Wednesday morning and today I have breakfast club. I get up at 0545 and take Ms P out to do her bidness. It is very dark but I noted several large branches were blown off the big spruce in our front yard. The neighbors have experienced even more wind damage. The morning radio said that because of power outages many schools in the area were closed. Breakfast was about 15 minutes late at our meeting because of an outage. The speaker today talked about the Artprize organization. In fact the Women's Civic Club where we hold our meeting was a venue. After his short talk we got to view about 10 displays.
After the meeting I head to Wal-Green to get a flu shot. I then stop by Berger Chevy to get my oil changed. Around noon I got on the AT and pedaled to the MAC for a 30 minute swim. In the afternoon I started writing my blog about the river cruise. I finished the afternoon off with a 3 mile walk. It was very hot.
Tonight was cereal night. Our cable went out so after reading the GRP I headed upstairs to work on the river cruise blog.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Tuesday September 21, 2010
Tuesday and I am slowly getting back into my weekday routine. I increase my exercises to 67% and at both home and the MAC, I had no shoulder pain. I even remembered to order a medium at the Kava House because it is Tuesday, free refill day.
After lunch I head to Rylee's Hardware to get some bolts and nuts to attach my rear light on my bike. It is so dark in the morning I need a light. I also spend part of the afternoon trying to clean up my desk. I am not very successful. On Monday I took a 3 mile walk in the afternoon but today I cannot because I have to get ready for an event at the GR Public Museum.
Artprize starts on Wednesday. This is the second year that the art competition is being held in GR. Last year Artprize was a huge success. Many artists have their work displayed at the museum. Tonight's event is a sneak preview. Snack and free drinks are provided for members of the museum. Nancy and I had a great time. It was nice because we were able to talk to several artists. Artists from all over the USA and 14 countries have their work on display. Of course a $250,000 first prize is a good incentive.
When we got home we noted that the TV was posting severe thunderstorm warnings for the area. After we had gone to bed the storm really blew through. Ms P got very hyper and the wind was very strong. A warm front was in back of the storm.
After lunch I head to Rylee's Hardware to get some bolts and nuts to attach my rear light on my bike. It is so dark in the morning I need a light. I also spend part of the afternoon trying to clean up my desk. I am not very successful. On Monday I took a 3 mile walk in the afternoon but today I cannot because I have to get ready for an event at the GR Public Museum.
Artprize starts on Wednesday. This is the second year that the art competition is being held in GR. Last year Artprize was a huge success. Many artists have their work displayed at the museum. Tonight's event is a sneak preview. Snack and free drinks are provided for members of the museum. Nancy and I had a great time. It was nice because we were able to talk to several artists. Artists from all over the USA and 14 countries have their work on display. Of course a $250,000 first prize is a good incentive.
When we got home we noted that the TV was posting severe thunderstorm warnings for the area. After we had gone to bed the storm really blew through. Ms P got very hyper and the wind was very strong. A warm front was in back of the storm.
Monday September 20, 2010
Monday morning and I get up at 0630. Ms P is back to her normal routine but I am having some difficulty. I still cannot perform any pushups or chinups but I do all the other exercises at 50%. Today I even rowed 500 meters. I got out the AT and pedaled to the MAC. Usually I get to the MAC about 0945 but today I got there before 0900. I did my MAC routine also at 50%. I did, however, resume my dead lift exercise at a low weight. I did not experience any pain. I did experience some pain when I stepped on the scale and saw a 10# increase in weight.
It was good to be back at the Kava House. I read both the DFP and WSJ. After two weeks of super large lunches I had some difficulty getting back to my normal lunch. My normal lunch consists of a piece of bread with peanut butter, a hardboiled egg, an apple and several pieces of a super cheese that Missy gets in Ohio. This afternoon I drove to Comcast and got a new remote.
For dinner I had a bowl of cereal with raspberries. I topped dinner off with a glass of wine. We watched a little TV and headed to bed early.
