Day 13: Last day - on our way home

Sylvia 

It is customary to give gratuities, or tips, to the staff of the Viking Kirov. The management suggest $10 - $12 per guest per day which is distributed amongst the staff. They also suggest a separate tip of about $5 per guest per day for the guides. Then you can tip the bus drivers, the porters, the crew etc., Patty and I tipped the bus drivers separately because they were the ones who handled the wheelchair every day.  So, after 12 days on the boat you should allocate about $144 (about R1000) for the staff and and $60 (R455) for the guides.

(We jokingly said that if we offered Mikhail $5 for every time he helped with the wheelchair he would have got an empty envelope!) They give you envelopes to put the tips in and Patty and I put our tips in envelopes for the staff and guides and handed them in at the reception desk.
Over and above that, you can give individual tips to individual staff members. Last night we gave envelopes with tips to our favourite staff. In the dining room our favourite was Benz - a wonderful man who looked after us from day one in the dining room. Always pleasant and welcoming, never impatient with the wheelchair and POC and never in a hurry to get us out of there. He is married with two children and spends six months of the year away from his family working on the Viking boats (as many of the staff from the Philippines do). Mateo, also one of the waiters, made us laugh every day and called Patty's chair her 'Ferrari'. Paul - a waiter with an elegant, charming manner carved flowers in a cake of soap for Patty and me. One of the Filipino waitresses went the extra mile and we gave her an extra tip too. Joy - the Panorama Bar hostess, always willing to fetch an extra cup of tea or hot chocolate. "You sit down and relax" she'd say with a smile, "I'll bring it to your table."
 Dieter, the Hotel Manager, was excellent - a caring man, always willing to listen and to please, who managed to chat to every passenger on board and did the rounds every night. He very kindly arranged with the chef, Thomas, to keep every menu for me. Thomas compiled a little booklet of menus in a cardboard cover and personally brought it to the cabin yesterday. I was so thrilled I gave him a hug!  This morning we had to put our suitcase outside the cabin by 8h30 so we did most of the packing last night. We managed to get all the souvenirs and gifts into Patty's cabin bag which I hung over the back of the wheelchair. At 9am we boarded our bus for the airport (there are 5 airports in Moscow). Vitoria - one of the guides - accompanied us. She thought the trip might take two hours but the traffic wasn't too bad and after 1.5 hours we arrived at the airport. The airport looked like a gigantic hot house - a long tubular structure made of glass panels.

The bus driver made a sharp turn to get to a boom and scraped the front of a car that was in that lane.  The driver got out and there was much shouting and waving of arms.  We all had to get out and drag our luggage through the booms to the airport building.  There are no porters at the Moscow airport and, we found out later, no toilets for disabled people.  When we asked for a toilet for Patty they ended up taking us through to the train station arrivals lounge where there was a special toilet for wheelchair users. 

Our plane only left at 14h40 so we bought a few gifts in the Duty Free - including two beautiful bottles of Vodka.  The bottles look like the Matrioshka dolls and cost about R250 each.  At Zurich airport we had an even longer wait but the assistants took us to a special lounge for passengers needing assistance which was close to the Duty Free shops.  We bought a lovely jacket for Emily, some t-shirts for the Leaver boys and more fridge magnets.  I was able to send an email home from the Internet cafe and we had a sandwich and a cold drink before going back to the lounge.

When it was time to go through the boarding gates, I was stopped and they searched the bag with the gifts in it.  I was told that I couldn't take the Vodka Bottles through.  He said they would have to be discarded but when I told him I'd bought them mainly for the bottles, he offered to empty the Vodka and give me the bottles.  So our children received gifts of empty vodka bottles from Russia!  He told me that Russia was not a Schengen country and that was why (even though they'd been bought at a Duty Free shop and were in a sealed packet) we couldn't take them through.  He also said that if they had been bought at a place like Singapore, he might have allowed them through but he couldn't let anything like that through from Russia.  It might have something to do with the fact that there is a huge Russian Mafia and they don't trust anyone - not even a couple of old grannies! 
Our flight left Zurich at 22h45 and dinner was brought around at 12h45.  I watched 'Valentine's Day' until my eyes closed and I couldn't concentrate anymore.

