So interesting! Thank you, Ladies for taking the time. $1300 a night at a Hyatt, YIKES! Wasnt the Armory such a stunning surprise?
-------------
Helen

Pictures and mail so interesting. Agree with Helen I appreciate the time you're spending keeping us informed and entertained! :app: :app:

Thank you for the EXCELLENT reports, Andi and Leslie.


BTW, if red is "beautiful" was the pink tour group at least "cute"?

Fred:
While the double wedding ring symbol on top of the cars is a delightful and sweet symbol for happy & long life together..... the Russian people seem to have a rather dark side to their humor.
Call it cynical if you will.
They look at the 2 wedding rings and make the joke that the marriage is starting off with a score of zero to zero.
Given that the divorce rate seems to be rather high here (example:our guide tonight has been divorced twice!), the cynical approach may not be so off base. Of course, it just *might* be possible that the cultural history of life in Russia may play a part in the dark humor. Just maybe.....

Doug

They were cute before we killed them

Today was a lazy day on the Volga. Brad, Leslie, Ngaire and Ken played cards and the rest of us vegged. The scenery is really pretty with huge mansions on either side of the river. Tonight, we found out from our guide that they are really put up by the government for show and are owned by the state. All is not what it seems.

We arrived about an hour early in Uglich, a medieval town and our first stop on the Volga. The history behind this town centered around the death of Ivan the Terrible son's death in this town at age 7. The weather was hot and muggy and drops of rain sprinkled from time to time as we exited the ship.

Being the fast group we hurried fast past the market, quaint houses, the tank and headed for the cathedral where we enjoyed a lovely acapella rendition of a couple of songs by a 4 person male choir, who sang a lovely version of what else but the Volga Boat Song. Our guide was a cute little blonde - twice divorced - but she was 40. She led us through the palace and while her English was ever so good it was fun hearing her twist some phrases...instead of saying "you are all women of the world" she mistakenly said "women of the road".

Our next excursion was to a Russian Family's home for dinner. Off we went to Nina's home because I hailed down down Nina's van. Of course Brad and Ngaire said " this is all your fault to me.." before the evening had even begun....

We drove out of Uglich into the countryside and turned into a street with two little boys and a goat. On our left, there was a blue house with gingerbread trim. A thin blond woman met the van and said, "welcome, I am Nina" and introduced her red haired mama, Nina. We walked through her gate into her well manicured English garden surrounded by painted tires in shades of red, orange and yellow. A lean to had a Russian phrase on it followed by the words "just do it" which Nina explained were written by her teenage footballer son.

This was her summer dacha and she lived here with her family May to September. The rest of the year she lives in Uglich where she is a dance instructor for traditional folkloric dances.

We were invited to sit down at a long table which was carefully set. We were informed dinner would be a cabbage soup, homemade brown bread, carrot slaw, cabbage slaw, potatoes pickles which were all home grown and homemade! They were all delicious. Oh, I forgot. There was also the whiskey shooter, to be gulped and followed by the pickle. For dessert, mama Nina had made a homemade cake with a jam of blueberry and apricot. Not much was left as the food was delicious. We wished we could have brought the Nina's back on the ship.

Then, Nina the Younger asked where we were all from and brought out a wooden map of Massachusetts someone had given her and asked if anyone was from there. Two of us were and she asked us to point out where we were from and what we did. Then she told us she was a dance instructor. We asked if she would dance. On the music went and she selected one of the gentlemen and we all had a great laugh.

Nina then gave us a tour of the house and pointed out personal objects. What a fun time! Russian life is not an easy one, in fact it's brutal, tough and short, all with a beautiful (red ) facade.

You'd better re-up and make this a B2B river cruise, we will all be in withdrawal when this ends. Just love checking in each day and hearing such interesting tales and seeing the great photos.

Good job, thanks for taking the time to share everything with us!

Enjoying your detailed reports Andi! Sadly, it doesn't sound like much has changed in Russia since I had gone over on business trips several years ago. From your reports, it seems that the Black Market and corrupt government continues to thrive and rake in all the money while the common people suffer. Unfortunately very little of the tourism dollars get to the people, even the banks were corrupt. I use to ask my Russian friends how they survive the incredible inflation and their answer was "we don't know any different". When you get outside Moscow/St. Petersburg you see what the Russian people really have to contend with to survive. But the museums are incredible and I think the Russian people are very proud of them. Looking forward to more reports!

