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TRAVEL REPORTS
RUSSIA TRIP
Report and photographs by Jan Pilcher & Dick Oxenham
OUR RUSSIAN TOUR -9th - 16th May 2009
Please click on the thumbnails below to view the photographs full size.
Our party of 19 travelled to London and met at Heathrow for our BA flight on 9th May 09 leaving at 8.55am arriving at 4.45.pm.Moscow time, having had a comfortable journey and excellent food.
We were met by our Guide who told us many interesting facts about Russia on the way to our Hotel, The Cosmos which was large (3600 bed) and a quite impressive sight-with cafes, restaurants, shops and a Casino, we settled in and had dinner and a relaxing evening.
Next morning 10 am we met our guide Maria at Hotel, and started off to Red Square. We stopped at traffic lights and so did the coach. We got a replacement within the hour, it was worth the wait as it was more luxurious ,we carried on and finally, had our first sight of Red Square and colourful St Basils Cathedral.
There had been a parade in the square for the 1945 Celebration Holidays, the dignitaries seats (on the left) in front of the Kremlin Wall ,behind which is Lenin’s Tomb, and on the opposite side of Red Square is the famous Large Department Store called RYM (sounds like GUM) which was decked out with blossoms for the occasion.
Four couples decided on an impromptu River Boat Ride, with views of the Kremlin from the boat and the Road & Rail Bridge across the River Volga.
In the evening 10 Members went to see The Bolshoi Ballet perform Giselle, which was a wonderful experience.
On Day 3 we visited the inside of the Kremlin which was a real eye opener, we were all amazed at the sight within the walls, there were large colourful buildings with golden onion domes (one was the Presidents offices) in a beautiful park setting , 3 old and well preserved churches, The Cathedral of the Dormition and the Tsars Cannon and Bell (weighing over 20 tons). Our guide Maria was very informative and it was a most interesting visit.
We had an enjoyable restaurant lunch near Red Square, with Beetroot Soup, Sliced tomatoes and chicken with Ice Cream to follow, We the set off deep underground to visit the Metro stations with their really steep escalators, but magnificent, all decorated, some to commemorate events but all amazing works of art, with chandeliers, mosaics, paintings, large bronze and marble statues and tiled floors, and squeaky clean throughout. Nothing like the London underground.
Our next stop was Arbat Street, with its many shops, and cafes one of which you might recognise.
On Day 4 we stopped to admire the stretched Limousines parked in our Hotel Car Park, and then set off for our hour long journey to the Monastery at Sergiev Posad, which is quite a large estate and still houses Russian Monks..Here again we all marvelled at the lovely old buildings, with the gold onion domes, the Cathedral, and fountains, and saw again the inside of Orthodox churches, where all walls are totally covered with paintings .
We had lunch at a nearby restaurant and were served Veg/potato salad. Mushroom Soup, Chicken Stew and Ice Cream, each course arrived in a little pot ,it was different but very nice. In the afternoon we returned to the Hotel, with some spare time and to prepare for our journey to the Station to board the night sleeper to St Petersburg.. On the way our Guide arranged a trip to Sparrow Hill which overlooks Moscow City, it had started to rain so the views weren’t great, but we had fun talking to a Russian Banker who had hired a Limousine for his Birthday and was celebrating with a glass of champagne. We admired the car, and chatted he spoke excellent English, only to find out that he has a Villa in Villajoyosa, and he then invited those who wished to sit in and be photographed in his Limo.
We arrived at the Station with time to spare and had a few hairy moments when we realised some of our party had gone to board the wrong train, Maria our guide rescued them ,made sure we all then boarded the right train, and we waved goodbye to our very knowledgeable and likeable guide, at 11.30pm.
Our first class carriages were equipped with 2 couchettes, nice bedding and a supper snack. Most of us managed to sleep, woke up to breakfast in our carriage and arrived in St Petersburg at 7.40am.
Our new Guide Ellanya, met us at the Station with a minibus, and took us on a Tour of the City, she was a mine of information, excellent English, and amusing as she pointed out the sights along the way. We saw the Peter & Paul Fortress on the Island, and St Catherine’s Chapel which houses the tombs of Nicholas 11 and family,and she pointed out the signpost with "forbidden signs" and hilarious explanations.
on Day 6 we saw more of the city and visited the magnificent St Isaacs Cathedral,full of mosaics,gold leaf and huge carved doors, coated with bronze Ellanya explained that .during the Communist era most churches were boarded and almost discarded and derelict, but over the last 15years have been painstakingly and lovingly renovated, and are now allowed to have services.
At Midday we arrived at The Hermitage one of the most famous museums in the world, it was Catherine the Great´s Winter Palace originally, which she continually enlarged until it had 1000 rooms. We spent over 3 hours here admiring the building, its works of art and the gardens,it was an amazing place.
In the evening we all had dinner at the Hotel and had an enjoyable trip on a River Boat.
Our next days visit was to Peterhof Palace and Gardens, the day was grey and colder because we were near the Baltic Sea ,but the Palace was enchanting both inside and out and very busy with tourists. We had a nice lunch in the Restaurant and bought souvenirs from the shop and from stalls outside the Palace grounds.
In the evening we went to Nikolayevsky Palace to watch a Russian Folk Show which included an excellent Male singing quartet, a small orchestra, and groups of Dancers, Members of the audience were chosen to dance with the group and chose Alan Steed our U3A member (see picture) Another comic dancer was very funny dancing with a puppet partner and had the whole audience in stitches with his antics. Again all this took place in a beautiful building and we were entertained before the performance and during supper drinks and nibbles by a classical quartet .The whole evening was a joyous experience.
Our last day and just enough time left to visit the Summer Palace at Pushkin with its famous Amber Room. Again an awe inspiring building which grew and grew over the Catherine years.A very precious floor here and we all had to wear shoe covers.
Our day had come to a close, and we only had the Airport to see before we left, but what an experience to get out of Russia, security seemed negligible when we arrived and all of the last 7 days until now, We had to queue for security check, plane seats, passport check, a further security check without shoes, and finally were allowed to board the plane, for a quiet and restful flight back to Uk,contemplating our exciting experience
having seen some amazing sights and enjoyed everything with some really good company.
Report and photographs by Jan Pilcher & Dick Oxenham.
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