It was good to be back at the Kava House. I read both the DFP and WSJ. After two weeks of super large lunches I had some difficulty getting back to my normal lunch. My normal lunch consists of a piece of bread with peanut butter, a hardboiled egg, an apple and several pieces of a super cheese that Missy gets in Ohio. This afternoon I drove to Comcast and got a new remote.
For dinner I had a bowl of cereal with raspberries. I topped dinner off with a glass of wine. We watched a little TV and headed to bed early.
Sunday September 19, 2010
It is Sunday because the alarm goes off at 0646. We get out of bed and get ready for the MAC. The MAC opens at 0800 and we were in the swimming pool by 0805. Normally we swim for 45 minutes but agree today to swim only 30 minutes. My shoulder is still sore so I only did a modified breast stroke. After the swim we head to Meijer's to replenish our larder. Our basket was very full.
Nancy fixed her world famous poached eggs for breakfast. After breakfast I read several sections of the paper and then took a short nap. After the nap I got out the lawn mower and started cutting the grass. The grass was incredibly long. It took four hours to complete the task.
We watched some football and then 60 minutes. Once again Bob and Nancy headed to bed early.
Nancy fixed her world famous poached eggs for breakfast. After breakfast I read several sections of the paper and then took a short nap. After the nap I got out the lawn mower and started cutting the grass. The grass was incredibly long. It took four hours to complete the task.
We watched some football and then 60 minutes. Once again Bob and Nancy headed to bed early.
Saturday September 18, 2010
I get up at 0600 and cannot go back to sleep. I get dressed take my Kindle and walk to the Caribou Coffee shop. The Kindle's battery is dead so I buy a Cleveland paper and an apple fritter. When I got back to Missy's home everyone was up and wanted breakfast. We drove to Joe's and we all had a big breakfast. After Joe's we load the Taurus, including Ms P, and head to GR.
The trip was uneventful. Nancy stayed awake and talked to me all the way home. She did not want me falling asleep. We unpacked and Nancy fixed pizza for dinner. We were early to bed. Jet lag has set in.
The trip was uneventful. Nancy stayed awake and talked to me all the way home. She did not want me falling asleep. We unpacked and Nancy fixed pizza for dinner. We were early to bed. Jet lag has set in.
Saturday September 11, 2010: Week Two
Russian River Cruise, Week Two
Saturday, September 11, 2010: Weather, 47L, 58H, partly sunny. Today we are still on Lake Onega and we are going to visit the industrial city of Petrozavodsk. Petrozavodsk is a city of 270,000 folks and is located on 62⁰ north latitude. This is as far north as we get on our trip. The city was founded by Peter the Great in 1703 because he needed the iron from the region to make his weapons for the Great Northern War. Petrozavodsk was occupied by the Finns during WWII. We took a bus tour around the town and then we had some free time to walk along the pedestrian way constructed along the water's edge. The walk has an assortment of postmodern sculptures. Some folks took in the Karelian Folk Show but Nancy and I just walked along the lake's edge.
For dinner we had a Russian Market Buffet. It was billed as "very traditional Russian food". After dinner we watched a presentation on Russian Fairy-Tales. It was put on by the staff. It was very entertaining.
Sunday, September 12, 2010: Weather, 54L, 68H, partly cloudy. Today we visited Svirstroy a village of 1200 people. Svirstroy is located on the river between Lake Onega and Lake Ladoga. It is 150 river miles from St Petersburg. The village was built in the 1920s to provide homes for workers building a local hydroelectric plant. The village was occupied and destroyed by the Nazi during WWII. Today most of the residents work at the hydro plant or in the timber industry. We visited a local home. We had tea and a local pastry called pirozhi. After lunch aboard the boat we headed for St. Petersburg.