Yes, we have heard that there is even a reversion back in freedoms.

Amazed Andi and Leslie can get on and post like they have been doing. Maybe their Ipads are working better than my computer. I have tried so many times this is the first time I have been able to log in - can read but not log in.

Having fun the last two days of tours were really delightful, short and interesting. Cute and pretty good Russian guides. The scenery is suprising me much prettier than I thought it would be. Since Andi will describe it all far better than I can I will leave this to her.

Food not great but managing to find things to eat and not suffering here too much. Last couple of meals have been fine and tonights Russian dinner may be "interesting".

Want to post this just to say "hello" before I get kicked off again

Amazed Andi and Leslie can get on and post like they have been doing. Maybe their Ipads are working better than my computer. I have tried so many times this is the first time I have been able to log in - can read but not log in.

Having fun the last two days of tours were really delightful, short and interesting. Cute and pretty good Russian guides. The scenery is suprising me much prettier than I thought it would be. Since Andi will describe it all far better than I can I will leave this to her.

Food not great but managing to find things to eat and not suffering here too much. Last couple of meals have been fine and tonights Russian dinner may be "interesting".

Want to post this just to say "hello" before I get kicked off again

Just got back from Yarolsavl where we spent the morning visiting churches. It's raining now and Ngaire and I special ordered after the fact some really good cauliflower which Ken thought was cabbage and Doug didn't like, but he doesnt really eat cabbage or cauliflower ... The bottom line being we were happy campers. The cheesecake was so so, but we have high hopes for the blini demonstration and tasting. More later...

Yaroslav was once the capital of Russia until 1613 and it then became one of the countries cultural centers. The first national theater and newspaper were established here. It is a very large city and we wandered in the city market which was their version of Walmart. The city square was decorated with unusual objects such as the love mobile, the butterfly tire display and the Christmas worm, our favorite ( though Ngaire insists it is a reindeer).

The tours really have been excellent. Today, we were treated to a bell ringing demonstration and a classical music demonstration with dancing. On the ship, we had a vodka and blini demonstration and tasting. Some of the vodka was vile ( especially the chili) and onevwas rather good (the cranberry).

The Mosquitos from the river are biting some of us up rather badly but the ship is supplying insecticide for the rooms.

The Russian women are really lovely looking, with their alabaster skin, heart shaped faces, lithe tall bodies and blue eyes...

Yesterday, we even found Arlene Levin's lost sister! I leaned over to Ngaire and said "who does she look like?" and she said: "Arlene".

Well, tonight is Russian dinner night...we have no idea what is in store for us!!!

Photos from Uglich

Church of Prince Dimitry-on-the Blood



Concert in the church



Dinner with the two Ninas:

Nina the Younger and Elder greets us at their farmhouse








Nina the Elder serves us



Yvonne prepares for a shot of whiskey with a pickle chaser



Nina the Younger in the center of her traveling folk dancing group

I love the stilletos that the Russian women wear. Even in the ice and snow. Their heels make little dots in the ice in the winter

I'm going to have serious withdrawl problems when Leslie and Andi say "the trip is over" :mecry: :mecry: You two have done an amazing job with commentary and pictures.

LOL Andi! I do have a twin sister but I am sure she isn't in Russia!

They have now realized, even though I don't have the imperial suite, that I am am the imperial highness. Our dinner was the Russian extravaganza, starting out with kvass, which, looked like prune juice. It is made with bread and tasted like fermented something or other but none of us finished it. Next came the beet salad with prunes, which was pleasant. We then had a choice of the cabbage soup (Schie) or dumplings soup. The Schie won. Then, I got a special serving of borscht. Everybody was red with jealousy. The mains were a beef pot dish, a tilapia and a potato dish- they eat a lot of potatoes as meals. Then dessert was a potato, albeit, chocolate. A veritable feast. The other guests on the ship are very nice and everyone mixes quite well. We've all decided we're lucky to be Americans.

That fermented bread drink is quite disgusting. We had some in St Petersburg and decided that maybe, if you are cold enough, anything with alcohol tastes good. But otherwise, ick! They served ours in dark mugs--so you couldn't really see what it looked like.

I agree with Joanna.....I'm going to have such trip withdrawal when you guys get home!

great pix, leslie!

