Kizhi, Russia

It was a warm morning under a cloudless Russian skies as we walked onto the pier at Kizhi.  Actually, my problem with this place was like many others I had encountered since landing on the largest country on earth. HOW do you pronounce the names of some of these towns?  Even if you see it written that is not always helpful, because they use a different alphabet. So what was it?  How did you pronounce the name of the town? Fortunately the Russian guides came to my aid. I don't think I would have ever realized that it was "Ki-zee" or as they would have printed in Time magazine, rhymes with "Lizzy". There was a boardwalk across a marshy area  from the pier where the big white river cruise ship tied up. Our guide warned us about the possibility of snakes. I thought it was too cool for them to be out but watched my step anyway.

As we walked out from beneath the trees that border the lake the first thing we saw was the Church of Transfiguration.  Around this church with its twenty-two onion shaped domes was a high wall.  As we walked toward it I could hear a voice in my ear. (When we were touring a site with a guide she would transmit commentary to the small radio receivers we carried.) It was kind of like that little voice Magnum, P.I. heard, but not quite.  She was telling us why the church looked so strange. And indeed, it did look strange! That is if you can imagine a multi-level octagonal structure topped with domes appearing stranger than usual. What she was referring to was the fact that you could see

through the midsection of the church.  That was strange. The church was undergoing restoration. In doing so the conservators had built a steel frame inside the church to support it during restoration. This steel skeleton was visible where the midsection of the building was missing. As we entered through the gate in the surrounding wall we got a closeup view of the church.  I'm always fascinated by construction methods. The church is built of wood, scots pine logs actually. The notched logs are joined at the corners. There are eight corners in an octagonal building. However, the logs are joined in a crude tongue and groove fashion.  This eliminates a gap between the logs.  There was no "chinking" (mud between the logs) you see in American pioneer cabins. No nails are used in the construction of this 37 meter tall structure.  And the seventeenth century builder used only an axe.  Folklore says that when he finished the church he threw his axe into the lake, proclaiming that he could never build a more beautiful church. Next to it is a bell tower which is almost as tall. The Church of Transfiguration may be the tallest wooden church in the world.

Next we visited a typical house of 17th century Russia. It was a log house in a rectangular shape. The second floor was for people while the lower floor was for storage and animals in the winter. The living area was dominated by a huge ceramic stove. It was used for cooking as well as providing
heat. An interesting feature was the bed on the top of the stove for the elderly and children to sleep in during the cold Russian winters. Furniture was simple but  functional and there was a lady in peasant dress making lace. She had samples of her work for sale for a few rubles. Next to the living area for people was a huge loft with a ramp to allow livestock access.

There were several other structures on the tiny island in Lake Onega.  There was a sauna bathhouse, a wind powered mill, and another church. We saw a woman tending her vegetable garden near the bathhouse and a man making roofing shingles in the shade of a huge tree. He was fashioning the shingles from birch wood with a hatchet. It was similar to a teardrop shape like those covering the domes of the churches.  I recalled  how shingles were made by my great uncle with  mallet and fro. He could make a half dozen cedar shingles in a minute. This Russian craftsman could make one in about half an hour, but his were pretty. 

The last place we visited at Kizhi was the Church of Intercession. It was less grand than the Church of Transfiguration, with only nine domes, but was accessible.  The interior had icons on all walls. These are of the Byzantine style, showing biblical characters with elongated faces and bodies.

Russian Orthodox religion is similar to the Greek Orthodox faith. The main room is divided and only men are allowed behind the second wall. Women must cover their heads when entering the Russian Orthodox church. The rooms had high ceilings and a number of monks serenaded us with a cappella singing. It was beautiful, although I understood not a word. 

There was a leisurely walk back to the ship.  Upon leaving we felt we had seen a bit of Russian history. After all the palaces in Saint Petersburg it was good to see how the lower classes lived. That night we dined with Eli and Nina.  The retired couple was from San Francisco but had seen much of the world. He was a big man in his late seventies with thinning gray hair and a slight aquiline nose. He spoke in a low tone modulating each word that rolled off his tongue. Eli had previously owned a manufacturing company and was most interesting in discussing the United States policy toward Israel. The former businessman was from Israel and I believe he had relatives there. He told how the Israelis had built a hospital near its borders, which served the wounded children from either side. Nina, who was perhaps a bit younger but had added significant pounds during the aging process, spoke in accented English. She wore her make-up well with what I would consider "ultra red" lipstick. Born in the Ukraine, she had immigrated Israel and then to the Unite States as a young woman.  She, like her husband, was very pro-Israel. They were delightful conversationalists and we enjoyed our evening meal with them very much. 