Monday, September 13, 2010: Weather, 50L, 61H, showers. Today is our first day in St. Petersburg. We start the day with a bus tour and visit the Peter and Paul Fortress. The tombs of all czars starting with Peter the Great are located here. In the afternoon Nancy and I took a trip to Peterhof. Peterhof is a summer palace located outside of St Petersburg. Peterhof is on the Gulf of Finland. We saw a beautiful palace with gold plated domes and the grounds had over 150 fountains. The fountains and gardens were spectacular. The Russian Czars went first class. Viewing all this wealth I was surprised that the revolution did not take place earlier than 1917. Two percent of the population enjoyed 98% of the wealth.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010: Weather, 53L, 68H, showers. Today is a heavy touring day. We start with a visit to St Isaac's Cathedral which our guide said was the third largest domed cathedral in the world. We had lunch at a local restaurant and then spent the afternoon touring the Hermitage. The Hermitage is a must see in St Petersburg. The Hermitage is made up of 7 buildings including the Czar's Winter Palace. The winter palace was the retreat of Catherine the Great. It housed her private art collection. The Hermitage houses the works of many famous artists. Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, el Greco, Rembrandt all have work on display. The Hermitage is the most spectacular example of the wealth of the Czars.
After this busy day we head back to the boat for dinner. I had the salmon as my entree and ice cream for dessert.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010: Weather, 51L, 65H, mostly sunny. Today is my easy day. Nancy and I take a shuttle bus to downtown and walk around. We visited several stores and got a feel for the main shopping center. The area we walked around was very upscale.
Nancy and several women went to the ballet in the evening. I and several other guys sat around and drank beer. Nancy really liked the ballet and I thought the beer was good.
Thursday, September 16, 2010: Weather 48L, 61H, cloudy. This is our last tour day. In the morning we get on the bus and travel to Catherine Palace and Park. The palace and park were another example of the "spare no cost" attitude of the ruling class. We spent several hours walking around the palace and grounds. In fact by this time I had seen so much wealth that I was totally saturated.
In the afternoon we visited a music school in St Petersburg. The school is the equivalent of our high school. Our tour company Grand Circle Travel donates money to this school. We were entertained with a concert. It was very good.
Friday, September 17, 2010: Weather, who cares. We set the alarm for 0230. We have a quick breakfast and then head to the airport to catch our 0600 flight. We have layovers in Frankfurt, Germany and Chicago before landing in Cleveland at 1800. It was a long day. Nancy is too tired for dinner but Missy, AJ and I have dinner at a local pub. I have a hamburg and beer.
Saturday, September 11, 2010: Weather, 47L, 58H, partly sunny. Today we are still on Lake Onega and we are going to visit the industrial city of Petrozavodsk. Petrozavodsk is a city of 270,000 folks and is located on 62⁰ north latitude. This is as far north as we get on our trip. The city was founded by Peter the Great in 1703 because he needed the iron from the region to make his weapons for the Great Northern War. Petrozavodsk was occupied by the Finns during WWII. We took a bus tour around the town and then we had some free time to walk along the pedestrian way constructed along the water's edge. The walk has an assortment of postmodern sculptures. Some folks took in the Karelian Folk Show but Nancy and I just walked along the lake's edge.
For dinner we had a Russian Market Buffet. It was billed as "very traditional Russian food". After dinner we watched a presentation on Russian Fairy-Tales. It was put on by the staff. It was very entertaining.
Sunday, September 12, 2010: Weather, 54L, 68H, partly cloudy. Today we visited Svirstroy a village of 1200 people. Svirstroy is located on the river between Lake Onega and Lake Ladoga. It is 150 river miles from St Petersburg. The village was built in the 1920s to provide homes for workers building a local hydroelectric plant. The village was occupied and destroyed by the Nazi during WWII. Today most of the residents work at the hydro plant or in the timber industry. We visited a local home. We had tea and a local pastry called pirozhi. After lunch aboard the boat we headed for St. Petersburg.
