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Day 12
We were supposed to be in the lobby to meet our tour group at 8 AM. We had breakfast at the hotel, which was fine except there is something weird about coffee in Russia. Maybe chicory? It was so bad that even with a ton of sugar, neither of us could drink it. During breakfast I kept looking around the dining room for couples thinking I would see other people on the tour, but I only saw 1 woman. I dashed out in the rain to get a sim card for our phone but had to turn around before finding the shop. When I got to the lobby, Jack was standing there with the guide, the driver and one other couple which is close to a private tour. The couple are a neo-natologist and his wife who is a nurse. They are from the Philippines and have lived in the US for 18 years and currently reside in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. They are about 15 years younger than us with 3 children, the oldest is currently on a mission to Argentina since the family converted to Mormonism eight years ago. Oh, there is one more demographic fact, her great-grandfather
was a German Jew who fought in WWII and ended up staying in the Philippines. So far so good with our new best friends for the next 9 days.
We left Moscow and headed for the Trinity Monastery of St Sergiev in Posad, otherwise known as the Russian Orthodox Vatican. I won’t go into the story of how he became a saint, but this was the monastery that Peter the Great hid in when his sister wanted to get rid of him to hold onto her power. Since he became Peter the Great, it’s obvious who won that battle. There are several gorgeous churches that are full of gold leaf and icons. The cathedrals rival anything we’ve seen in Europe for decoration, but they are smaller. Some of them date back to the 12
th Century. There is also an active monastery on the property. When someone enters the monastery, they must decide whether they want to permanently remain a priest and get married or stay celibate and can rise to a leadership level in the church. According to our guide, unlike in the US there are ample men and women (who become nuns and live in cloisters) entering the
clergy to keep it staffed. On the way out there were vendors selling souvenirs and I bought a wool hat. So far it has been more than a casually successful purchase since it is cold and raining on and off. Just as I hadn’t understood the magic of Gaudi before I saw the buildings, I had no idea that Posad would be so amazing.
It was several more hours to get to Suzdal. Along the road you see small, more often than not rundown wood house. What makes them distinctive is that many of them have carved decorations around the windows. While the decorations make them look quaint, I’m sure that inside they are anything but quaint. Since it gets to -40 degrees in the winter, it’s hard to imagine how they can be kept warm. Probably they are cold and the Russian dress for it. You see the poverty in the country in the beggars at historical sites and the old women cleaning the churches.
We arrived about 5 and after we checked in the guide dropped us in the middle of town, such as it was. We walked around a while, had dinner and
walked back to the hotel. The hotel is over the top baroque. My bet is that hotel rooms in this town aren’t expensive in the off-season. More about Suzdal tomorrow.
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