There was hardly a hint of movement as the Ingvar sailed across Lake Onega. Kizhi

would be a place we would always remember.

Mouth of the Neva.

After a good night's sleep aboard the Viking ship, Ingvar, we set out to explore Saint Petersburg, the second largest city in Russia. There are quite a few "must-be-seens" in this city, which is situated where the Neva River enters the Gulf of Finland. We were very excited to see the Hermitage, one of the greatest art museums in the world. The large fifty passenger motorcoaches were waiting on the pier for us. We each picked up a bottle of water as we left the ship. It was going to be a long day. On board the bus with us was Natalia,our Russian guide.  Unlike our other river cruise this one had on board guides. I must admit I liked this idea.  Natalia spoke excellent English and had visited the U.S.A. I found her quite knowledgeable, although I did not agree with some of her political views.

Our bus let us off in front of the eighteenth palace built by Catherine the Great. Natalia told us not to expect the bus to be in the same place after our tour because parking was not allowed

where we disembarked and to leave our bottles of water on the bus.  They would not be allowed in the museum. One thing we noticed immediately about Russian street traffic was the speed at which everyone drove, fast.  And how courteous they were to pedestrians.  If you put your foot in a pedestrian crosswalk the traffic comes to an quick halt,  According to our guide there are severe penalties to those who violate pedestrian rights.  There was not as much traffic as I would have expected for a city of almost five million people. There was a long line to enter the museum, but it moved quickly. Security at tourist sites in Russia is unusual.  I would prefer the term "quirky". Sometimes handbags are allowed and sometimes they aren't. Sometimes long coats are allowed and sometimes they aren't.  There seems to be no rhyme or reason for some of their rules.  It is easy to see why Saint Petersburg is called a very western city.  The czars liked France and sought to copy its architecture.  The interiors as well as the exteriors reflect this.  But I don't think I saw a blue building in Paris trimmed in white.

 Catherine the Great founded this museum in 1764 which, incidentally, was about the time my ancestors were  building their log cabins in the new world. There are three million pieces of art, antiquities, sculpture, and culture in the museum, which is comprised of six buildings.  When you visit one of the great palaces of Europe you become aware of what the wealth of the purveyors of

absolute power can buy.  All of the great masters are represented there. From Egyption art to the

present there are paintings and sculptures. I was fascinated by the collection of twenty-three Rembrandts, an incredible collection  of the Dutch master's work. The tour of this museum, which also included some palace rooms, was five hours long.  Although we did not see everything, we were ready to leave. It was crowded, although we had seen greater crowds at the Louvre in Paris and the Prado in Madrid. We found our motor coach a few blocks away from Palace Square, 2.

Back aboard the Ingvar we had an early dinner. We dined with a lovely couple from England. They lived near the Cotswolds, one of our favorite areas of the UK.  After a brief rest, a shower, and a change of clothes it was time to attend the ballet.  I am not a huge fan of the ballet, but I was in Russia and Russia is famous for ballet. Therefore, I put aside my prejudices and attended a performance of Swan Lake.  Once aboard the motorcoach we were told we were going back to one of the Hermitage  buildings. It seems one of the buildings was a theater. Many of us changed into some dressier clothes for the event. I put on a new pair of blue jeans. One fellow whom we would get to know better wore a Scottish outfit but with trousers instead of a kilt.  He said that he had heard that Mr. Putin did not care for men in skirts.The performance was great and was accompanied by an orchestra. The story was quite simple, and the dancing was fantastic.  Nevertheless, there is something about men in tights dancing on their toes that's not quite my cup of tea. But I do admire the athleticism required to dance the ballet. There was one ballerina that caught my attention. She was buxom! A rarity. After this performance, which we were not allowed to photograph, we returned to the ship slightly after ten o'clock.  There was plenty of daylight at ten o'clock, because St. Petersburg is at the same latitude as Anchorage, Alaska. A buffet awaited us.

We enjoyed our first full day in Russia and were anxious to see what tomorrow would bring.