Monday, September 13, 2010: Weather, 50L, 61H, showers. Today is our first day in St. Petersburg. We start the day with a bus tour and visit the Peter and Paul Fortress. The tombs of all czars starting with Peter the Great are located here. In the afternoon Nancy and I took a trip to Peterhof. Peterhof is a summer palace located outside of St Petersburg. Peterhof is on the Gulf of Finland. We saw a beautiful palace with gold plated domes and the grounds had over 150 fountains. The fountains and gardens were spectacular. The Russian Czars went first class. Viewing all this wealth I was surprised that the revolution did not take place earlier than 1917. Two percent of the population enjoyed 98% of the wealth.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010: Weather, 53L, 68H, showers. Today is a heavy touring day. We start with a visit to St Isaac's Cathedral which our guide said was the third largest domed cathedral in the world. We had lunch at a local restaurant and then spent the afternoon touring the Hermitage. The Hermitage is a must see in St Petersburg. The Hermitage is made up of 7 buildings including the Czar's Winter Palace. The winter palace was the retreat of Catherine the Great. It housed her private art collection. The Hermitage houses the works of many famous artists. Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, el Greco, Rembrandt all have work on display. The Hermitage is the most spectacular example of the wealth of the Czars.
After this busy day we head back to the boat for dinner. I had the salmon as my entree and ice cream for dessert.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010: Weather, 51L, 65H, mostly sunny. Today is my easy day. Nancy and I take a shuttle bus to downtown and walk around. We visited several stores and got a feel for the main shopping center. The area we walked around was very upscale.
Nancy and several women went to the ballet in the evening. I and several other guys sat around and drank beer. Nancy really liked the ballet and I thought the beer was good.
Thursday, September 16, 2010: Weather 48L, 61H, cloudy. This is our last tour day. In the morning we get on the bus and travel to Catherine Palace and Park. The palace and park were another example of the "spare no cost" attitude of the ruling class. We spent several hours walking around the palace and grounds. In fact by this time I had seen so much wealth that I was totally saturated.
In the afternoon we visited a music school in St Petersburg. The school is the equivalent of our high school. Our tour company Grand Circle Travel donates money to this school. We were entertained with a concert. It was very good.
Friday, September 17, 2010: Weather, who cares. We set the alarm for 0230. We have a quick breakfast and then head to the airport to catch our 0600 flight. We have layovers in Frankfurt, Germany and Chicago before landing in Cleveland at 1800. It was a long day. Nancy is too tired for dinner but Missy, AJ and I have dinner at a local pub. I have a hamburg and beer.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Wednesday September 1, 2010: Russian River Cruise, week 1
The following is a brief narrative on the first week of Bob and Nancy's two week Russian River Cruise between Moscow and St Petersburg. It was a great trip and I will only hit the highlights.
Wednesday: September 1, 2010: We slept in today so that we would be well rested for our big adventure. We loaded up the Taurus with our baggage and Ms P's baggage. Ms P will be staying with Missy while we are gone. In fact, if Ms P behaves she might stay in Ohio. We leave home about 1000 and our first stop is Dunkin Donuts for coffee and, of course, donuts. The trip to Lakewood was uneventful. Missy and AJ gave us a warm welcome. We all went out for dinner at a local pub. It was another early night for Bob and Nancy.
Thursday: September 2 our big travel day. Our flight leaves for Dulles in Washington at noon. Missy gets us to the airport by 1000. The flight to Dulles was smooth. Our next leg is a flight from Dulles direct to Moscow. As we were boarding the plane the ticket taker stopped us to announce a change of plans. Because of overbooking in Economy Class we are being upgraded to Business Class. Surprise! Surprise!. The stewardess greets us with a glass of champagne. It is a great way to start a flight. The Business Class seats are great. You can actually sleep in a horizontal position. The only way to travel.
Friday: September 3. We arrived in Moscow about 1100 local time, Friday, September 3. It took awhile to get our passports checked but when we finally cleared this hurdle a Grand Circle rep met us and would get our bags and deliver us to the boat. There was only one other couple on our flight so we rode to the boat in a small van. It was about an hour ride to the boat from the airport. My first impression of Moscow was that their infrastructure was well maintained and all the bridges I saw looked new. Our boat was moored at a quay on the Moscow River. The boat was named the Tikhi Don and on our cruise would be 200 passengers and 100 crew members. The boat was 410 feet long and 52 feet wide. It had five decks and it drew only 9 feet. Our room 235, was small but well laid out. We had plenty of room to store our belongings. The weather when we arrived was cloudy and cool, 54⁰, and wet. (For comparison it was 94⁰when we left Ohio.)