Dupe

Today, we were told that a special new tour would be available for the first 20 people who signed up today... A tea party. Brad got up early and signed Yvonne, Ngaire and me up for it as today was to be another day of monasteries and icons. Now, onion domes, churches, bells, icons are great the first 7 days, but I was looking for just a bit of diversity in tourist attractions. It has now become apparent outside of Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia ain't got much. It looks a lot like Maine with a lot of 16th century monasteries. Shortly before 9 an announcement was made that they were restarting the list and you had to come down again. I was washing my hair in the shit and shower bathroom, whisked a
towel around my hair, flushed the toilet, and quickly ran out
so we could get in line, which Doug agreed to do. Then, I realized I had flushed my new earring down the toilet in the hubbub only to find out that three people had scooped up all the spots. So, the morning began.

Leslie went to an interesting lecture on Russian life in which she found out three generations of families normally live together in a few rooms with the average wage being $200 to $300 per month.

Later on, we learned both from our guide and folks who went to the tea party that they have electricity but no central heating. They have one wood stove in the center of the room, with beds against the stove for warmth. They have a lake where they go to each morning to fetch water. In the winter, holes are cut in the ice. I saw photos of the interiors and they are quite attractive - like ski lodges. Decor is somewhat kitchy.

As far as their diet, everything is home grown. They only eat meat once per week, fish ( self caught) twice per week, and the rest of their diet consists of vegetables - beets, onions, cabbage, carrots and potatoes are their bread. For some reason, celery is very expensive and rare. I did see blueberries. They also make kefir and sour cream. Agriculture is a key economy along with tourism.


As we got off the bus, vendors were selling lots of furs and leathers for excellent prices...fox, mink, chinchilla. There were lovely knit goods as well. I asked our 23 year old guide if she owned any of these items...such as a $75 fox hat. She answered that she would love to but she could never afford anything like this in her life. She buys plastic ones in the market. I looked around and saw all of the rich tourists purchasing this goods in carloads. I spoke to the others and we decided to buy her a hat. She looked a bit like my daughter in coloring, so I told her I was going to buy a hat for my daughter and asked her if she'd help me? She agreed.
She had fun trying them on and it wrenched my heart when she loved the hat so much that she didn't want to take it off
but made me feel awfully good knowing how happy we will make her. It made a crappy morning much better.

She is a language student in college and passed an interview to be a guide on our ship. When she finishes her education, she will be an English teacher. English teachers make $300 up to 500 per month where a professor only makes $200 per month. I can't really figure out all of the salary numbers they are throwing at us. They don't make sense. Pensioners make $200 per month but so do working folks? Maybe it is city versus country wages?

Lunch today was tasty. Wonderful Russian quiche Lorraine and Ngaire and Doug said they had a good fish dish. Dinner tonight was Ukranian. I'm sure Leslie will post some pictures of our gnome toadstool salad and our rat pears.

Ngaire, Ken, Guy and Brad have been having fiercely competitive games of cards. Doug and Leslie have been
dealing with uploading photos. Yvonne has been doing work related things, napping and has from time to time become transfixed playing Angry Birds, which I taught her. I took a course on making nesting dolls and painting them. Mine looked so bad ( as did everyone else's) I will now pay much more for them ( I guess that was the purpose),

Then there was Goritsky, our port today. There was a monastery and convent there. What a surprise! In 1917, the monks were killed, the icons preserved and it was turned into a museum by the state. It is amazing that while the government was not in favor of the churches, the government did recognize the artistic value of relics and buildings and did not destroy them.

Every place we go, family members seem to be murdering one another. This convent was founded by a princess who was the wife of Ivan the terrible's son. Ivan imprisoned her and her son there and then murdered his son, his family and drowned her. Thereafter, the convent was used to imprison women of disgraced Nobel families. We've seen lots of these convents on this trip. As our guides have said, it's better to be in a convent, then to behead you, as in England. Ah, the Middle Ages, the good old days!

Looking at modern day Russian men and women, they look like any European or American. Their clothes and haircuts are modern in appearance. Many speak excellent English. However, from my vantage point, they have a much harder life than we have. Guy said looking at them shows you just how our ancestors lived before they had modern conveniences. It was a simpler life. I don't know if they are any less happy than we are, but I don't think I could go back. [/QUOTE]

That was such a nice thing to do Andi she will treasure her hat!!!

The Russian dinner



Borscht! 



The cute, energetic and friendly bartender also serves wine at dinner



Brad and his favorite waitresses



This is dessert, a chocolate potato...



Ukrainian dinner coming soon!

