum” . . . ]

[An amazing place considering its isolation . . . ]

[A visit inside where we’re not in the way of the work . . . ]

[Our youngish guide was obviously very proud of this historic building . . . ]

[Tom was digging it too!]

[Duck, low door . . . ]

[The view from the far side . . . ]

[Our guide gave detailed reports of the structure’s original design and how it’s being restored . . . ]

[It was an elaborate explanation, I believe I understood at the time, but now I don’t recall the specifics – something about upgrading the foundation?]

[And this was an overview as to how these buildings were designed to be comfortable during the long, cold winters . . . ]

[Maybe a little too cozy inside?]

[Where we were . . . ]

[A parting shot, sharing the stage with passengers from another boat . . . ]

[Heading back to the ship as the rain kicks up again . . . ]

[Whew, made it . . . ]

Evening boat time . . . 

[An invitation to a PAR-TAY!]

[Some PAR-TAY snacks . . . ]

[An invitation to the bridge of our Viking Akun. My technical question was how often do they have to change wiper blades. 5 years. I guess they don’t have to drive on salty roads?]

[The captain knew enough English to grin at my question . . . ]

[Oh, and back to the PAR-TAY, with toasts from the officers . . . ]

[As usual, an ending for your dining and dancing pleasure . . . ]

The gentle reader will never, never know what a consummate ass he can become until he goes abroad. I speak now, of course, in the supposition that the gentle reader has not been abroad, and therefore is not already a consummate ass.  ~  Mark Twain

Up Next:  Russia (maybe?) . . .