Ship Russ: St. Petersburg - Moscow, River Cruise 18 Jul 2010 - 27 Jul 2010
Route description:
Save vibrant Moscow for the end of your journey and start from magnificent St. Petersburg. This voyage willtake you from the Gulf of Finland to Lake Onega and then from the River Volga to the Moskva River.
Itinerary
| Day 1 | Arrival  Your personal driver will meet you at the airport (he will be
holding a sign with your name on it) and take you to your ship.
There is no evening program, as you will probably want to get some
rest. You will be served dinner in the ship's restaurant after
which you can relax in the bar or get some sleep. |
| Day 2 | St. Petersburg .jpg) St. Petersburg is Russia's cultural and
historical treasure, one of the world's most beautiful cities, and
one of its top ten tourist destinations according to "The Forbes
Traveler." It is known as the Venice of North thanks to its
numerous canals and hundreds of bridges. It is sometimes called
Russia's Versailles thanks to dozens of opulent palaces and royal
estates. It can be rightly called a living museum - so many of its
buildings are part of Russia's history.
In the afternoon we are heading to the very heart of St. Petersburg and its most important sight - the Winter Palace. On one side, the palace is faced by the Palace Square with the Alexander Column in the middle of it. The column was erected to celebrate the victory over Napoleon (what is called in Russia, the First Patriotic War). To its rear, the palace is washed by the Neva River in the middle of which you will find the Peter and Paul Fortress. |
| Day 3 | St. Petersburg  Today you will have a free day. You can go on an optiona tour to Tsarskoe Selo - to the outskirts of St. Petersburg to the former summer residence of Catherina the Great. The Palace was a gift by Peter the Great to his wife Catherine and is known for its legendary Amber Room that was looted during the World War II by Germans and later recovered by the American troops. The Amber Room was reconstructed in 2003. Or you can vote to keep this day free and spend it at your leisure in this amazing Russian city. At night you will depart from St. Petersburg.
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| Day 4 | Mandrogi  Mandrogi is the name of a small village that has no architectural
wonders, giant castles or churches. You will, however, discover the
unique style and architecture of the northern tribes that have
occupied these lands for centuries.
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| Day 5 | Kizhi  Kizhi is the name of unique island located on the Lake Onega. In
the center of the island stands the amazing Transfiguration Church.
This wooden church and its 22 domes are built without a single
nail. In fact, originally, the Transfiguration Church was located
in another place. The Bolsheviks, who had little, if no, respect
for religion, had some respect for its architectural value, so they
decided to move this unique church as far from the major cities and
people as possible, to distant Kizhi Island.
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| Day 6 | Goritsy  Goritsy is famous for the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery (1397). This
monastery's strong walls and bastions were used by some nobles as a
safe house during the Times of Trouble. The Polish armies stormed
it, but never succeeded in capturing it. Unfortunately, the
monastery was not so successful in repelling the attacks of other
invaders four centuries later. The Bolsheviks closed the monastery
in early 20th century and sent its monks to the prison camps.
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| Day 7 | Uglich  Uglich is a small town located on the Volga River. Uglich was the
best-defended fortress of Moscovy and it was burnt on number of
occasions by Lithuanians, Tatars, and even the grand prince of
Tver, the city which rivaled Moscow.Uglich is most famous for the tragic events that took place in 1591 when the 10-year old prince Dimitry, the last heir to the throne of the ancient Ruyrik dynasty, was killed here (as historians now agree, by Boris Godunov, adviser to Dimitry, who wanted the throne for himself). Dimitry's death plunged Russia into decades of political turmoil known as Time of Trouble.
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| Day 8 | Moscow  Moscow is Russia's largest city, its political and economic
capital. The town of Moscow was the center of Moscovy - a small
principality that unified the Russian lands against the Mongols in
the late 14th century and has ruled Russia ever since. As the
Mongols burnt major cities across Russia, refugees fled to smaller
principalities like Moscow, Tver and Nizhny Novgorod. Through
bribes, diplomacy and coercion, Moscow overcame its two rivals to
become "Russia's first city." Moscow's role was briefly challenged
when Tsar Peter the Great moved Russia's capital to his new city,
St Petersburg, on the shores of the Baltic Sea.
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| Day 9 | Moscow .jpg) This day is very special, as we will go inside the Kremlin - the
ancient castle built to withstand the Mongol hordes. Throughout
history, the Kremlin has been the center of political power in
Russia and it remains a symbolic political center even today, as
the official site of the inauguration ceremony of the Russian
president (they don't actually live or work here).The Kremlin is a living museum of Russia's history. Its inside wasn't built overnight, rather various rulers added new pieces over time (and some, like Napoleon, plundered from it). This cultural and historical treasure has been so well preserved that it seems that you are traveling in time. You will see the most interesting places in the Kremlin as you follow our professional guide in the steps of some of the world's greatest leaders and its most terrible dictators.
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| Day 10 | Departure  Your incredible voyage in time is coming to an end. It is time to
say farewell to this unique and beautiful country. It is time to
say good-bye to your new friends. It is time to go home with a
stock of fantastic experiences and unforgettable memories.Your driver will take you to the airport. |