Yarolsavl - Capital of Russia from 1598 to 1613; cultural hub in the 18th century, prosperous merchant town in the 19th century; important industrial city during Soviet years.













Having fun in the town center

Christmas worm or Christmas reindeer?

The Ipad is definitely working better than our computer but have a short window here with internet.

Been enjoying the cruise, one adapts to the differences in food and service and what was noticeable in the beginning, such as not serving the women first, is no longer important. Every meal is an adventure as it is not clear what to expect. Today we had cheeseburgers and french fries and I enjoyed that. They are very creative with their plating as you will see from photos Leslie is taking of the food.

Each night there is the evening bathing ritual in our cabin we are happy to make those that like to have a bath rather than a shower happy.

Cold today and I was not execting that. We are playing lots of cards and a true competition is taking place in HEARTS a lot of fun.

Leaving all the rest to Andi to write and for Leslie to post pictures.

Posting before I get kicked off Brad is waiting with cards in hand.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Ngaire:
Each night there is the evening bathing ritual in our cabin we are happy to make those that like to have a bath rather than a shower happy. QUOTE


I ask you all.... is there any other travel agent who would go to this length to keep their clients happy??

Ngaire and Ken are the best!
:lct:

dupe sorry

Thank you soooo much ladies. I look forward each day to enjoying your posts with my morning coffee. Loved the girl and the fur hat story, Andi. As others have said, I will be in such withdrawal when your trip ends. Please keep the trip mail coming!!! So happy you are having such a good time.

It continues to be nearly impossible to get photo bucket to open, much less upload photos, but we a soldiering on.

This afternoon we presented the fur hat to our adorable AMA guide so I hope to be able to post photos of her giddily trying it on, hugging the eight of us, posing with all of us with the backdrop of the all wooden, 22 cupola Transfiguration Cathedral on the island of Kizhi in the background. So much fun!

Leslie, I was hoping for an update on the hat and I am looking forward to those pix!

That was so thoughtful of you all to buy her this fur hat, she'll treasure it and never forget how special you are. (we already knew that)

Not too excited about the meals you're having....but when in Rome....you're an adventuresome group.

Thanks so much for making our day with your daily posts and photos!

Not sure about those meals either.....but loving all the details and all the pictures! Thanks!

We are all gamely sampling the gastronomic wonders created in the kitchen. Russia has many regulations and one of them is that food must be cooked to way beyond done, which means that meat is braised, stewed or reduced in other ways to an unrecognizable form for those of us who like our beef rare. I am personally sticking with the vegetable entrees, which aren't bad, although last night's dumplings were completely tasteless. Tonight's menu features a return of cauliflower in a cheesy cream sauce, previously seen coating some pork at lunch, so Ngaire will be happy, but don't those of you on WINES be shocked when you see her tearing into platters of rack of lamb.

Last  night was the Ukrainian dinner, which meant, among other things, that the wait staff wore red outfits instead of their blue ones from Russian night.  We ate in the smaller Symphony restaurant, which is one deck up from the main restaurant and smaller, with maybe 9 or 10 tables for 6 (we turn one into an 8 by placing a chair at each end) and 4 tables for two set up in a separate area that houses the breakfast buffet in the morning. On previous cruises passengers were slotted one dinner and one lunch spot, but on our trip it is available for for daily sign up for dinner. Both restaurants serve exactly the same thing but the smaller one is quieter and more pleasant. 

Gnome toadstool salad



Borscht! Again!



Cabbage rolls with beady eyes?



Dumplings with a sour cream sauce



Beef with prune - looking a bit like dorm food from the 1970's



Ngaire claims she can cut that beef with a fork!



Rat pear for dessert, anyone?

This is our pretty young AMA guide, Nastasa, who is assigned to our yellow active group.  She prods us with a bit of humor and irony to get going, board the bus etc. She hands out the vox audio sets, hooks up our local guides to the vox sytem, makes sure we are all properly connected, changes our batteries, sweeps the back of the group, will help with translation and shopping negotiation, makes sure we are all accounted for and make it back to the boat and sometimes provides a bit of local commentary or briefing on the day.  

She was SO EXCITED to receive her new hat. Tonight she came to Andi's room to get all of our Facebook details so she can stay in touch.

Here is a photo of her trying in the hat.

And a photo with her new adopted family. 

What a doll! She is definitely happy. So glad you all did this for her. She will never forget you.