We arrived in Johannesburg at 9am and there was an assistant waiting with Patty's chair.  He took us through the customs and to the carousel to collect our suitcase.  Gail (sister-in-law) was waiting for us at the arrivals and we went upstairs to have a coffee and eventually lunch as our Mango flight to Durban was only at 13h20.  We were helped by Mango staff and were the last to board - our seats being right in the front. 

It was great to land in Durban and see Finn waiting for us at arrivals. Tammy soon arrived with Emily and it was lovely to hold her again.  We took Patty home and helped her unpack and then went home ourselves.  Carling and Jenna were really pleased to see me and it was great to be home.

Patty:

I couldn't believe that we got everything into the little black cabin bag, including the big winter jacket Finn had lent me. The bag only weighed 8kg when we left but was 14kg when we checked it in at Moscow airport. After breakfast, Syl and I stood on the deck looking at the river and the buildings on the Moscow skyline. I'd brought one of the Pips from Shaun's navy jacket to leave in Moscow and this seemed a suitable time and place to let go of the Pip. "Well, Shauny" I said, "We brought you to Russia and now we are going to leave a memento here." Syl threw the Pip as far as she could into the water and we watched as the ripples spread across the water. Then she smiled. "I can just hear him laughing" she said. He is saying, "Are you f........ crazy? I wouldn't come here with you two. No way! You'd drive me crazy." I laughed too. "I can hear him saying, " and why did you trow my bloody Pip into the river? How can I wear that jacket if I come back?" We hugged each other, knowing that we had done the right thing.

(Dieter, Nadia and Maria)

On the way to the airport, I was struck once again by how clean the streets are. There is no litter and no graffiti - not even on bare walls along highways. The Russians must be very strict about littering and defacing buildings. One thing I've learned is that they are not interested in making their cities accessible for the disabled. There were very few ramps off pavement or at intersections, most of the buildings are not accessible and don't have ramps or lifts. And, when they told us that there was no toilet for disabled people I felt like strangling someone. I'm not usually in a wheelchair but my nephew is and I can imagine how frustrating it would be for him to visit Russia. My feet and ankles had started swelling by the time we got on the Moscow to Zurich flight and when we got into the special waiting room at Zurich airport, Syl made me put my feet up. Eventually I lay down across three seats to rest awhile. It was a long wait for the 22h45 departure.

I find the seats in aeroplanes very uncomfortable.  I want to sit upright but they make you lounge over and I felt as though I was squashing my ribcage and my lungs.  The best way to sit was to lean on the folded down tray and rest my head on the TV on the back of the seat in front.  About an hour before landing I was gat-vol and wanted out of that plane!

When I got off the plane in Johannesburg, I looked as though I had elephantitis, my legs were so swollen.  It felt like the skin wanted to crack. It was great to have Gail's company at the airport.  On the Mango flight they put us right in front so there was lots of room to stretch our legs.  Finn was waiting for us at the new Durban airport and I was so grateful to be home, all I wanted to do was put my head down and sleep.  Syl unpacked everything and sorted things out on the dining room table.

It's hard to process how I feel.  I can't believe I did it - I went to Russia! After all the years of saying that I wanted to go, Shaun putting money aside for me, my health deteriorating until I thought I might never go, and now I have finally been.  And, the best thing of all, I went with my sister!  How special is that?

Day 12 - The Kremlin

Patty:

We had a free morning so could lie in a bit this morning - YAY!!

I got up dying for a wee but Syl was in the bathroom so I sat on the edge of the bed waiting for her to come out. I waited and waited and started getting desperate. I started to sweat and got up with crossed legs to knock on the door and asked her to please hurry up but she didn’t answer. I opened the door and there was nobody there! Phsew – I nearly didn’t make it. As soon as I sat down she came into the cabin – she’d been up and dressed and was back from breakfast! She brought me some fruit and yoghurt and tea for breakfast.
We saw Richard in the reception and told him we were going out for a walk in the park. He joined us and took us on a wild goose chase looking for an obelisk which wasn’t there! He was convinced that the bus driver had told them yesterday to look left at an obelisk in the park when they returned from their excursion. We walked up one path and down the other, all the way out the other side and back again but no obelisk. 

The word for 'ticket' in Russian is 'Kacca'.  We thought it was hysterical when we saw this sign for Kacca No.2 so Richard took a photograph of me straining in the chair and Syl pointing at the sign!  (OK - it seemed really funny at the time.  OK - you had to be there!)  After our walk we returned to our boat. 

