River Cruise in Russia

I decided that I would like to visit Russia and after much consideration settled on a river cruise which provided not only the opportunity of visits to both Moscow and St Petersburg but also provided the chance to view and explore the countryside between the two cities.

After arrival in Moscow the transfer to the river cruise terminal through the city provided our first insight in to the city of Moscow. The following day brought an early start for a morning tour of the Kremlin complex, the old fortress that was the centre of the Russian Orthodox Church but is now the seat of Russian Government together with the many interesting buildings and a visit was also made to the Armoury Chamber, home to many fabulous treasures. The afternoon was spent exploring the many interesting and eminent graves in the Novodevichy Cemetary such as Khrushchev, Yeltsin and Chekhov to name but a few. The evening was spent exploring Moscow by night with trips to view some of the amazing decorations in the metro stations.

The second day in Moscow brought a city tour with a view of all the sights with time to spend in Red Square and its surroundings to see the stunning St Basil’s Cathedral and GUM department store and then a visit to Sparrow Hill, the city’s high point for a view over the city before returning to the ship for departure for Uglich through the many locks of the Moscow Canal.

A walking tour of the sights and churches around medieval Uglich founded in the 12th century and famous for clock making then followed before we set off along the Volga River, through the Ribinsk Reservoir, for Yaroslavl, a picturesque town with numerous ancient churches and fortresses.

Next stop Goritsy for a visit to the Monastery of St Cyril complex with its cathedral, museum of history and art etc on the banks of the White Lake. Founded in 1397, it still has a community of monks in residence. Onwards again through the six very narrow locks of the Volga Baltic Canal to reach Lake Onega, the second largest lake in Europe, heading for Kizhi Island. Kizhi is one of the most ancient inhabited sites in Russia, now an open air museum and UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 1714 the Church of the Transfiguration was erected on the island, a wooden structure with 22 onion shaped domes with not a single nail used in its construction! Such a shame that it was undergoing repair and only five were available to see!

Off again across Lake Onega to the Svir River to reach Mandrogi. It had been mainly a small fishing village, hardly touched by time but during World War II, was burned to the ground. Then, after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, a group of investors rallied to restore it to its former glory and it is now full of working craft shops, a great place for souvenirs, not to mention the Vodka Museum, home to more than 2,800 varieties of vodka!

Then we set off for our final destination, stunning St Petersburg, for our last two days in Russia. Our day started with an orientation tour to show the major city sights, followed by free time to wander with our packed lunch! We then rejoined our group for a visit to the Hermitage Museum which was truly amazing. Apparently, if you spent just one minute of your time looking at each exhibit, it would take 11 years to see everything! A return to our ship for a quick change and dinner and we were off for a display of very skilled Cossack dancing – a very long but brilliant day!

Another packed day was to follow. An early departure for the Catherine Palace, the summer residence of the Tsars, another truly amazing palace. More than 100 kilograms of gold were used just to gild the sophisticated stucco façade and the numerous statues erected on the roof! It is also the home of the famous Amber Room. Unfortunately, when German forces retreated after the siege of Leningrad they intentionally destroyed the residence, leaving just a shell. However, prior to World War II Soviet archivists had managed to document a fair amount of the interior which has enabled a fairly accurate reconstruction.

Our last afternoon saw us heading towards the Peterhof Palace sometimes referred to as the ‘Russian Versailles’ for a tour of the lower gardens, laid out according to the plans of Peter the Great, flowing down from the Palace to the Gulf of Finland, the eastern end of the Baltic Sea.

As evening arrived we took a canal boat trip around St Petersburg and as our trip neared its end, we escaped from the canals in to the Neva River to witness a fabulous sunset, an amazing end to a truly wonderful 10 day experience.

If you would like some more information on Russia, or indeed any river cruise, please do not hesitate to get in touch.