Jim and Danette went to Russia with friends, Jon and Susan Blake. We took a river cruise from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Our Russian ship was named m/s Rostropovich. The trip itself was 12 days but included time in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
We went in a day early and Jim and I walked the city and saw the sights of Moscow.
The first day of the tour included a city tour and we went to the Tretyakov Gallery. We saw Red Square, St. Basil's Cathedral, the GUM department store, and the Cathedral of Christ of Savior.
The second day of tour we went to the Kremlin and the Armory Chamber. We had a tour of the historical fortress and saw the Square of Four Cathedrals.
We went to the Novodevichy Convent, a Russian monastery. We went to the cemetery which is the final resting place for political leaders, actors, poets, and musicians. We then toured the Moscow subways where the decor in each station was unique.
Our ship moved to Uglich (Ouglich), where political turmoil and Times of Trouble started. We saw the Transfiguration Cathedral and Church of St. Dmitry-on-Blood. Ivan the Terrible's son was murdered here in 1591. We passed by the flooded belltower of the village of Kalyazin. Some villages were flooded in order to develop a dam and reservoir.
We then moved to Goritsy, a settlement near White Lake. We went to the Monastery of St. Cyril which was founded in 1397 and Russian icons.
We visited a village located on the Svir River called Mandrogi which had several wooden houses.
We were to go to Kizhi Island, but were unable to due to the height of the waves in the large lake we were on so we had to hug the shore and not go to the island.
We got off the boat and took a bus to Pushkin to explore Catherine's Palace. Peter the Great gifted this baroque architecture palace to his wife, Catherine I. We walked the exterior gardens and interior, including the Amber Room. We then spent the afternoon in St. Petersburg at the famous Hermitage Museum, one of the world's largest art museums.
In St. Petersburg we walked through Split of Basil Island and the Peter and Paul Fortress. We stopped at St. Isaac's Cathedral and the Church of Savior on Spilled Blood. Faberge Museum.
We took a bus to Peterhof, former summer residence of Russian tsar. We saw the outside of the palace and walked the extensive gardens. We visited the Bath Cottage and the Lower Park. There are 176 fountains of various forms and styles and numerous gilded statues of ancient gods and heroes.
SWEDEN and NORWAY
Jim and Danette spent three days in Stockholm with Jon and Susan Blake. We found Stockholm to be a walkable city with great museums, restaurants, and Stockholm is very bike friendly. We purchased the Stockholm Pass and used it for a ferry water tour and to get into several museums. We added in the ABBA Museum, which is highly recommended.
Jim and Danette took a bus to Elverum, Norway where we met with Randi, Danette's thrid-cousin. We met various relatives during our stay with Randi and had a great time. We went to the home where Danette's grandmother was born.
Randi took some time off to be our guide. We spend the day and night in Oslo where we met with a cousin who toured us around the city.
Randi, Jim, and Danette drove south the Fredrikstad, Norway where we spent the afternoon, evening, and part of a morning. Fredrikstad was founded in 1567 and is by the River Glomma.
We then drove to Lysekil, Sweden which is located on the Swedish west coast of the Stangenas peninsula and mouth of Gullman fjord. We spent two days with another of Danette's cousins. They toured us around the area.
Randi left north back to Elverum and Jim and Danette went south to Gothenburg (Goteborg), Sweden. We walked the city and spent the night.
We took a morning train to Uppsala, Sweden which is north of Stockholm. We spent two days and enjoyed this university town. Our last day was spent in Stockholm before returning to the US.
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