After lunch we joined our bus and tour guide for a visit to the Kremlin. "There are many cobble stones" warned Mikhail.  "We will manage" said Syl, and we did.
My gosh, what a surprise behind those red brick walls! No razor wire, no dark dungeons (that we could see) no goose stepping soldiers. There were policemen with whistles and we were told that they blow a whistle once if you walk in a restricted area, twice if you didn't move right away and on the third whistle you would be sent to Siberia!
The Kremlin is open to tourists but as some of the buildings are still being used by the Mayor, the Police and security services, there are places that are off limits. One has to walk exactly inside the demarcated areas and if you stray, they police blow a whistle. We all jumped when we heard a whistle blow the first time even though we knew that we hadn’t strayed away from our group. There are cathedrals and churches inside the Kremlin walls. I went inside the church of the Archangel Michael.  Its hard to describe the inside of the orthodox churches, every inch of the walls are painted with bible stories and icons, even the ceilings. There were concrete tombs lining one of the walls and ancient iconostas hanging on the pillars. It’s JUST amazing. There are gardens and flowers and it seems so peaceful inside - nothing at all as I’d imagined it to be. We were taken back to the boat in time for cocktail hour at 6:30pm with a farewell dinner at 7:30pm.  Everyone was swapping business cards and email addresses.
I can't believe that this is our last day!  I have been thinking of this trip for so long and planned it for so long and now it is over. I'm just really grateful that I was fit enough and well enough to manage the trip - at last.
Sylvia

Yesterday was pay day - pay your money over the counter!  We found our bill in the cabin when we got back from breakfast and could settle it between 10h30 and 12h30.  This is a cashless boat so you sign for everything and pay at the end. They use Units - one unit being equal to one euro.  Our bill didn't come to very much but its amazing how it adds up.  Those extra drinks at cocktail hour, gifts bought from the gift shop, extra excursions.  I used my travel card to pay so that we could keep our rubbles for the airport duty free shop.  R1 = 4 Rubbles so we just divided everything by 4.
Patty told you about our morning in the park. The old bus and marine terminal building is a wonderful example of Soviet architecture with round tiles showing pictures of workers on railways,  ships, iron and steel workers, railroads, etc. 
At lunch more people gave us their cards or contact details.  If we took them all up on the invitations to visit them we could travel for 5 years and have free accommodation from Shanghai to Canada! 
After lunch we joined bus number 21 for the last time for our tour of the Kremlin.  This is actually a fortified, walled city containing gardens, museums, churches, cathedrals and the seat of the government.  You hear the expression "OY!" a lot in Russia and I must say that "OY!" doesn't come close to describing our surprise at the Kremlin.  I'm not going to try to add to Patty's description.  Instead I'll just add a few more photos that ususal.

Day 11: Red Square

Sylvia

(Patty outside the De Beers jewellry store in Moscow)

Today was full of optional excursions – most of them not accessible for wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, walking canes etc. There are a number of older people on board who use aids but Patty is the only one in a chair.

There was a full day excursion to Sergiev Posad to visit The Monastery of St Sergius, one of the most famous Goldring destinations in Russia and a pilgrimage destination for Orthodox Christians. It is a full day tour being about 2 hours outside of Russia. We didn’t want to be gone all day so we gave that a miss. The other tour was to the Novodevitch Convent (New Maiden Nunnery) but that wasn’t accessible for wheelchairs either so we didn’t go there. We could have gone to the Military Museum (also a physical challenge) but we opted instead to share a taxi with Greg and Kathy which dropped us at the Red Square where we spent a couple of hours window shopping in the Gum (pronounced Goom) department stores.

The building is an enormous, ornate, glass roofed structure that takes up the entire eastern side of Red Square. One of the passengers had visited there in the 1980’s and told us that it had been a dismal market hall with over 1,200 small stalls badly stocked, with surly stall owners. The building has been stunningly refurbished and is now home to boutiques displaying all the main name brands in clothing, cosmetics, jewellery – even a De Beers, which we couldn’t resist photographing to show our brother who worked for De Beers for about 25 years.

We met up with Greg and Kathy and had tea at a sidewalk café. Two teas, one small cranberry juice and a sprite came to nearly 1 000 Rubbles. Our taxi to and from town cost 4 500 Rubbles – about R1 000. We got back in time for lunch and sat with the Australian couples. Always good for a laugh!