At 1730 we attended a Ship and Safety Briefing and at 1900 we had a light dinner. Nancy and I turned in early.
Saturday September 4, 2010: Weather, 44L, 54H, Mostly sunny: This is our first full day. We start each day with a breakfast buffet. It is a great buffet. We have a selection of fruits, breads and cereal. Every day scrambled eggs are available. I especially liked the porridge (oatmeal) and pancakes with a fruit sauce. The coffee was American style. After breakfast we went on a bus tour of Moscow. The bus tour gave us a feeling for the city.
Our first stop on the tour was a cemetery where a lot of famous Russians are buried. We saw the burial memorial to Nikita Khrushchev and Mikhail Gorbachev's wife. Famous authors, poets, artists and musicians all had very elaborate sites. The sites were very small but this cemetery was not like any I have seen in the states. After the cemetery tours we drove around Moscow looking at the sites and then stopped for lunch along a pedestrian mall. This was the only time we had to buy lunch. After lunch we went to the main Metro terminal. We took a short ride on Moscow's famous subway. The terminals we stopped at were beautiful. They were well maintained and the lighting was great. The escalator ride into and out of the terminal was fun. The escalator's are very fast and steep. In fact the Moscow subway is very deep and so the need for speed.
At 1900 dinner was served. Dinner is a sit down affair and consists of appetizer, soup, Entrees and dessert. We had a glass of wine at all dinners. I had the pan fried fish and Nancy had the chicken skewer. The soups on our trip were excellent. We had soup two times each day and we never had a repeat. Dessert was an apple crumble with ice cream.
The 200 passengers on our tour are organized into groups of 36. We were the orange group with an English speaking program director. Our program director was a college instructor from Tula, Russia. His name was Sergi. We had a great group and Nancy and I got to know most of the folks.
Nancy and I were tired so we headed to bed early. Our bus tour today gave us a feel for Moscow. My first impression was how many waterways Moscow had. We saw water taxis and small tour boats everywhere.
Sunday September 5, 2010: Weather, 52L, 60H, Partly cloudy: Nancy and I are getting into the routine. Breakfast is a 0700 and we are always on time. Today we continue the Moscow city tour. We visit St Basil's church and it is spectacular. The bus stops at several other venues so we may take pictures. Lunch is onboard the boat and I select the soup, of course, a cheeseburger and dessert.
In the afternoon three WWII veteran were onboard to discuss their experiences during the war. The Russians refer to WWII as the "Great Patriotic War". The USSR lost 27,000,000 during this war. It was especially brutal on both sides. It was interesting to hear the stories of the veterans, two men and 1 woman. They were all in their mid 80s and very alert and articulate.
A circus show was scheduled for tonight but was postponed until Monday because of a big celebration in downtown Moscow.
Monday, September 6, 2010: Weather, 53L, 65H, mostly sunny: I was first in line for breakfast. Today is our last full day in Moscow. We get in our tour bus at 1000 and head for a tour of both the Armory and Kremlin. Our first stop is the Armory a museum/art gallery. After the Armory we have lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. The afternoon includes a tour of the Kremlin. I enjoyed the tour of the Kremlin. We visited several churches within the walls of the Kremlin.
Tonight we are going to a Circus Show and so we have a light dinner at 1645. The Circus was very entertaining. A lot of the acts reminded me of the old Ed Sullivan show where he would bring circus acts from Europe. After the show a dinner was served but Nancy and I went to bed instead.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010: Weather, 52L, 65H, Partly cloudy: Today Nancy and I signed up for a tour of the Tretakow Gallery. The gallery contained works of Russian artists.
When we went on all the tours we were provided with electronic receivers and earphones. This was a nice innovation because we could hear the guide without having to crowd together.
