Sergei
Kirov ~ Viking River Cruises
Moscow to St.
Petersburg
June 23 to July 6, 2001
Part Two
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Diane & a
"Babushka" selling flowers |
Wednesday, we docked at
Uglich at 11:00 A.M. Docking this large boat (ship?) seems as
complicated as stopping an elevator at a floor. We had bow and stern
thrusters and using those, we just simply "stopped" at the
dock, tied up a couple of lines, and we stepped ashore. At many
places, we were docked or "rafted" with one or two similar
boats. We just walked through from our boat to the dock. (Or their
passengers walked through our lobby.) At Uglich we had a walking tour
to the Church of the Blood of Dimitri. Our guide was a high school
English teacher. Here we found the first onslaught of many souvenir
stands and of old women selling wildflowers for whatever they could
get to have some money to eat. It was sad. There were also some
beggars. We helped when we could but didn't contribute to young men
who could have done some kind of work. (Even picking and selling
wildflowers.) Bought some Russian military watches for friends and a
cute outfit for our granddaughter. Back on the boat, lunch featured
"Galupsy", a cabbage roll filled with minced meat. At dinner
we had "Jalupa" a Ukrainian soup and a choice of haddock or
a stuffed chicken leg. Both were delicious. During the afternoon,
there were 2 lectures; "Modern Russia and her problems", and
"The Gorbachov Phenomenon". Maria Gordeyeva, Ph.D, Russian
State University of the Humanities, in Moscow gave most of the
lectures. There were also a few round table discussions that my wife
really enjoyed. Any subject was free to be discussed. Each night there
was a very good Russian band with a girl singer playing both Russian
songs and contemporary favorites in the Panorama Bar and also in the
Library, there was a very good pianist playing classics and favorites.
Next to come, Yaroslavl and Goritzy.
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A young girl
demonstrates the old art of Russian braiding
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Thursday, we arrived at
Yaroslavl, a rather large industrial city. We toured the puppet
theater, the Church of Elijah the Prophet, and attended a very good
folklore show. Our local guide Alexi was a surgeon in regular life. He
made the equivalent of his monthly salary each day in tips from the
tour groups. He spoke very good English. We had a nice talk with him
about Russian culture and how they are ahead of us in insisting that
the arts are a critical part of the culture and every town has its
theater and musicians. Back on board, the dinner featured Italian
specialties (I forgot exactly what, but it was good). In the evening,
the ships' orchestra performed their folklore show for us in the
Panorama Bar. Very nice!
Friday we were in
Goritzy and toured the Krillov-Belezersky Monastery (now a museum).
Back on board, it was Viking night. My wife had codfish and I had one
of the best steaks I've ever had. We had "latkes" for the
appetizer. Don't ask me what they are, but they were delicious.
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The Wooden
Church at Kizhi |
Saturday, we cruised
Lake Onega en route to Kizhi. Most of the cruising was close to shore
on the rivers and we passed many villages and towns. The main
industries seemed to be logging and we saw birch logs being loaded
onto ships as late as 10:00 P.M. (It doesn't get dark until 11:30 and
the sun comes up again at 4:30 A.M.) The passing countryside reminded
me of Minnesota and we saw miles and miles of beautiful forests.
Whenever we passed people, they waved to us. We also saw many
"dachas", Russian country cottage get-aways. The city
dwellers regard having a "dacha" as a necessity and they
range from small one-room log cabins to rather elaborate country
homes. Most have a garden. While cruising on the lake we were treated
to tours of the bridge and the galley. Enrico, the German chef has
become my new "best friend". The entrees for tonight are
Sturgeon or chopped meat in a pastry roll. (It was Russia night). We
arrived at Kizhi at 4:00 P.M. and had a walking tour to see the famous
wooden church with its 22 wooden onion domes. Our guide Alexi was a
high school English teacher from a town 40 or 50 miles away.
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The crew
displays their talents on board
the Sergei
Kirov |
Back on board, the crew
put on a show for us. It was very funny with the boys spoofing a
ballet and the waitresses doing some great song and dance numbers.
Among our waitresses, there were 6 "Natasha's", "4
Natalie's", 1 "Olga", 1 "Anna" and 1 "Irina".