I spent most of the afternoon putting photos on the blog, chatting to other passengers and just chilling in the Panorama Bar.  I brought Patty up for tea and cakes and then it was supper time again. We have both put on weight and can feel it when we get dressed!

There was an optional Moscow by Night excursion that started at 10pm and ended at 12:20am. We decided to get to bed instead!

Patty

This morning I heard Syl moving about and asked her what the time was.  "Twenty-five past seven" she said. 

"Wow!  Its still like mid-night" I said.  I got up to go to the toilet and washed my face.  She looked again at her watch and it was actually 4h35!! So, I went back to bed and stayed there until 7h30. 

After breakfast we ordered a taxi for 10am and on the way to town we stopped at a factory shop that supplies all the church, monastery and convent shops with cards and icons. Syl wanted a St James icon or card but once again they didn't have one.

The driver then dropped us close to the Red Square. I couldn't believe that I was really there! You see it on television with goose-stepping troops and military officers standing on the concrete steps, soldiers saluting the tomb of Lenin as they march past but you never imagine yourself in that square. It is over 70,000 sq m with cobble stones brought from around Lake Onega (where we sailed to visit Kizhi island).

The Lenin Mausoleum stands like a squat brick edifice almost in the middle of the square in front of the Kremlin wall. We didn't go into the musoleum but took a photogrph of it from the outside.

The best sight of all is St Basil's cathedral - the beautiful red, blue, green, white and gold onion domed church that is found on the covers of most guide books, postcards and adverts for Russia. 

Opposite the Kremlin wall is the Gum department complex.  What a beautiful 'shopping mall'! They have a long, large food emporium stocked with every imaginable food commodity, bottled, tinned, packaged and fresh. I wanted to take a photograph of the vodka display but a security guard shook his finger at me – no photos allowed.

Everything was very expensive and we didn't buy anything from any of the shops.  After having tea at a pavement coffee cafe we went back to the taxi rank at 1pm. 

I was quite pooped from the outing so had a little lie down while Syl sat upstairs and updated the blog.  4pm was tea time and then at 7:30 we went to dinner.  We watched a bit of TV in the room but the soccer match was too late so we switched off at around 10:30pm.

Day 10 – Scenic cruising and Moscow

Patty:   We didn't have to get up early today so I decided to skip breakfast.  Syl brought be a bowl of fruit and yoghurt and a cup of tea.  We went up to the Sky Bar to a "Disembarkation briefing" which gave us all the info on what to do on Monday when we disembark.  Syl and I will be transferred to the airport at 9am - 5 hours before our flight which is at 14h40.  Some passengers were very unhappy because their flights are at 6h45am and they have to leave the ship at 2h45am.

After the Disembarkation talk we watched part one of a Video that has been made by a documentary maker who has been following the different tour groups around since the start.  I appear briefly in the Summer Palace at Pushkin.  We have decided  to buy a copy when it is finished.

After lunch we went on the city tour - and what a beautiful city it is!! - but the guide told us that the Metro had stairs, steep escalators and was a busy place - too busy for a wheelchair, so we stayed with bus with two other couples. There was a Sushi Bar close by so we had afternoon tea there before being taken to a parking place close to Red Square.  Syl took some photos of Red Square and at 6:15pm we left to go back to the ship. 
We could have gone to a folk song concert tonight but were told that the theatre had steep steps and that we would only get back to the boat after 9:30pm. I was too pooped by then.  We went back to the boat and Syl worked on the blog while I watched television in the cabin.  What a lovely surprise when Syl knocked on the door and held the laptop up to show me Mark and Emily and Tammy on the monitor! Tammy had Skyped Syl and she was able to speak to them and see little Emily!
We finally got to bed at about 10:30pm.

Sylvia (Photo of the Kremlin wall and Gate)

We spent the morning cruising down the 128km Moscow canal, dug out shovel by shovel by Gulag prisoners during Stalin’s time. The whole project required the construction of 240 complicated structures including 7 concrete dams, 8 earthen dams, 11 locks, 8 hydroelectric plants, 5 pump stations, 15 bridges, 2 tunnels, and a terminal for passengers and cargo. The project was considered a greater challenge and accomplishment than both the Panama and Suez canals.
As we got nearer to Moscow, the banks of the canal became more and more populated with holiday homes, small suburbs, even nudist bathers. After lunch we joined our tour bus for a city tour of Moscow. Mikhail was back - recovered from his illness - and he introduced us to our city guide, a woman with a slow, sing-song voice that had us all nodding after 15 minutes.

