Russia 2019 (28) UGLICH - First Port Down the River

Our first river port was the town of Uglich--249 km (155 miles) out of Moscow, population 37,000, founded 927. It is sometimes called the Switzerland of Russia because of its cheese production and old Chaika watch factory. Also known for being the location where Ivan the Terrible's youngest son Dmitry and his mom were allegedly assassinated by Boris Godunov (see my blog on Czar history).

Tour boat traffic was so busy they were lined up three abreast at this town. This happened in several ports, but our ship was always closest to shore in those cases. I think the widest spread was five ships.

This time we were in the middle. On our starboard side we met a few "neighbors" from our veranda. We could shake hands, if we stretched.

We had to walk through another riverboat to get to the dock area.

Once on shore, we gathered in front of this colorful mural to find our tour guide for the day.

This church was the first we saw, but we did not tour it. There are a couple of yellow churches in this town, so I'm not sure the name of this particular one (even after researching).

Instead, our walking tour headed the other direction over a short bridge from the mainland to a little island. A local in traditional garb singing "Lara's Theme" from Dr. Zhivago greeted us there. It nearly brought tears to my eyes...the singing, the song, and the lady were all so lovely.

We noticed a "No Drone" sign. Was there something high security-ish ahead?

No, not really, mostly more churches. An exception was this pink painted 1930s tractor. All I could glean about it is that it was owned by a woman, she painted it pink, and the town is quite proud of it. By the way, 80% of town residents here are women.

Our first stop was the Church of Tsarevich Dmitry on the Blood. It was built on the assumed spot where Dmitry, youngest son of Ivan the T, was assassinated at age 8 (1591). It is painted red to represent the spilt blood of the boy.

Inside and out, it is ornate and humbling. Some of the murals depict his short life as well as the usual religious stories.

Ceiling.
Adam and Eve (originally nude, but later covered with greenery in the "hot spots").

The 300 kg (661 pound) bell that rang announcing Dmitry's death was "punished" and sent to Siberia for a time. It was returned in 1892 and is again displayed in the church.

This is the litter in which relics of the little tsarevich were taken from Uglich to Moscow in 1606.

 

The floor is made of iron and warmed from below with steam pipes. No one is allowed on it when it is wet weather. Otherwise, the floor rusts. Even on this dry day we had to where footies over our shoes.

The next building was the Chambers of the Uglich feudal princes (1480) and is one of the oldest civil buildings in Russia. We didn't get to tour inside.

As we strolled further we saw this Orthodox priest in his priestly finery.

Maybe he had just married this couple.

I think this yellow church is the Cathedral of Transfiguration, another one that we did not enter.

At the next church, Epiphany Cathedral, we were allowed to enter, but could only take photos in the lobby. This metal art was well-crafted.

Inside, the church was decked out beautifully. There we heard a men's quintet sing several songs. They all wore black and white and did some fantastic harmonizing. One fellow also played a huge balalaika (maybe four feet in width) and another sang a little opera. It was a wonderful performance.

And, of course, there was an area selling religious books and objects as we exited.

Russia 2019 (27) - Russian Photo Finish

Readers,

I subscribe to a travel blog by Peter Greenburg. Each week folks send in photos and Peter chooses one to be his "Photo of the Week." Over time I have entered 10-12, but never got a nod. Last week, however, I was surprised to see my photo in his blog as the winner. Very exciting for me!

Thanks, Peter, for blog publishing my photo. It is a favorite of many of our friends out the of 4,000+ photos I took on this Russian trip.

UPDATE: Huge mistake!! I remembered entering Red Square from the Kremlin through a gated arch like the one above and assumed this arch was that same arch. But I kept looking at this photo and could not rectify the angle.

How could I be taking a photo entering Red Square through the Kremlin wall, yet that same wall could be seen in the far background. I finally figured out this was actually taken from the main entrance of the GUM store toward the Kremlin, a similar looking arch.

A joke on me and Peter Greenberg. I'm surprised he did not catch the error. Wonder if he will get emails about it!?

Russia 2019 (26) RIVER - Dinner on the River

It was fun to finally have dinner on the river as we floated past the ever-changing scenery. Tables were set with a different dinnerware pattern, more elegant for evening.

The first evening Mike crashed while I dined on sliced veggie salad, cod with fava beans/peas/basil sauce, and one of my all-time favorite desserts of creme brûlée. It was a different texture than I'm used to--not as creamy and a little more eggy--but heavenly. I shared a table with two cutsie friend gals from Los Angelos. They had cruised before on Viking, so gave me the low-down and answered some of my questions. For my first meal on board, I was impressed. 

Daily menus offered many alternatives. You could order from whatever area you wished, mix-or-match, get more than one helping, or order one of each item on the menu. There were absolutely no restrictions.

