Viking River Cruise in Russia

                                September 2007

Our first day in Moscow. Uliana Popova took us to the Tretyakov Gallery.
This is by a park near the gallery, where we waited a few minutes until
the gallery opened. By coincidence, Uliana was in Moscow the same time
that we were there, and she was our expert guide for a day. I forgot my
camera that day, and the first four pictures here are from Uliana.




From the Tretyakov Gallery, we walked to Red Square. This is Uliana and
Ginger on a bridge, with the Kremlin in the background.




We had a very interesting visit inside St. Basil's Cathedral, highlighted by
some remarkable a cappella singing by five well-trained male voices. The
singers stood in a small room, under one of the high domes of the cathedral.
The reverberation of sound of the blended voices was incredible. We bought
one of their CD's. This photo was taken at the entrance of St. Basil's,
and it shows some of the painted designs on the exterior of the cathedral.
See St. Basil's Cathedral




We returned from our visit to central Moscow by Metro. Uliana escorted us back
to our ship, the Viking Pakhomov.



Approaching the churches inside the Kremlin.




This is part of our group after a vist to one of the many churches in the Kremlin.
Ginger is visible with her headband. Our tour included exhibits of treasures of
the Kremlin from the time of the Tsars.





Government offices in the Kremlin.




Walking off some of the good food that we had on the ship. Here the ship is in
one of the many locks that we went through.




Morning mist on a lake. This is the spire of a church that is mostly submerged
in the lake due to the construction of the dams and lakes of the waterway.




Church of St. Dmitry on the Blood, in Uglich. The church is supposedly built
on the site where the child heir to the throne, Dmitry, was murdered on the
order of Boris Gudunov.




Uglich was a good source of souveniers.




Church of Elijah the Prophet in Yaroslavl. The "onion shape" of the domes in
the orthodox churches has nothing to do with onions. It is intended to resemble
a flame.




One of many moving monuments to the Russian sacrifices in World War II.
Russia lost 27 million people in the war.




Exquisitely hand painted lacquer boxes are one of the pricier souvenirs that one
can buy in Russia. The scene here is a copy of a painting in the Tretyakov Gallery.




Mother Volga.




Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery in Goritzy, founded in 1397 by St. Cyril.




Our cozy cabin. Make sure you do this trip with somebody you like.




Another flooded church.




The island Kizhi is famous for its wooden buildings. The most remarkable is the
Church of the Transfiguration, which has 22 spires. The main part of the church
is said to be built without nails. The wooden structures of Kizhi are a UNESCO
World Heritage Site (so are Monticello and the University of Virginia)




Interior of a house on Kizhi. The coffee mill on the table caught my eye. I have
one of very similar design, from my paternal grandparents. They evidently
brought it from Czechoslovakia when they emigrated to the U.S. a century ago.




Sauna in Kizhi.




Typical iconostasis in the churches that we saw. This is from one of the
churches in Kizhi (not the large church, which was closed for renovation).




On arrival in St. Petersburg, our first tour was Catherine's palace in Pushkin.
Essentially destroyed in World War II, Catherine's palace today is restored to
its former spendor.




One of the great halls of Catherine's palace.




Fountains and the spire of St. Peter and St. Paul's Cathedral, where Peter the
Great and other Tsars are buried.




Yes, it is a bear drinking from a baby bottle!




We spent one day in the Hermitage. This hall is near the entrance. Housed
(in part) in the Winter Palace, the building itself is a work of art. There were
many highlights. We saw two paintings by Da Vinci, some excellent Rembrandts,
Van Goghs, and many other master works.




Another hall in the Hermitage. The statue in the foreground is The Three Graces,
by Canova.




Me, with the Hermitage in the background. The Russian white, blue, and red
flag flies over the Hermitage.




Ginger on the Lion Bridge, which is a symbol of St. Petersburg and appears in
the movie White Nights.




The fountains in the gardens of the Peterhof are gravity powered, and they are
the most remarkable feature of the palace. The center fountain here is said to
reach 21 feet high. We were at the Peterhof on a beautiful sunny morning.




Trick fountains. The tree itself is a fountain, and it invites you to walk around it.
However, there are fountains hidden behind the white benches, perhaps operated
by some hidden person. When you walk by the benches, there is a good chance of
getting wet. I got sprayed.




Trying to outrun the trick fountains. (She did not make it.)




Ginger, in a fountain!




Essentially our last view of St. Petersburg: Neptune, guarding the main
entrance to the Peterhof.