We were stunned by the size and elegance of the city with grand old buildings, many painted in pastel colours, the number of parks – apparently over 30% of Moscow consists of parks and gardens – and the hundreds of colourful, domed churches still remaining.

The city reminded me of Paris but is, in my opinion, even more beauftiful. It even has a an Arc of Triumph in ts main street.  Many of the streets have two names - an old Soviet name and the original Russian name.  It was considered too costly and confusing to keep changing the street names so both names are on plaques on buildings and road signs. (Something our Durban City Manager could learn from!)  We had two photo stops, one at the Novodevitchy Convent (where many of the past political leaders are buried). In the park is a row of bronze ducks given to Raisa Gorbechev by Mrs Bush.

 The other stop was at Sparrow Hill, a view site above the city that overlooks the river and the city.
Some people then continued on the Metro (difficult for wheelchairs) to Red Square. We were told that we would have to stay in the bus for about 45 minutes after whivch it would proceed to a parking spot next to Red Square where we would wait for the metro group to rejoin the bus. 

We had a tea/coffee break and then the bus took us to the parking close to the Red Square where we parked for about 45 minutes before the others joined the bus. Some continued on another bus to a special concert and one busload came back to the ship. I suggested to Kathrin, the events organiser, that those who decide not to go on the metro, for whatever reason, should be taken directly to Red Square by bus rather than have to wait in the bus for two hours. She was surprised as she thought we were being taken to Red Sqaure.  Maybe they will change this aspect of the City Tour for future passengers. 
Because half of the tour groups had gone to the concert, dinner was only at 9:30pm and we were unable to get anything to eat on the boat.  I walked quite a long way up the quay looking for a take-away place but they were all closed.  Patty and I decided to give the late dinner a miss and have an early night instead. I've suggested to Kathrin that this should also be changed - keep dinner at the normal time for those passengers who do not elect to go on the extra excursion and have a snack bar for those who come back to the boat at 10pm.

The highlight of my day was when Tammy Skyped me and I was able to see my family – Tam and Mark and my noonoo Emily and my husband who held up a Windhoek Lager to the webcam!

Day 9 - Uglich is not ugly

Patty
The walking tour of Uglich started at 8h15 so we ordered a 6am wake up call which gave me time to shower, dress and have breakfast. We docked at 8am so Syl and I disembarked 15 mins early so that I could climb the 21 steps to the path above the wharf. Richard joined us and we spent a couple of hours with our guide strolling through the Kremlin, gardens and churches of Uglich. At our first stop I had to climb stairs again (puff, puff, puff) but it was worth it to listen to a quartet singing Russian chants and folksongs. I bought a double CD which I’m looking forward to listening to when we get home.

I decided not to climb the stairs to the church of Dimitry of the Blood (too stuffy and claustrophobic inside for me). We were then allowed to wander around the little town. Syl went to visit the monastery in search of Santiago icons while Richard and I had a coffee and then one of the boat’s guides (Lydia) took us to the chemist where she translated for me to get something for my swollen feet and ankles. They were very good and asked about my blood pressure and heart etc and recognized the medication I was on. So now I am taking a diuretic and have to stay close to a loo! We had a lazy afternoon (could have attended a lecture on Putin and Democracy but gave it a miss) and then got ready for the Captain’s dinner.

The captain stood in a receiving line and we were all handed a glass of champagne before being taken to our tables. We sat with a couple from San Francisco and their daughter who lives in Baltimore.
When we got back to our cabin there was a large box of chocolates from the management - nice touch.  Just before we went to bed we went through a large lock – one of the 7 we will pass through on our way to Moscow.


Sylvia 

Last night the meal was International Cuisine and we could have starters, mains and deserts from different countries. We got to bed at about 11pm and the tv was showing the webcam on the front of the boat. The sunset was so beautiful, I got up, got dressed and went up to take photos of the sunset.

This morning we docked at Uglich at 8am and I took Patty off the boat so that we could get a head start on the flight of steps up to the riverside road. What a wonderful sight – a blue, red and gold onion domed church right on the river. 

