Somewhere Along the Volga

Saturday June 28 2008

As part of our self discovery as Vladdie our caddie calls it, we have experienced rationing. We have been rationed one small bottle of water per person per day and one small glass of wine per person per day. We are having no problem with the water however the wine is proving to be a serious problem. We tried to pour our water which is served in a big glass into the small glass reserved for the wine, but our observant wine stewart, Nikita (adorable but unbending), caught on to us immediately. He even had the nerve to chide me. Some people have paid their wine stewart off. Let's say this has been the "authentic" soviet experience.

I have been remiss in mentioning one of our new BFF's. She is Ellie aka June Carter Cash. Her husband is Lil Floyd Abner. She has hair down to her waist and wears a big clip right on the top of her head to keep it from blinding her. She is an icon of fashion. Today she wore her hospital green gas station attendant jumpsuit with a red print ascot at her throat. Hair down her back. We were sitting with her at dinner this evening when Babs( in her charming Texas way) said, June (I mean Ellie) when was the last time you had your hair cut? I'm just fascinated by it. I almost blew water out my nose. I looked at June, and she responded, "Oh, thank you. I appreciate you saying that. It's sometimes so ugly to deal with, but I kkep trying." It's ugly alright!

Our destination today is Kizhi Island. Inhabited by ancient tribes since the 10th century, it boasts houses and churches made entirely of wood without any nails. It's sunny and 72 degrees with a soft breeze coming off Lake Onega. The highlight of this trip besides the fabulous wooden houses was June Carter Cash's outfit. She wore an army jacket ( I am not exaggerating) with medals all over it. I'm guessing it was Lil Abner's but not really sure. Maybe Babs can ask her. Over her jecket she wore a red fleece vest and a red print babushka on her head. The clip under the scarf made her look like she had a pointed head.

When we got back to the ship we went to a vodka tasting party. Babushka and I can drink a shot of vodka by tucking the shot glass inside our elbow and tipping it to our mouth. We can then flip the glass in the air and catch it. We can't wait to perform our new trick for you when we get back.

Sunday June 29 2008

Babushka and I arrived late to breakfast and much to our surprise there was James A Harper aka Rip sitting at a table of 8 and surrounded by 7 women. He was serenading them with some old Tex Ritter songs about Texas and they were basking in his presence.

Svirstroi is our stop today. We visited the home of a lovely russian woman, all part of our learning and discovery. This lady was born in 1933, a very bad time in Russian history. Her father died in the early days of the war and her mother was left with 6 small children. She doesn't remember anything good about her childhood. She now lives in a lovely large home that has been divided into 4 apartments. Since she lives alone, she has 2 rooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom. It was decorated with lots of photographs, lace, antimasscers (spelling) and crocheted patchwork pillows and afghans like the ones my grandmother and probably yours had. She served us tea from a samovar and served pieroshkis and danish. She does this about 4 times a month and I imagine she gets paid pretty well.

We are experiencing what is known as "white nights" The sun set last night at about 11:30 PM. Babs went out about 1:00Am to take pictures of the moon. Although she didn't see it, she did view some fishermen in their small boats just drifting along with the current. The night before the crescent moon wahed over the white birth trees covering them in a swath of blue.

Tonight was the captain's farewell dinner. We disembark in St Petersburg tomorrow morning. Babs and I saved a large table and our closest BFF's (not June and Abner) sat with us for this gala occasion. After dinner we went to a talent show. James A Harper was an old tree in a Russian fairy tale and a ballerina in a rendition of Swan Lake. Old tree-da; ballerina-nyat. He did look kinda cute in the tutu and feather headress though.

Monday June 30 2008

We have docked in St Petersburg' It's 7:00 AM. Temperature is 68 degrees and its overcast. We took the city tour with our new local guide Kesenyia and here are a few tidbits of trivia to store in your heads for a cocktail party. St Petersburg was built by Peter the Great who liked Dutch stuff hence the burg on zee end. Eets name has been changed several times: Petrograd, Leningrad, and now back to Petersburg. Built in 1703, eet's a young city compared to other Russian cities. Zey built the local cazedral and painted it blue, gold and white to honor some woman with blue eyes, blonde hair and white skin. Once a convent during soviet times it houssed many government offices. Next stop Peter and Paul fortress. Peter I and Nicholas II are buried here. Eetz the oldest structure in St Petersburg. I was just looking at all the cars our the bus window. There are chev, ford, Nissan, audi, volvo, hyundai, honda toyota, lexus. Looks just like California. There are 90,000 moslems in St. P.

St Peter and Paul is really a cathedral. So what's new? It houses the bodies of the Romanovs. For all you who believed in the Anastasia stories that circulated , she's dead. DNA proved that she was one of the Romanovs found in a shallow grave in Russia. Maria the other sister and Alexi the heir were never found though. There is also speculation about Nicholas. Some think his head is in Brussels. How it got there I have no idea. Others think he (complete with chapeau) is buried in the cathedral.

We were supposed to take the hytdrofoil to Peterhov the tzar's summer residence, but it has been canceled due to some technical problem. I can tell you, don't change things in the middle of a trip when your travelling with old people. I thought we were going to have a revolution. We ended up taking a bus which was fine. The trip was well worth it however we got there. As much of the cultural heritage was destroyed by WWII or STalin, they also destroyed this spectacular place. The Russians are restoring much of the palace.

Unfortunately, I am being called to the bus for our next departure. I may not be in touch for several days. Until we meet again, Petrushka

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