After lunch on board the boat, we cast off on our river cruise. The river cruise covers over 1,000 miles. We go through 18 locks and get a good look at wild and scenic Russia. We start on the Moscow River and then go a short distance on the Volga. As we head north we go on a series of manmade reservoirs and we see several impressive hydro electric plants created by impounding several rivers, Sheesna and Kovzha. As a civil engineer I was very impressed with the scope of these projects. All the infrastructure looks well maintained. We also pass through the two largest lakes in Europe, Ladoga Lake and Onega Lake. The waterway had a lot of small freighter and barge traffic. The shores which were nearly always visible were heavily forested. I noted a lot of birch and pine trees.
In the afternoon we had a safety drill and then attended the Captain's Welcome Cocktail hour. The boat had two bars. The dinner was called the Captain's Welcome Dinner.
At 2100 we attended an Accordion concert. Russian folk tunes were played. Every night they had dancing at 2200 but Nancy and I were in bed by 2130.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010: Weather, 52L, 65H, Partly Cloudy: The boat was moving about 6 mph all night and we passed through several locks. Today we are going to stop at the town of Uglich located on the Volga River. Uglich was founded in 937 and today has a population of 37,000. It is 136 river miles from Moscow. Ivan the Terrible used Uglich as his base in the war against the "Golden Horde". We had a walking tour of the city.
Before dinner we had a talk on Russian History. For dinner I had the soup, fish and dessert. There was another music concert at 2100.
Thursday, September 9, 2010: Weather, 43L, 56H, Partly cloudy: We continue to chug along. At 1030 they had a Bloody Mary Happy Hour. I felt obliged to attend.
Today we are making a stop at Goritsy a small village of 600. Goritsy is located 565 river miles from Moscow. There is an optional tour of the "Convent of Resurrection". Nancy and I did not take this tour because we wanted to walk around the village. My first impression of Goritsy was that I am finally seeing a typical Russian rural village. All of the homes were made of wood with corrugated steel roofs. Why corrugated steel was the roof of choice I do not know. Several of the homes were log homes. In fact we saw some folks making a log home. They were using native pine. They used a chain saw to cut the logs to size. This is the first time I saw a rusted car. In Moscow all the cars looked new. The village looked poor. However, every home had a satellite dish. I was surprised that I did not see a snow mobile. After all Goritsy is at the same latitude as Hudson Bay. The major street was paved but all the side streets were dirt. I really enjoyed our walk around this town.
At 1745 they had a Vodka Presentation. We were given a demonstration of how to tell the good vodka from the bad. We started with the lowest rated vodka. A shot was poured and we were told how to drink the vodka like a native. We had three more shots with the last shot being the superior grade vodka. I could tell the difference. However, I think I will stick with beer. The Russian beer was real good. After dinner Nancy and I turned in.
Friday September 10, 2010: Weather, 48L, 62H, partly cloudy: The river cruise continues. Today we are going to visit the village of Kizhi. Kizhi is an island located in Lake Onega. It is 2.5 miles long and 656 yards wide. Lake Onega is the second largest lake in Europe. It is 250 miles from St Petersburg. We had a walking tour of the Village. The island has two large wooden Russian Orthodox churches in addition to centuries old homesteads that we were able to visit. We also saw steam bathhouses. Kizhi is a UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE. I really enjoyed our tour and will post some photos soon.
For dinner tonight we had a Ukrainian dinner. We turned in early.
Wednesday: September 1, 2010: We slept in today so that we would be well rested for our big adventure. We loaded up the Taurus with our baggage and Ms P's baggage. Ms P will be staying with Missy while we are gone. In fact, if Ms P behaves she might stay in Ohio. We leave home about 1000 and our first stop is Dunkin Donuts for coffee and, of course, donuts. The trip to Lakewood was uneventful. Missy and AJ gave us a warm welcome. We all went out for dinner at a local pub. It was another early night for Bob and Nancy.
Thursday: September 2 our big travel day. Our flight leaves for Dulles in Washington at noon. Missy gets us to the airport by 1000. The flight to Dulles was smooth. Our next leg is a flight from Dulles direct to Moscow. As we were boarding the plane the ticket taker stopped us to announce a change of plans. Because of overbooking in Economy Class we are being upgraded to Business Class. Surprise! Surprise!. The stewardess greets us with a glass of champagne. It is a great way to start a flight. The Business Class seats are great. You can actually sleep in a horizontal position. The only way to travel.