Yesterday's stop in Goritsy

Monastery of St Cyril of the White Lake
















Another short choral concert in a church




Yvonne has been rejuvenated just by touching the waters of the lake (a local legend)

As Ngaire said, we woke today to blue skies but a chilly day. Looking out the window, there are forests of birch trees and there were lots of cut trees on the shores, so I assume this is a logging area. As time passes, we enter two locks and then find ourselves in an expansive lake similar to our great lakes. We seem to be going back and forth from narrow river alleys to lakes which seem like seas, wakes and all.

This is my third trip to Russia. The first trip was either 2004 or 2005 and was part of a Baltic cruise. It encompassed a mere two days in St. Petersburg with a guide the entire time. My impressions were of surprisingly former great wealth and
current bleak poverty. I loved the art and history and vowed to return. My second trip was part of a Black Sea cruise to the Ukraine. I loved everything about the trip... The history, the scenery, the culture, the food, the art, the archeology, etc. It offered everything a tourist could hope for. I felt my understanding of Russia could not be complete without visiting Moscow or seeing some of the smaller towns, so that's why I booked this river cruise.

Russia is terrifically expensive and I could never have afforded a 10 day trip like this on land. Plus, I don't know where I would have stayed in between. That being said, I'm
not sure there is enough variety to warrant a 10 day trip here. Once you've seen seen one monastery, you've seen them all. You could really do a few days in Moscow, go to one countryside town, then fly to St. Petersburg. Moscow is worth
a visit - once - but St. Petersburg is the jewel in the crown as far as touristic sights. The best way to see the cities is to get out and walk around, not take a controlled tour here and
there with 20 other folks. I am ever so glad we stayed in Moscow for two nights.

This has been a very relaxing cruise. It hasn't been dull. The sights had become to be redundant. Today, we only get a
couple of hours of a walking tour in the evening and tomorrow's port is specifically a stop solely so that we don't end up cruising a full day and can get out and walk. There is
nothing there but a pink hydroelectric power plant.


Even after having spent over a week here, I get a flavor of the country, but don't truly have all the facts as we are given lots of conflicting information from tour to tour lecture to
lecture. In fact, some information I posted as gospel, was just
that of one individual, as it was contradicted by another lecturer.

It appears that the average net salary is about 9900 USD in Russia overall. The average rent for a one bedroom flat is $740 per month in Moscow. I understand that Moscow pays 2
to 3 times as much as other cities, but the cost burdens are
higher as well.

Literacy is very high at 99.5%, in fact, all of the countries in the top 10 were members of the former USSR. The US ranks 99%. not to pick on the US...we are an open society with many immigrants and the former USSR, a closed one.

While the Soviets shunned religion, churches are their
heritage, and I was intrigued that they haven't destroyed them. Of course, Russian Orthodox is the main religion, with muslim (Tartars) along the Volga, some Orthodox Jews, Baptists funded by the US, Lutherans, and a handful of Catholics in the cities. Russian Orthodox Churches dominate the landscape. Dome color is significant: green=life; blue=heaven; black=death; gold=cathedral. Each church must have a Bell tower or belfry (at least 11 bells). One always enters through a western door and the alter is on the eastern wall.

There are black and white monks. Men seem to like the idea of being a white monk...you can have sexual privileges but cannot marry ( best of both worlds?); the downside being that it stunts one's career growth. Services are normally five hours long and there are no seats for parishioners. The rationale is that one must suffer for one's faith. I can assure you I would have struggled to have been a believer.

As far as handicrafts, the matryoshka dolls are the most common souvenir item and are everywhere and I have seen them ranging in price from 100 rubles to 28000 rubles. It is overwhelming. Some are works of art. Interestingly, they don't
have origins in Russia but in Japan and the ambitious Russians quickly capitalized on the dolls. The Russian originators were inspired by a doll from Honshu, the main island of Japan in 1900 when the dolls were presented at the World Exposition in Paris and the toy earned a bronze medal. Sources differ in descriptions of the doll, describing it as either a round, hollow daruma doll or a fukuruma nesting doll portraying a portly bald old bald monk. Soon after, matryoshka dolls were being made in Russia. These dolls today are a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside the other. Traditionally the outer layer is a woman, dressed in a long and shapeless traditional Russian peasant jumper dress. The figures inside may be of either gender; the smallest, innermost doll is typically a baby lathed from a single piece of wood. Much of the artistry is in the painting of each doll, which can be very elaborate. The number of nested figures is traditionally at least five, but can be much more, up to several dozen with sufficiently fine craftsmanship. The largest number was recorded at 99. The word "matryoshka" (матрёшка), literally "little matron", is a diminutive form of the Russian female first name "Matryona" which means fat lady. Matryoshka dolls are often designed to follow a particular theme, for instance peasant girls in traditional dress, but the theme can be anything.

