Yaroslovl

After the ship docked at Yaroslavl it was time to explore the city.  Soon we were in the historical section of this World Heritage Site.  We began where the city began.  There is an overlook with a gazebo where you can see a park flanked by the Volga and  Kotorosl Rivers.  A notable feature in this treeless park is the bear, and it is a big bear. The bear, which is standing holding a battle axe, is on a white shield. This image is on the flag of the city. The shield and bear are over 100 feet long and are the center piece in a garden.  It is spectacular when viewed from above. Legend has it that Yaroslov, the city founder,  killed a bear on this spot and that is the reason for its use here.  It is a beautiful city with wide  boulevards and streets. Actually, it was once the capital of Russia, but for just a short while.

We walked around the historical part of the city and ventured into the city market. It was covered and sold primarily fruits and vegetables, but also included some sausages and cheeses.  The chef from the ship was there helping hand out samples. The bite-sized samples were delicious. We sought ice cream.  It was a warm day, in the eighties. We could find none, so we went outside. The tent-like booths were close together with narrow alleys between them.  It reminded us of Turkey and Morocco.  We found clothes and other non-food items, but no ice cream. We gave up on our search for that frozen dairy delight, because we had  to meet the tour group at the Church of Saint Elijah the Prophet.

The Church of St. Elijah the Prophet had green onion-shaped domes. The interior of this church is known for its murals. A team of fifteen artists did the painting. The most unusual fact about this mural is that it

depicts figures other than holy ones. Indeed, ordinary townpeople are shown. It is said that the priest responsible for paying the  artist withheld payment. In response, the artist depicted the priest in the mural in a very unflattering manner. The mural is beautiful and has only been cleaned since the seventeenth century. It is rare that a mural of this age has not been repainted. 

Our next stop was the Govermor's Mansion.  Near the entramce there were tables of  extraordinary crafts for sale. Tiny boxes from one inch to one foot were for sale, but these were no ordinary boxes.

They were made of papier mache and embellished with gold leaf and intricate paintings. They were some of the most expensive handicrafts we saw for sale in Russia, but they were objects of unusual beauty. 

The governor's mansion was actually built in the 19th century for a resting place for Emperor Alexander I. Royalty often built mansions throughout the country for restive stops during their travels about their country. This mansion was splendidly decorated and it houses a great art collection. Once we disembarked our motorcoaches we entered the large house and were met by a guide in period dress of the 19th century. She was young, hardly out of her teens, and was dressed in a flowing white gown. I had a momentary wish to become a young Russian male.  In an ornate room with paintings all around and devoid of furniture, she stood by a near waist-high vase of flowers. She gave each of us one to hold. She asked us to present it to someone close to us as she told us the significance of each flower. I'm not sure what this had to do with Russian culture, but it was interesting. Besides, I Iike interactive events. In the next room she told us about the governors who had lived in the mansion, and one tourist who answered a trivia question correctly was allowed to sit at the ornate governor's desk. These were minor treats compared to what was next.  The next room we visited was clearly the largest room in the mansion.  It was the grand ballroom. Claudette clutched my arm as we entered.  "I think that's Strauss," she said referring to the music we were hearing.  In the corner of the large room, which had windows along one side, was a trio of a violin, cello and piano, the source of the music. Along the walls from which hung ornately framed oil paintings were chairs. The tallest painting of a striking ffigure of a man in an 18th centrry military uniform was over ten feet tall.  Soon the ballroom was full of onlookers, and dancers in period dress began to perform.  The young ladies were in their long dresses and the young men in the militaristic outfiits of blue trimmed in white. It was very entertaining. After performing several dances  from earlier centuries the performers picked audience members for dance partners.  It was at that time that an old man's dream became reality. Yes, I, the rhythmically challenged, was on the ballroom floor with a beautiful young Russian girl in my arms attempting to move my body to the rhythms of  Johann Strauss.  Good dreams do come to an end.  The music stopped and Claudette reminded me of reality. 

We were rather tired by the time we were back aboard the Ingvar.  We did not attend the daily briefing, choosing instead to watch it on the closed circuit television. By dinner time we were quite hungry. We dined with Barry and Pamela.  They were a British couple.  He looked very patrician; tall, with well barbered but thinning hair and classic facial features. And she, well she was as prim and proper as could be. We had visited much of the area in England where they lived. Barry was quite a connoisseur of wine and ordered a bottle of Argentine cabernet sauvignon and shared it with us.  Barry liked it, and I thought it was good, although I could not extol its qualities the way he could.   Dinner with Barry and Pamela was the perfect ending for our first day on the Volga.