Tuesday 8 July

No sleep in today. Up early for breakfast & 8am arrival at Yaroslavl. This town is much bigger than Uglich & quite busy. It had some lovely buildings, parks & gardens. In one park area there were floral displays depicting various events from the winter olympics. We were driven by bus around the city with numerous stops for walks & sightseeing. They have a number of parks set up as children's parks with fun things to do eg. Motorised toys to ride. We were taken to a puppet theatre but didn't see a show as the group is currently travelling through Russia during school holidays. We visited another church, a monastery, main square & town market. The food markets are very interesting but we certainly don't need any more food. Under the Soviet era many churches & monasteries were closed & some were demolished or fell into disrepair. Since1995 they are being reopened & used so there has been a turnaround in levels of Christian worship with about 27% of the population now attending church (mostly Orthodox). 

Back on board by 11.45am, we set sail again. Later in the afternoon we attended a lecture by the Professor on Joseph Stalin. Along the way we go through numerous Locks so it is fascinating to watch the procedure as the boat comes into the lock at a low level, then is gradually raised by incoming water & then sails out at a higher level. Okay, better go now & find the gym - Rachel's "suggestion"!

Photos from Monday

Jan with

Ivan the Terrible!Typical Church

Us,

Male choir

Monday 7 July

On Sunday evening we set sail from Moscow & sailed all night until 4pm on Monday when we stopped at a river side village called Uglich. Finally we were able to sleep in & relax on board. We have information sessions about what we are seeing & visiting, then a lecture by the History Professor on the Russian Monarchy & there was also a Russian Language class. 

We went ashore at Uglich & did a walking tour of the town in small groups each with a local guide. We saw a 1,000 year old church & listened to a 6 man choir singing unaccompanied - they were brilliant so we bought their cd. You can all have the joy of listening to the song of the Volga boatmen - it's a classic! 

By 7 we were back on board & the boat set sail soon after. 

We sat with a Canadian Christian couple & another Perth couple who also mentioned going to church. Dinners are long with 5 courses so it can be very pleasant having good company.

More photos

Sunday 6 July

Another beautiful sunny day with temp around 28 degrees. After usual morning briefing at 8.15, we boarded busses for either Bow Hill WWII Memorial Museum or an Art Gallery - we chose the former. The museum is in spectacular grounds with multiple fountains & views of the city. Bow Hill is as far as Napoleon got in attempting to invade Moscow. No one has succeeded in taking Moscow. Hitler planned to invade Moscow & show the world by parading his troops through the Red Square but they were defeated outside Moscow. 

The memorial was only opened in 1995. Russia lost more than 27million people in WW11. The guide said that Churchill said if it weren't for Russia England would have been invaded. Chris, I asked the guide about the White Russians & Red Russians re Foyles War "Russian House" & he said White Russians fought against Russian Communist regime but they weren't executed when they were sent back just imprisoned - who do we believe, a Russian (very knowledgeable) tour guide or Foyle! 

The museum was very well done & main battles such as Stalingrad & Kirsch were represented in large Dioramas takin up a whole room each & we saw at least 4 of these.

Afterwards we returned to the ship & in the afternoon went for a walk, listened to a lecture on board about Russian history by a resident History Professor who is travelling with us & will give 5 lectures during the trip.

In the evening we had the Captains Welcome cocktails & dinner which was "a sumptuous affair". 

First Two Days

Hi everyone. Sorry it has taken a few days for us to get the blog going. We have "hit the ground running" in Moscow.
We had a smooth flight from Melb to Abu Dhabi and both had a reasonable amount of sleep. We arrived in Abu Dhabi just after 6am & already the temperature was 32 heading for a top of 41 that day.after a few hours there we boarded a smaller plane for Moscow. We were the only business class passengers. The 5 hour flight was smooth until the landing. We had almost touched the Tarmac but the plane was wobbling side to side, then it suddenly took off back up & did a big circle to try again. This time it came down a lot smoother. Don't know why but it was just like there was a trainee pilot at the controls! 

There are about 180 passengers on the boat including Aussies, English, Americans & Canadians. Friday was very busy - left boat at 9.30 am & arrived back for dinner at 10.15pm. Bus tour of Moscow with photo stops then Red Square then GUM shopping centre with 3 amazing levels & beautiful floral displays. Went through St Basil's Cathedral started in 14 century & encountered incredible male singing quartet. Toured Moscow Metro which is decorated with artworks, mosaics, sculptures & chandeliers. From there via tourist shopping area to Moscow Circus. Amazing animal acts, acrobats & gymnasts - a highlight of the day.

Saturday we toured the Kremlin where Putin has his office. It is a walled city on a hill in Moscow with a long history. Saw a collection of 27 Faberge Eggs & many priceless items from the Tsarist era. In the evening, we went to a Russian traditional dancing show - another amazing experience which Tammy & the girls would love (perfect technique!!). Apparently it may be in Australia later in the year.

Leaving tonight on Etihad at 10.40