My second trip to Russia

Russia from Moscow to St Petersburg - Part I:

This was my second trip to Russia with the first one completed six years ago. The itinerary was almost similar, except we lacked two shore stops at Irma and Kostroma on this trip.

Our Vantage tour group of 219 passengers stayed 14 nights aboard the Nikolay Chernyshevsky, built in 1981. We were divided in six color groups of 32, and I was in the "yellow" group. Our tour director was Masha Zhuravleva of Moscow who speaks excellent English. Our boat was docked at the same location as the first trip, except this time, there were many more tour boats.

We spent the first four nights in Moscow, the largest city in Russia, and our first day city tour included the Red Square, St Basil's church, KGB headquarters, and the Moscow Circus in the evening. The nice thing about visiting Russia this time of year is the fact that daylight stays until after 10 PM. On the second day, we visited the Tretyakov Gallery - one of my favorite places in Moscow, and where I fell in love with Russian art. Serso and his wife met me at the entrance of the gallery, so they joined our group for the gallery tour. When our gallery tour completed, I separated from our group, and Serso, his wife, and I went for lunch a few blocks away from the gallery. Mrs Serso had a 2 PM appointment, so she left us at the restaurant, and Serso and I took the metro to Red Square where we visited the History Museum and St Basil's (inside tour). We walked through (the famous) GUM shopping mall across from Red Square where I was trying to find another pair of trousers, but the prices were 3-4 times more than what I usually pay for trousers, so we then walked around to look at other department stores with not much luck. We started to walk towards Arbat Street, because I read someplace it's a favorite place for locals and tourists alike with stores, restaurants, and artists. At about 6 PM, we walked into a cafeteria to get something cool to drink. While I saved a table, Serso went to get the cold drinks. It was some time before he returned with a tray of cold soup called "okroshka," and "svar," a drink made from rye bread. Serso told me they were both "brewed." The drink tasted to me somewhat like prune juice. Both were very good and new "taste." It was exactly what I wanted to experience in Russia. The following day, we visited the Kremlin and the Armory Chamber, the museum that holds the treasures of the royalty including Fabrege Eggs. That evening, we were treated to the Moscow Circus. Our ship departed for Uglich after our return from the circus about 10 PM.

When I compare this visit to the first one, I immediately recognized much improvement in the Russian economy. Good for the Russian People, but bad for tourists, because prices have increased dramatically during the past six years. We were told by our local guide that the inflation rate is 10.5 percent/year, but their wages are increasing about 12 percent/year. On my first trip, the boat staff were mostly multi-lingual professionals like doctors, lawyers, and college professors, because back then they earned only about $100/month in their profession, but were able to earn about $500+/month working on tour boats. Today, it's mostly English-speaking college students. Although the food on board ship was "good," it didn't offer enough Russian fare for my taste.

Our cruise from Moscow to St Petersburg included 18 locks that scales down the water level by 161.5 meters, and crossing the largest fresh water lake in Europe, the Ladoga Lake, 130 miles long and 80 miles wide. The scenery was mostly pristine with much lush greenery, some villages, onion-domed churches and homes of every quality from rustic to mansions.


Note: Will post some pictures of Moscow today.