If you needed something, you had the odds in your favor by calling for
"Natasha". All of them were just delightful!
Sunday was spent
cruising on the Svir river. There were lots of opportunities to
observe life in small towns and villages as we cruised by. As we
passed one small village, we could hear the choir singing Russian
hymns in church. Lovely! Each day there are lectures on Russian
history, culture, politics, economy, and its past and present leaders.
These were very educational and informative when compared to our
western perceptions. As an added bonus, the cruise line has provided a
video photographer to follow us and make a video of this voyage. It
will be available to us at the end of the cruise for $25. Today we saw
a preview of the tape (first half). It was well worth the money. He
will be adding the St. Petersburg tours to what he has already shot.
The weather for this
voyage could not have been better. Sunny skies and temperatures
between 70 and 76. Only 2 brief showers in Moscow, and those were when
we were on the bus. Later in St. Petersburg, there were a couple of
fast-unexpected showers, so it was prudent to carry an umbrella
everywhere. Today, the lunch entree was breaded Pike-Perch and tonight
is the Captains' special dinner. We were served Cream of Mushroom soup
followed by Beef Wellington and Shrimp Scampi. Tonight is also the
traditional "Tip" night for the crew. There is a box placed
at the entrance to the restaurant where tips are placed for all the
Russian crew. Recommendation is $5 per person per day. All the crew
equally shares the money. Later at the end of the trip we will tip our
guides and lecturers.
Monday morning we had an
early departure for the Peter & Paul Fortress (Museum). At noon,
we bussed to the city of Pushkin where we had a traditional Russian
lunch at the "Podvorie" restaurant. In the afternoon, we
waited in line for over an hour to go through Catherine’s palace. A
sudden shower surprised us and those who had neglected to take
umbrellas got a little wet. By 4:00 P.M., we were back to the ship for
a quick snack so we could change and get ready to go to a ballet.
Dinner would be served at 10:00 P.M. We bussed to the Moussorgsky
theater and saw "Corsar". I've never been to a ballet
before, so I not only couldn't tell the players without a number on
their backs, I couldn't even tell who had the ball. Actually, it was
enjoyable and the theater was very pretty. Those who knew ballet said
that the lead dancers were very good and the rest were pretty good.
This company is supposedly rated second in St. Petersburg. Back to the
ship, we were bushed, so skipped dinner and went straight to bed.
Touring can be tough!
Tuesday morning was
another early departure (8:30 A.M.) and we went straight to the
Peterhof, visiting both the palace and the park. Had another box lunch
from the ship and in the afternoon we visited the Hermitage. Back to
the ship just in time for dinner. We were exhausted by so many museums
in such a short time with heavy crowds of many nationalities. All
museums charge you to use your own camera. $2.50 for still and $10 for
video. After our quick dinner (more of a snack), we were off to an
Army Folklore show. It was excellent! All the musicians, dancers and
singers are regular soldiers assigned to the St. Petersburg district.
As in the museums, you could buy a license to videotape the
performance, or here, you could buy a video of last years show for
$15.
On Wednesday, departure
was at a normal 9:30 and we went to the Russian Museum and saw art
from Russia. For lunch, Viking arranged a buffet for us at the Moscow
Hotel. It was a nice spread with lots of choices. After lunch, we
boarded a canal excursion boat for a leisurely and scenic trip through
the canals and rivers of St. Petersburg. Misha, our Viking Cruise
Lines tour guide served as our city guide all throughout St.
Petersburg as it was his hometown. He even drove us by his apartment
and showed us his car, a Volga. (He was very proud of it.) We finished
the day with a couple of hour’s free time. Some shopped on Nevsky-Prospect,
the main street. We sat in a park and watched the people. Young
lovers, older people, and children playing. We decided to buy an ice
cream cone from a vendor. While doing this, my wife noticed a young
man sketching me. When he was finished, he came over and showed it to
me. It was a very nice drawing. I asked how much and he said,
"since we made no contract, this is my gift to you." I dug
into my pocket and came up with all my remaining rubles, (about $2.50
worth) and gave them to him as "my gift". He was delighted
and so was I. We talked for a while and parted as friends. Note: The
dollar goes a long way in Russia. Things are very cheap for us. We
were tired, so after another nice dinner, we went to bed. We will pack
in the morning.
