Russian Trip Comments
29 May to 9 June 2008
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St. Petersburg is a charming city with a network of canals, many beautiful buildings, wide clean
avenues, dozens of fine museums, an excellent subway system, attractive parks, and numerous
historic sites related mainly to its three centuries as the royal capital of Russia and its heroic
900-day siege during World War II. During our previous 2001 week-long stay in St. Petersburg
we were hosted wonderfully in Russian homes and on visits to attractions in and around the city.
Especially because of those unique experiences in 2001 our short 2008 St. Petersburg visit with
the SmarTour group paled by comparison.
The Family Visit to our daughter-in-law's uncle and aunt with two of their friends was a
bittersweet experience. We were very happy to see them all again, but saddened by Gena's stroke.
Mandrogi is a collection of souvenir shops housed in a few buildings of the type the tourist
promoter thought foreign tourists wanted to see. No authenticity and pretty much a waste of time.
Kizhi Island is a collection of authentic old wooden buildings, mostly religious, but now no longer
used except as tourist attractions. Better than Mandrogi.
Goritsy is a former Russian farming village, now with tourism as its main industry. Better than
Mandrogi and Kizhi Island.
Yaroslavl is the first real town at which our ship stopped since leaving St. Petersburg. Some nice
churches and monasteries, as well as probably a few other attractions we did not see. So far the
only port on this cruise worth a stop.
Uglich, a smaller version of Yaroslavl, more churches and monasteries.
Moscow, the Capital of Russia and its largest city. Like St. Petersburg, Moscow has much to offer
but we were there only a day and a half and experienced only a small fraction of what is available.
We could have stayed in and around Moscow for a week and not seen everything of interest.
The cruise would have been more enjoyable if there were more of touristic interest at the small
ports at which we stopped between St. Petersburg and Moscow. At most ports the ship docked for
only three or four hours, while during the other twenty hours or so daily we were confined to the
ship. Unfortunately, with a maximum of 250 passengers the ship was too small to provide the
cruise-ship facilities typical on larger ocean-going ships. Music and dance shows were enjoyable
the first time, but the same show by the same performers was presented night after night. It also
would have been helpful if more of the ship's crew could communicate in English. Most of our
fellow passengers were Scandinavians or Germans, nearly all of whom could speak English.
The Group Tours in the small places between St. Petersburg and Moscow were generally walking
tours near where our ship was docked. In St. Petersburg and Moscow a bus tour of the city was
included, as was a visit to the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg; all other excursions, visits, and
entertainments on shore were at extra charge. This did not contribute to traveling as a cohesive
group, nor did the fact that two buses were needed for our very large SmarTours group.
If we went to Russia again we would not take the tour/cruise. Instead we would on our own
spend a week in and around St. Petersburg, then take an overnight train to Moscow for at least five
days in that area. Before the trip we would explore the possibility of a few additional days
elsewhere in Russia.
This is the end of Our Travel Journal describing and illustrating our May/June 2008 visit to
Russia. We suggest you return to "Our Travel Journals Main Menu" and select any other trips you
believe may be of interest.