We joined Mikhail and he introduced us to the city guide who led us to the Church of the Saviour’s Blood.

One of the 'stories' told in paintings on the walls inside the church is of Dimitry, son of the King, who was ordered murdered by his father. The story is that only the bell puller saw what happened but when he reported it, the king ordered an investigation and found that his son’s death was the will of God and not murder because his son had slit his own throat - twice! Therefore, the poor bell puller had to be exiled to Siberia. The offending bells were also exiled where they stayed for 300 years.
This small town used to have dozens of churches but they were destroyed by Stalin and the bells melted down to make artillery. I have been trying to find an icon of St James but so far with no luck. Nadia, one of the boat’s guides, was certain I would find one at the monastery which she wanted to visit, so we walked together to the Resurrection Monastery which is a pilgrimage destination during the summer months. Alas, no St Yakhov card or icon could be found. During Stalin’s time the Monastery of the Intercession with unique monuments of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries was blown up. The area was flodded and a hydropower station was erected in its place.
Nadia and I met up with Richard and Patty and after visiting a small bookstore and the chemist, we decided to take Patty into a jewelry shop to look at silver earings. Richard didn't see a step into the shop and the front wheels dropped down the step almost tipping Patty out! She screamed - ARRRRRRRGGGGHHHH and clung to the chair! Richard nearly had a heart attack and the woman in the shop got such a fright!

We laughed about it afterwards but poor Richard was shaken!

We strolled through a gauntlet of souvenir stalls on the way back to the boat. We were able to buy a few magnets and other trinkets to take home.
The boat sailed at 12pm and we had lunch. Most passengers agree that there is too much food on offer at lunch time. There is always a salad bar, small sandwiches, a pasta dish or two, as well as a menu to choose from. An interesting sight on the way was the beautiful belfry of the 16th c church of the Trinity surrounded by water - all that remains of the church when it was flodded for the making of the canal system.  Two American passengers who make jewellery were comparing their necklaces, bracelets and ear-rings and soon had a group of interested people around them. One woman makes necklaces for a local store in California that sell for $450.

Patty and I dressed in our best finery for the Captain's dinner. Afterwards I went to the Panorma Bar to watch the boat passing through one of the largest locks on the canal. As we passed through the canal we saw a huge statue of Lenin on the right bank.

Tomorrow we arrive in Moscow after lunch and will be taken on a city tour which lasts until early evening.

Day 8 - Yaroslavl

Patty

This morning I decided to go to breakfast and then come back to the cabin for a shower and rest. It is much easier for me to do it this way than to try and get up early enough to shower and dress before breakfast. I don't know why I haven't done this before - it would have made life much easier for me than trying to rush to get ready every morning.

After breakfast I had a rest and later on Syl took me up to the Panorama Bar before lunch. From time to time various people come and sit with us and chat. The majority of American’s are unhappy with President Obama and we’ve heard lots of complaints about his policies and administration.

Others want to know more about South Africa but most have never heard of Durban.

After lunch we had a brief rest and then had to be on the buses by 3pm. There are 6 buses and ours is No.21 (they go from 21 to 26). Our guide, who has been sick for a couple of days, was back today but he didn’t have to do much as there was a local guide to tell us about Yaroslavl – the 20th largest city in Russia and once the capital when Moscow was occupied by Finland.

Our first stop was at an art gallery with a large exhibit of the lacquer boxes that are made all over Russia. I wasn’t able to go inside the building because of the steep staircases that lead to the rooms upstairs but Syl told me that the art was mostly by amateur artists from the city and that I  hadn’t missed much.  The next stop was the church of Elijah the Prophet – with another long flight of stairs - and I decided not to go inside. Syl said that it was breathtaking so she took lots of photographs. At the next stop, in the city centre, we had an hour to meander along the pedestrian avenue with small shops and restaurants and also through a pedestrian flea market. We weren’t really tempted to buy anything although there were lots of stalls with really nice shoes, bags and a few stalls with interesting hats. We also went into the fresh food market and I bought a kg of big red cherries. The last stop was at the riverside but I stayed in the bus.

Getting in and out of the bus and in and out of the wheelchair is a bit of a mission so I decided not to get out again until we got back to the ship. Sylvia bought me a nice mug so that we don’t have keep smuggling a mug into our cabin and hiding it in the safe!