Thursday. Today we are
scheduled to depart. We had the standard breakfast. They requested
that we be out of our cabins by 10:00 A.M., so that they could be
cleaned and prepared for the next guests. We had plenty of time to
pack and my wife had planned beforehand to leave some of her clothes
behind. When she asked the stewardess if she would like to have them,
you would have thought that we were giving her a fortune. This made us
feel that we were giving her a little "extra" tip, allowed
us room in the suitcase for the souvenirs and gifts that we bought,
and pleased the stewardess, so we all "won". Since our
flight didn't leave until late in the afternoon, we stored our luggage
in the library. We spent the day with our travelmates discussing the
great time that we all had. Lunch was provided, and we were
transported to the airport 2 hours before our flight. This time,
clearing passport control was simple and fast. We had a charming,
young lady official who decided to practice her English with me. For
me it was another opportunity to express how much I had enjoyed
Russia, the friendly people, and the beautiful scenery. She
appreciated my comments and was as friendly as the other Russians we
had met. We boarded our KLM flight for the 3 1/2-hour flight to
Amsterdam where we spent the night at the Airport Hilton. Once again,
very nice people who upgraded us to a King-size bedroom. We got a
great nights sleep. Had a very nice meal on the flight, so skipped
dinner. In the morning, we had the breakfast buffet. It had to be the
most comprehensive buffet I have ever seen.
We checked in for our
10:15 A.M. Delta flight with a minimum of fuss. I was surprised that
our carry-on luggage went through no less than 3 x-ray machines. Extra
security is ok with me! The Delta flight was very nice and as on the
trip over, the meals were delicious. My wife had chicken with cous
cous and I had beef tenderloins. Later we were served a chicken salad
followed by a warm chocolate chip cookie. Before boarding, I asked the
Captain if we were going to be flying over Greenland, and when he said
yes, I asked to be notified when we were there. It is a beautiful
sight from the air with the mountains, glaciers and snow.
We arrived in Atlanta
early and while claiming our bags, a Delta Passenger Service Agent
asked us "by name" if he could be of any service in
rechecking our bags. Evidently, he had a list of the Business class
passengers and where they were connecting to, so he could identify us
from our bags. It was a nice touch and it shows me that Delta is
trying very hard to please their passengers. We made our connection
and arrived home at 6:00 P.M.
I hope you enjoyed our
trip as much as I enjoyed reliving it. This seems to be one of the
great-undiscovered vacations available. I think there are still cabins
available this season if anyone can go with no notice. This would be a
great trip to take the kids on. Especially if they are of high school
age. It is an opportunity to experience history in the making. Viking
River Cruises has 2 other Russian cruises as well as many other
European river cruises. We are considering going back next year on
either the Siberian Cruise or the Cruise through the Ukraine to the
Black Sea. Both sound wonderful, but I am leaning towards Siberia (in
Summer) for the natural beauty.
When you go to Russia,
take cash! Traveler’s checks are a pain to cash. You have to make a
special trip to a bank and it takes about an hour to get all the
paperwork done to cash them. We had one couple who brought nothing but
traveler’s checks and we all had to wait in the bus for them. Bring
nothing larger than a 20, and bring plenty of singles for tips and
souvenirs. They will only take new bills without any writing on them.
Someone passed off a black & white copy of a 5-dollar bill to a
young boy and he was trying to get us to take it for change. They are
not familiar enough with our currency and are afraid of counterfeits.
Credit cards are practically useless except to pay your final bill on
the ship. The ship will also take any remaining rubles from you
towards your bill, so you don't have to worry about that. You really
don't need many rubles at all. The people prefer dollars and will give
you better than the official rate. If you do want something from an
"Official Store" where rubles are required, there are
currency exchanges in practically every block. I recommend using a
money belt. We had no problems, but were constantly warned of
pickpockets in all the crowded places such as the subway and the
tourist stops.
Hope you enjoyed the
report and Happy Traveling!
Photographs & Text
Copyright ©
2001--Gary Karschnick
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