We learned that Russian public holidays do not differ much from ours. As in the US, if they fall on a week end, they take off Monday. Traditionally, New Year's has always been the most celebrated holiday, with Grandfather Frost and his granddaughter, the snow maiden leaving presents on the second. Since the Soviet Union has been disbanded, Christmas is now celebrated on January 7th. On February 23, there is a men's day, originally started to celebrate men in the army, but now celebrating all males, young and old; on
March 8, instead of a mother's day, there is a women's day where all females get a gift; May 1 is spring labor day; May 9 is Victory Day; June 12 is Independence Day celebrating Russia's separation from USSR; and December 12 is Constitution Day.

Medical care is a less happy story. There are free clinics, free care in military hospitals, separate free clinics for children up to 14, free hospitals with long waits, free dentists ( but they say that once you visit one you will insist on going to a private clinic), lines for surgery, you must pay extra for urgent care or private hospitals. Doctors affiliated with public hospitals are paid extremely poorly. There is a lack of nurses in Russia. Medications are not covered. Insurance is very high. In small villages, the medical staff is not highly educated and medical
care suffers. All this has resulted in high mortality rates.

On a positive note, the government has tried to enforce families to have more children by offering about $10,700 for a second child and $17,800 for a third child to be used towards a mortgage. Given the high expenses in the country, it just doesn't seem enough of a stimulus.

Parents have to hold down several jobs to keep households going and have found that there is one great hold over from Soviet times - free camps, offering music, ballet, instruments, etc. over the summer. So, communism wasn't so bad. In fact,
many folks want it it back.

Russians talk a lot about cars. During Soviet times a factory worker made 120 rubles per month...a professor, 240 rubles per month and an elite government official, 500 rubles per month. The most expensive car was a Russian Victory car at $11000 rubles; the least expensive car, the Muscovite, was free to invalids and heroes and there was a long line for them.

Today, 50% are second hand and are 150000-200000 rubles; new they are 350000-2.5 million rubles (figure $40 per 1000 rubles). Russians prefer Japanese or German cars and about 20% have either new or used foreign cars. But, there is now a problem with where to park them...if you don't get a garage they will be stolen. Life isn't cheap or easy for the rich or poor in Russia.

On the subject of obeying rules... Our lecturer gave this example of how law abiding Russians are:

If you want to to get an Italian to jump off a bridge when it is forbidden, you must tell him a pretty girl is drowning.

If you want to get an Englishman to jump off a bridge when it is forbidden, you must tell him the Queen is drowning,

If you want to get a Russian to jump off a bridge when it is forbidden, you must post a sign saying it is forbidden to jump off the bridge.

So, enough of the Russian culture lesson for today. We didn't do much today, except cruse. I went to a tea lesson and tea party this afternoon. We learned all about the use of samovars and the fact that Russians are tea drinkers. I also learned that Russian tea cups and saucers are different than European ones in that they are bowl shaped. This is because they would pour the tea into the saucer to cool it off and drink from the saucer. Additionally, men didn't use tea cups, but they used mugs, which they call goblets. Just a little trivia for you.

I went to the tea party and brought back cottage cheese, apricot and cabbage pies for everyone, but they turned up their little noses and said "absolutely not." I think Brad said
"it's all your fault." I 'll have to see a shrink by the end of this cruise. The guilt!

At 5, we arrived at our destination, Kizhi Island. This island is situated in a lake and houses an outdoor wooden architecture museum. It was a warm and drizzly day, but the scenery was lovely and we had an interesting walk for about 90 minutes. I know you're all wondering about the hat. Well, at the end of the tour, the eight of us gave Nastya the hat she selected and she hopped up and down with joy. We all took pictures with her and the hat and I'm sure Leslie will post them.

There's been lots of card playing but Ngaire has to relay that info. Tonight, we had the Russian government official representing the ship conducting some marketing research. We asked for bathtubs. I, of course, asked, for borscht at every meal. It's nice that they are looking to enhance the product.

Tomorrow is our barbecue and our pink hydroelectric plant. So, I hope Leslie can get up some pictures because there sure won't be much to write about!