On the left side was a set menu--the same every night. The only difference was that ice cream and sorbet flavors changed. I think the second night they offered pistachio (made with real pistachios, not almonds). That is one of my very fave flavors and we don't often have it at home. So each night I asked if they had it and most nights they did. Some nights I even asked for a double helping. Yum!

The right side of the menu changed each night. At the top were regional Russian choices. There was always an appetizer or soup, entree, and dessert, including known favorites and some new that we had never heard of. Examples are: plemeni (meat dumpling appetizer), Stolichny salad (traditional vegetable and meat salad), borscht (beef broth, beets, carrots, sour cream), kotlety po pojarski (breaded chicken and pork cutlets with paprika sauce), and Pavlova (meringue disk with raspberries and whipped cream on top).

The bottom half of the page offered varied classics and international dishes from Thailand, Italy, France, the U.S. and elsewhere.

Complimentary alcoholic beverages that came with lunch and dinner were a choice of white or red Russian-made wine (see bottom of top menu above) or beer, again no limit.

I'm not big on oaky chards, but I tried it one night and it was not my preference. But the cab was wonderful and I enjoyed at least two glasses every night.

Two nights the complimentary wine offered was Spanish. It was good, but I was glad to get back to the bold Russian red. Here is our wine server, Gemma. She was a delight. Regarding cocktails or additional wine choices, you could order whatever, but there was a charge (unless you had paid for the Silver Beverage Package). Prices were reasonable.

Here's some food shots. Prosciutto and melon appetizer.

Soups were interesting combos and delish. A different one every night. Here's the borscht with sour cream. Sour cream is used like catchup in Russia, a condiment for everything.

Creamy carrot with croutons and ginger.

Here's a salmon en croute creation.

Blinis.

Desserts were the absolute best though. Each one a lovely work of art and pleasing to the palate.

This is pavlova named for the Russian prima ballerina Anna Pavlova. It is meringue with raspberries and whipped cream.

So here's where we introduce our best boat buddies, Donna and Jim. There were no assigned tables for meals, so you sat where there were open seats and visited with whoever you joined or whoever joined you. On maybe Day 3 we happened to sit with D&J. We connected immediately and ate many lunches and dinners together after that. "Our" table was at the very front of the ship with water views on three sides.

We had loads in common. They had relatives near us in Michigan and we had relatives near them in Ohio. Donna and I both belong to a women's group, and enjoy miniatures, red wine, more. She was so funny, making up for my seriousness. Mike and Jim hit it off, too. They would both be winners in a Trivial Pursuit tournament, having knowledge of just about everything. Conversation never wained.

By the end of the cruise it was as if we had known each other for many years. The experience just would not have been as much fun without their friendship. Soon we all plan to meet for dinner at the Pearl in the North Short District of Columbus, Ohio. Can't wait to see them again. We just love this fabulous couple and wish we lived closer to continue making happy memories.

Back to eating. The last day of the cruise our servers Gemma, Dasha, and Ron gave us a gift of eight dinner menus from the cruise, attached together with a sweet note and a little red wood bead bracelet. Here are a few menus, in case your mouth is not watering yet.

Russia 2019 (25) THE RIVER - Finally Floating

After morning tours and lunch, we set sail down the Moscow Canal and onto the Volga River. Departure was 14:30 sharp and we would continue cruising over night. We were happy to have a little down time, instead of running from tourist site to site.

Through an on-board lecture on "Waterways of the Tzars" (the official name of our cruise event) we learned we would travel through 17 locks on this voyage.

At each lock our ship would rise or descend to the water level of the next leg of our journey. This happened at places where lakes or reservoirs were at a different height than the river. The gates at the front end were closed and, after we entered the lock, the back gates closed behind us. We waited there maybe 15-20 minutes, while the water level adjusted. When at the correct higher or lower level, the front gate opened and we continued on our way.

We went through six locks the first day. In this case, waters were drained, lowering our ship to the level of the next area. This is what it looked like when we entered the lock.

This is what it looked like as we exited.

Each lockmaster or pilot house had a different architectural style. 

Mechanics of the locks.

Doors were maybe two feet thick to hold back the waters.

This lock had duel passage ways to accommodate ships more quickly.

This was one of the more modern lockmaster or pilot houses.

Sometimes we got EXTREMELY close to the wall of the lock. Here a crew member monitors the situation.

Blue paint where a boat grazed the wall.

I could touch the walls of this lock.

Some locks were longer or wider. Additional ships or smaller boats would enter the lock with us. This cruise ship was behind us. We saw numerous ships like ours from other companies along the journey.

And all along the way we saw lovely lilacs.