Kickin' About

Our 2nd week in Russia started with a trip to Suzdal, a town 3 hours drive east-nor-east of Moscow. It’s an ancient town, from around the turn of the 1st century, and contains many examples of old Russian architecture. The weather has now turned to mostly grey with showers here and there. Before this , we had warm, mostly clear days, 30°+.

Speed limits don’t seem to matter on the highways here, a speeding fine is about $15, with a 50% discount if it’s paid on time, so of no concern to drivers! There are some quite high speeds on the motorways. On town roads, there are speed bumps before and after pedestrian crossings. The Russian name for these literally translates to ‘laying down policeman’ 😅, or as I term it, ‘Sleeping Cop’ – much to Sasha’s amusement.

Suzdal is full of old Russian architecture with many historical orthodox churches. Whilst some seem quite plain on the inside, others are rather ornately done. Ladies, cover your head if you venture inside!

The Suzdal Kremlin is a centuries-old fortress dating from the 10th century. It was the home to the Prince, Archbishop and other high clergy. The Cathedral of the Nativity within the kremlin has gold-starred blue domes and 13th century frescoes. A kremlin exists in most ancient towns, it stands for the town fortress.

The summer days are long in this part of the world. Dusk is around 10pm and dawn breaks around 4am. If the curtains aren’t black-out,  sleeps can be short.

Tuesday starts out a bit wetter but we seem to find the breaks in the rain at the right time. Breakfast started the day with an interestingly traditional style.

We venture across town to the Museum of Wooden Architecture. This has numerous examples of old wooden buildings brought here from around the region and is considered to be a little corner of classical ancient Russia.

One of the highlights of visiting Suzdal is the Monastery of Saint Euthymius. Founded in 1352, in later years, it was used as a prison of various sorts, including housing german officers captured at Stalingrad.

The Cathedral within the monastery dates from the 16th century and its interior is fascinating with the original artwork still there. Angie ventured over to a tomb looking object, no doubt assuming there would be a lid, only to find herself looking down at the body of the monastery founder!

Dinner that night was at one of Brad & Sasha’s favourite restaurants. We tried a variety of traditional russian dishes. The mini drink is a free  drink at the start called the ‘Welcome Drink’ – originated from the times of Peter the Great. Breads with a butter candle, literally a candle made from butter that melts so you can dip the bread into it. Buckwheat, spelt and berries are commonly used in meals. To finish, various dessert cakes.

The night finished back at the kremlin for a late laser show on the kremlin walls. The theme was local architecture through the ages. The rain had cleared and the field in front was strewn with bean bags to sit on to watch the show.

Wednesday is a travelling day. Back to Moscow from Suzdal to collect our luggage ready for the high-speed train to Saint Petersburg. We did manage to visit some classic militaria on the way in. Soviet aircraft at Monino, east of Moscow and the Soviet submarine B-396, “Novosibirsk Komsomolets”, a “Som” class diesel-electric sub (NATO Tango class) near Brad’s place.

We took the evening Sapsan train (high speed train) to Saint Petersburg where Brad and Sasha will hold their wedding celebration. It’s a 4 hour ride at 200kmph. We arrived after 9:30pm, still light. The Sapsan is not as smooth as the French TGV, even at the slower speed it travels at!

Thursday, Angie & I had a free day whilst Brad and Sasha got things prepared for tomorrow. We went strolling through Saint Petersburg, admiring the wonderful architecture, to the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood.

Constructed between 1883-1907, the church was erected on the site where Narodnaya Volya members assassinated Emperor Alexander II in March 1881, the suffix “on Spilled Blood” refers to his assassination. Not only does the exterior look fabulous, but the interior is next level.

The next stop during the afternoon was an even more sensory overload, the Winter Palace of Peter the Great. There is corridor after corridor of art, sculpture, ornaments, crockery, frescos, portraits, architecture, opulance, wealth etc. Room after room, the palace is enormous. The floor area is 233,345 sq metres, the palace contains 1,886 doors, 1,945 windows, 1,500 rooms and 117 staircases! We spent 2 hours wandering the halls and likely only saw a small portion, but that was all we could digest.

Friday and no plans to do anything as the wedding celebration is this afternoon. We helped Brad with a few things and then wandered to the venue 5 mins away, guests arrived for 3:00pm. Brad and Sasha had gone for a photo session and arrived at the Celebration a little later.

The party had a professional planner/MC who ran the proceedings with an infectious passion. Whilst there were some speeches, the party was mostly fun and games. I introduced a little Kiwi culture to the proceedings and we even had to teach the men the Haka!

At 8:00pm the party at the venue finished and we all wandered off to the canal to hop on a river cruise for 3 hours. The music and dancing continued into the night and by the time we disembarked and got a taxi back to the hotel, it was well after midnight.

After such a fabulous wedding celebration party, the next day was not an early start so in the afternoon we went venturing across the rivers and canals to one of the large islands. There’s a WW1 cruiser on display as a museum and a large sailing vessel converted into a posh restaurant, which served well for an afternoon refreshment stop. On another adjacent island, the large Mi-8 helicopter was doing flights. An enormous machine from the Soviet era with twin turbojets, the noise is tremendous!

One of the highlights was attending the Mariinsky Theatre that evening for a performance of Swan Lake. Even if you’re not a ballet enthusiast, it’s an experience you will not forget. The costumes, the dance and the whole atmosphere!

All too early, it’s time to say Farewell to Russia, the worst part, of course, was to say Good Bye to the kids. Brad & Sasha have looked after us sooo well for our 2 weeks here and getting to know Sasha has been an absolute delight!

So we are on a Lux Express coach from St.Petersburg to Tallinn via the border crossing at Ivangorod/Narva (Russia/Estonia). The coach is just like an airline, seat trays, screen with movies etc, coffee. But no hostess!! We have to make our own coffees!!

One might think that getting into and out of Russia would be the difficult part. Passes and registrations, bureaucracy and queues, grumpy serious border guards, this is the reputation we were prepared for. Getting close to the border, all bus passengers had their documents checked by a guard, then the border crossing is like a mini fortress.

But Russia was easy, the surprise came when 2 Kiwis, who don’t need visas to enter Europe, try to enter via Estonia!! We suggest you give this banana republic a miss!! But that’s for the next blog.