Boarding the Ingzar

Our flight from Amsterdam was uneventful.  I sort of felt strange going through Russian security though. Perhaps it was from growing up during the cold war and having seen too many spy movies. The uniformed personnel said little, merely stamped our documents and waived us through.  They were very efficient.   Polkova International Airport was not very crowded and as usual the Viking representative met us at the airport. This would be our second cruise with Viking Cruise Lines.  Our first had been a thoroughly delightful voyage from Amsterdam to Budapest. This cruise would be from St. Petersburg to Moscow. Many of our friends had openly questioned our wisdom about traveling to Russia, given the current Ukraine situation and Russian American relations. However, we paid them no heed.

About an hour and a half after landing we were aboard the Viking MV Ingvar. Our cabin was on the second deck almost directly above the dining room. On this ship we had opted for a room on the port side  with an accessible deck.  One of the things we like most about this mode of travel is the handling of the luggage. Once it was stored on the motorcoach which transported us from the airport, ships personnel carried it directly to our room. It's like moving into a hotel room that travels with you.

Dinner tends to be a welcome event for us on board.  Not only is is an opportunity to enjoy some great food and drink but open seating and a casual atmosphere is very conducive to making new friends.  The first night we had dinner with a couple of Mennonites and a woman from Maui with chronic wanderlust.  The lady Mennonite was the minister to a congregation in the midwest.We had the usual "welcome aboard" meeting in the lounge which also served as meeting room.  Crew introductions were made and we were informed about certain particulars of the cruise.  Who to see for what, mealtimes, safety regulations, et cetera.  There were 192 passengers and about one crewmember for each two passengers. One difference in this cruise from our previous was the inclusion of three onboard tour guides. After this informative gathering we went back to our room and continued settling in. This ship unlike the other ship had few 110 volt  outlets. But we had adapters with us to adapt the European style receptacles to our American plugs.  I had to check out the television remote.  (It has been said that I am addicted to television.) Shipboard television usually has local TV and maybe two English speaking stations. Normally, there are feeds from several onboard cameras as well. There are cameras on the bow and in the bar/meeting areas.  So if you don't get to the daily briefing, You can watch it on the television in your room. Staterooms are quite compact although we once stayed in a hotel room in the UK that was smaller. The bed was kingsize and flanked by an bedside table on either side.  There is a desk/vanity/whatever with a stool on which to sit. The wardrobe is built in  of course. The bath with shower is a model of efficiency.  There is a telephone and a smoke detector. Shipboard announcements are no longer made via the speakerphone in your cabin but announced in the passageways only.  It seems some passengers complained about hearing them in their cabins.  However, if you have your television on you may not hear the announcements at all. WIFI,which we have become accustomed to is "iffy".  It depends on where the ship is. We locked our passports in the safe and settled down to a good nights sleep.  It had been a long time since we left Goose Creek. Below is a look at our cabin.

(The bed had a duvet. I HATE duvets! The allow you to be either too cool (without) or too warm (covered).

Thoughts in Red...or Not

Recently my wife and I went to Russia. The Beatles song Back In the USSR is now quite dated; it's just Russia now. We traveled on one of the Viking river cruises. Upon our return many people have asked us: "What was it REALLY like?" I'd like to answer that question now.

Actually, my preconceptions were pretty much blown asunder. I expected a strong military presence. (I lived through the Cold War.) I expected everything to be sort of dark and gray.  All the women would look like stocky peasant women with bandanas on their heads.  The men I expected to look like the guys that killed DeNiro in 15 minutes.  On their streets I expected to see those droll appearing Russian automobiles.

But, alas, it was not like that at all. As tourists there were probably slums we did not see and perhaps some other unsavory bits of society. The large cities we visited were much like America's large cities, the same hustle and bustle and lack of adequate parking. There were lines at McDonalds at lunch time, and teenagers dress and act freaky and weird just like here.  There was hardly any military presence except for honor guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow. Entering and exiting the country was easy, no security hassles. Many of the women were beautiful and very Nordic in appearance, especially in St. Petersburg.   I did not see many Nikita Kruschev look-alikes.  We saw very few people with tattoos.  The palaces of the czars rival any in Europe.   Can you imagine a room paneled in amber?   There's one Catherine's Palace near St. Petersburg. Imported cars are driven almost exclusively in Russia's large cities,  primarily German made automobiles, but the police in Moscow drive Fords.  Vladimir Putin is their hero.   Why?   Because he put food back on the grocery store shelves.   After Gorbachev's disastrous venture into capitalism the people were hungry.   Another big surprise for me was that Red Square was not as large as I had imagined.   I remember watching the parades of hundreds of soldiers, tanks,  and missile launchers on television.

One thing I did notice was the male chauvinism exhibited when my wife asked directions of a security guard. He turned to me to answer her question.