Friday: September 3. We arrived in Moscow about 1100 local time, Friday, September 3. It took awhile to get our passports checked but when we finally cleared this hurdle a Grand Circle rep met us and would get our bags and deliver us to the boat. There was only one other couple on our flight so we rode to the boat in a small van. It was about an hour ride to the boat from the airport. My first impression of Moscow was that their infrastructure was well maintained and all the bridges I saw looked new. Our boat was moored at a quay on the Moscow River. The boat was named the Tikhi Don and on our cruise would be 200 passengers and 100 crew members. The boat was 410 feet long and 52 feet wide. It had five decks and it drew only 9 feet. Our room 235, was small but well laid out. We had plenty of room to store our belongings. The weather when we arrived was cloudy and cool, 54⁰, and wet. (For comparison it was 94⁰when we left Ohio.)
At 1730 we attended a Ship and Safety Briefing and at 1900 we had a light dinner. Nancy and I turned in early.
Saturday September 4, 2010: Weather, 44L, 54H, Mostly sunny: This is our first full day. We start each day with a breakfast buffet. It is a great buffet. We have a selection of fruits, breads and cereal. Every day scrambled eggs are available. I especially liked the porridge (oatmeal) and pancakes with a fruit sauce. The coffee was American style. After breakfast we went on a bus tour of Moscow. The bus tour gave us a feeling for the city.
Our first stop on the tour was a cemetery where a lot of famous Russians are buried. We saw the burial memorial to Nikita Khrushchev and Mikhail Gorbachev's wife. Famous authors, poets, artists and musicians all had very elaborate sites. The sites were very small but this cemetery was not like any I have seen in the states. After the cemetery tours we drove around Moscow looking at the sites and then stopped for lunch along a pedestrian mall. This was the only time we had to buy lunch. After lunch we went to the main Metro terminal. We took a short ride on Moscow's famous subway. The terminals we stopped at were beautiful. They were well maintained and the lighting was great. The escalator ride into and out of the terminal was fun. The escalator's are very fast and steep. In fact the Moscow subway is very deep and so the need for speed.
At 1900 dinner was served. Dinner is a sit down affair and consists of appetizer, soup, Entrees and dessert. We had a glass of wine at all dinners. I had the pan fried fish and Nancy had the chicken skewer. The soups on our trip were excellent. We had soup two times each day and we never had a repeat. Dessert was an apple crumble with ice cream.
The 200 passengers on our tour are organized into groups of 36. We were the orange group with an English speaking program director. Our program director was a college instructor from Tula, Russia. His name was Sergi. We had a great group and Nancy and I got to know most of the folks.
Nancy and I were tired so we headed to bed early. Our bus tour today gave us a feel for Moscow. My first impression was how many waterways Moscow had. We saw water taxis and small tour boats everywhere.
Sunday September 5, 2010: Weather, 52L, 60H, Partly cloudy: Nancy and I are getting into the routine. Breakfast is a 0700 and we are always on time. Today we continue the Moscow city tour. We visit St Basil's church and it is spectacular. The bus stops at several other venues so we may take pictures. Lunch is onboard the boat and I select the soup, of course, a cheeseburger and dessert.
In the afternoon three WWII veteran were onboard to discuss their experiences during the war. The Russians refer to WWII as the "Great Patriotic War". The USSR lost 27,000,000 during this war. It was especially brutal on both sides. It was interesting to hear the stories of the veterans, two men and 1 woman. They were all in their mid 80s and very alert and articulate.
A circus show was scheduled for tonight but was postponed until Monday because of a big celebration in downtown Moscow.
Monday, September 6, 2010: Weather, 53L, 65H, mostly sunny: I was first in line for breakfast. Today is our last full day in Moscow. We get in our tour bus at 1000 and head for a tour of both the Armory and Kremlin. Our first stop is the Armory a museum/art gallery. After the Armory we have lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. The afternoon includes a tour of the Kremlin. I enjoyed the tour of the Kremlin. We visited several churches within the walls of the Kremlin.