Tonight’s dinner was International Cuisine and I ate too much – again. We sat with Greg and Kathy from the US and Mary and John, the American and Australian couple. Tomorrow we arrive at Uglich and can join a walking tour of the Kremlin. Only problem is that is starts at 8h15 which is really early for me. So, it is now 10pm and I’d better get to bed.

Sylvia 

 We didn’t have to get up early this morning as the shore excursion was only at 3pm. We could have joined an early Qi Gong exercise class from 8am to 8:30am and then a lecture on “Gorbatchev and Perestroika’ in the Sky Bar at 9am or 10h45 but I decided to chill out in the Panorama Bar instead while Patty rested. It is so interesting to cruise down the river, passing small villages and spying the occasional onion dome church in the trees. Lunch was at 12h30 and our boat arrived in Yaroslavl at 3pm. We passed numerous small hamlets and communities along the banks of the reservoir. It was hard to imagine that this area once consisted of 4000ha of arable farmland, 700 villages and pristine forests – all submerged when Stalin decided to flood the area and create the reservoir. People living here had to make their way to unknown destinations and the reservoir and canals were built by Gulag prisoners. Yaroslavl is one of the oldest and best known Russian cities founded by Prince Yaroslavl in the 10th century.

It became on of the most prominent mercantile centres of the upper Volga Regions. Russia’s first national theatre was established here and the first major national newspaper was also started here in the 18th century. In the 1930’s Yaroslavl produced the countries’ first heavy-duty trucks, trolley buses and its first diesel engines.  It is connected to Moscow – about 280km away- by river (in summer) road and rail.

There are numerous churches in Yaroslavl, most of them heavily decorated with wall paintings, frescos and iconostas. We visited the Church of Elijah the Prophet which survived by the skin of teeth when the soviets planned on blowing it up. We also visited the 13thC Spassky Monastery assemble built alongside the river. The town has an 18th century arcaded shopping area with goods from all over Europe and the east.

We didn’t get back to the boat until 6:45pm and the boat sailed at 7pm. There was a daily briefing before dinner. We had an 'early' night - 10:15pm.     

Day 7 Matushka Volga (Dear Mother Volga)

Patty:

I decided not to go to breakfast yesterday. Syl fetched me later and we sat in the Panorama bar watching the scenery as we floated by until lunch time. It was great to bask in the sun, cruising down the river. After lunch I had a lie down while Syl visited the monastery on Goritsky. The event manager suggested that the cobbles and stairs would make it impossible with the wheelchair. I decided to take a walk down to the library and met Richard and he took me up to the restaurant for tea. As we arrived, Syl was coming down to fetch me. It was a Russian tea with a wonderful spread of cakes, pastries, biscuits etc and Richard collected a platter each of different cakes for us to choose from. We scoffed the lot! After tea we returned to the Panorama Bar and I had my first whiskey. And then we went dinner!! And guess what we did then? Ate, ate and ate some more! We went through a few more locks and during the night we had some rough water as we crossed the Rybinsk reservoir. This morning we went through another lock before breakfast.

We passed under the bridge of the town of Rybinsk during breakfast and then continued sailing down the Mother Volga. I went back to the cabin for a little zizzz and returned to the Panorama Bar before lunch.

Sylvia                                                                                   

Today we cruised along the Volga-Baltic Waterway, an extended system of rivers, lakes and canals that link the Baltic Sea with the Volga River. Its total length from St Petersburg to the Rybinks Reservoir is about 1 100km.  We disembarked at Gorinsky for our shore excursion to the Kirrollov-Belozersky Monastery founded in 1397 by St Cyril. Set on an inland lake – Siverskoye – this is the largest monastery complex in Europe. It was fortified in the 15th and 17th centuries and now houses a museum with precious Iconostas and frescos. The boat berthed at a newly built dock with wooden buildings still under construction. There is the ever present souvenir shop, a small restaurant and wooden boats on display depicting typical Russian small boats used by the locals since they first settled here.

When we returned to the boat we were invited to a Russian tea with a buffet of cakes, pastries, pancakes and biscuits. The girls were all dressed in typical Russian folk dresses. At dinner we joined Greg and Kathy – an American couple we had met at the airport on our first day. Another couple – an Australian married to an American joined us for coffee. When we went to bed we entered another lock but this time we dropped down instead of rising up a level.