So I’m a little behind on the blog posts, but before we venture off again this year, here’s a quick review of 2017’s trip, Waterways of the Czars.
First stop was Helsinki, Finland. We walked the central core, ate good Italian food, and met some really fine folks who would join us on the entire journey.
Discovered Tallin, Estonia, a town trapped in time. It’s beautiful squares, quaint buildings, and difficult cobbled streets entertained us for a day.
Overlooking Tallin.
We took the train to St. Petersburg where our first tour was the beautiful Summer Palace of Katherine the Great.
The Amber Room. Don’t tell that I snuck a picture!
The waterfront in St. Petersburg. This is a lovely town with so much history and charm. We loved it.
The fortress of Sts. Peter and Paul. This is where all the later czars are buried.
The Church of the Sacred Blood (not the first one by that name we would see). There can be a maximum of 13 onion domes on a church and the color often denotes to whom the church is dedicated.
The opulent Winter Palace in the heart of St Petersburg. Gold, jewels, mirrors, elegant staircases, and big time over-doneness define this palace.
Just a small dining room of no real consequence. Note the ceramic stoves which heat the place in winter.
One hall lined with golden mirrors and art work.
Sailing away from St. Petersburg at night. Heading toward Moscow with intermediate stops.
On the island of Kizhi many buildings have been collected from around the country and re-erected here. This particular church is occasionally refurbished as the wooden domes don’t do so well in Russian weather.
Mandrogy is another village of collections, this time of artisans. Different Russian crafts are on display here. Always the opportunity to shop!
Kuzino is the home of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. The golden domes denote the church is dedicated to God and was founded by St. Cyril.
Yaroslavl, founded in 1010 by Prince Yaroslavl the Wise has a chapel full of frescos and golden artwork. The icons are always in a certain order usually with Mary in the middle, Jesus to her left, then the patron saint of the church on his left.
Uglich is another city on the Volga. Here we visited the Church of St. Dmitry on the Sacred Blood. It was on this site that Ivan the Terrible’s son, Dmitry died mysteriously because no one believed Ivan and Dmitry’s keepers that he accidentally slit his own throat.
Moscow, home of St. Basil’s Cathedral, now just another stop on the tourist trail.
Gumm Department store anchors one side of Red Square, St. Basil’s , the end, and The Kremlin the opposite side.
You may think the Kremlin is only the seat of government but it really is the home of many more churches, museums, open spaces, and one building, the last of this montage, where Putin occasionally shows up for work.
Our special group of traveling companions, with us from Helsinki to journey’s end in Moscow. These are now friends for life!
And thus ends the first portion of our trip. Shortly I will post our ongoing voyage of discovery of more of my cousins, our reunion with our French son, and so much more!
Mark and Kathie's Excellent Adventure 