Tonight we are going to a Circus Show and so we have a light dinner at 1645. The Circus was very entertaining. A lot of the acts reminded me of the old Ed Sullivan show where he would bring circus acts from Europe. After the show a dinner was served but Nancy and I went to bed instead.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010: Weather, 52L, 65H, Partly cloudy: Today Nancy and I signed up for a tour of the Tretakow Gallery. The gallery contained works of Russian artists.
When we went on all the tours we were provided with electronic receivers and earphones. This was a nice innovation because we could hear the guide without having to crowd together.
After lunch on board the boat, we cast off on our river cruise. The river cruise covers over 1,000 miles. We go through 18 locks and get a good look at wild and scenic Russia. We start on the Moscow River and then go a short distance on the Volga. As we head north we go on a series of manmade reservoirs and we see several impressive hydro electric plants created by impounding several rivers, Sheesna and Kovzha. As a civil engineer I was very impressed with the scope of these projects. All the infrastructure looks well maintained. We also pass through the two largest lakes in Europe, Ladoga Lake and Onega Lake. The waterway had a lot of small freighter and barge traffic. The shores which were nearly always visible were heavily forested. I noted a lot of birch and pine trees.
In the afternoon we had a safety drill and then attended the Captain's Welcome Cocktail hour. The boat had two bars. The dinner was called the Captain's Welcome Dinner.
At 2100 we attended an Accordion concert. Russian folk tunes were played. Every night they had dancing at 2200 but Nancy and I were in bed by 2130.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010: Weather, 52L, 65H, Partly Cloudy: The boat was moving about 6 mph all night and we passed through several locks. Today we are going to stop at the town of Uglich located on the Volga River. Uglich was founded in 937 and today has a population of 37,000. It is 136 river miles from Moscow. Ivan the Terrible used Uglich as his base in the war against the "Golden Horde". We had a walking tour of the city.
Before dinner we had a talk on Russian History. For dinner I had the soup, fish and dessert. There was another music concert at 2100.
Thursday, September 9, 2010: Weather, 43L, 56H, Partly cloudy: We continue to chug along. At 1030 they had a Bloody Mary Happy Hour. I felt obliged to attend.
Today we are making a stop at Goritsy a small village of 600. Goritsy is located 565 river miles from Moscow. There is an optional tour of the "Convent of Resurrection". Nancy and I did not take this tour because we wanted to walk around the village. My first impression of Goritsy was that I am finally seeing a typical Russian rural village. All of the homes were made of wood with corrugated steel roofs. Why corrugated steel was the roof of choice I do not know. Several of the homes were log homes. In fact we saw some folks making a log home. They were using native pine. They used a chain saw to cut the logs to size. This is the first time I saw a rusted car. In Moscow all the cars looked new. The village looked poor. However, every home had a satellite dish. I was surprised that I did not see a snow mobile. After all Goritsy is at the same latitude as Hudson Bay. The major street was paved but all the side streets were dirt. I really enjoyed our walk around this town.
At 1745 they had a Vodka Presentation. We were given a demonstration of how to tell the good vodka from the bad. We started with the lowest rated vodka. A shot was poured and we were told how to drink the vodka like a native. We had three more shots with the last shot being the superior grade vodka. I could tell the difference. However, I think I will stick with beer. The Russian beer was real good. After dinner Nancy and I turned in.
Friday September 10, 2010: Weather, 48L, 62H, partly cloudy: The river cruise continues. Today we are going to visit the village of Kizhi. Kizhi is an island located in Lake Onega. It is 2.5 miles long and 656 yards wide. Lake Onega is the second largest lake in Europe. It is 250 miles from St Petersburg. We had a walking tour of the Village. The island has two large wooden Russian Orthodox churches in addition to centuries old homesteads that we were able to visit. We also saw steam bathhouses. Kizhi is a UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE. I really enjoyed our tour and will post some photos soon.
For dinner tonight we had a Ukrainian dinner. We turned in early.
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