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Published: October 8th 2007
Arriving on a misty cold afternoon we checked in and quickly settled in at the Volga Slope Hotel next to the river, I think this is the Oka river. I quite like the location of the hotel a couple minutes walk to the Kremlin. We met up at the lobby for dinner, we decided to go to a restaurant at the main pedestrian walkway, the English Embassy, good reviews from LP. Good beer and almost everyone had fish and chips which is quite cheap around 160 rubbles($6.5). I decided to treat myself and had the seafood special that costs me roughly $25.
After we had our meal we decided to do a pub crawl, for some reason most of them are closed, found the Sperm Bar, but did not go in, we tried one other bar and it was a peep show bar, we finally settled in on one quiet bar downstairs, had some beer and then went back to the hotel. Breakfast was included , I made my way to the buffet table, the herring fish was quite good, superb on a bread, there was a sign please don't pack your lunch or something but I did, after last night
I need to save, so I made 3 small herring sandwiches for me to devour later, I got a lot of flak from some people on the group, they say it's stealing,but hey I am not the only one who does it, let's just say it's my extended breakfast that I decided to eat later. Not everyone has a deep pocket, after 6 1/2 mos of travelling, my funds are running thin.
Left the hotel to wander around, the sun is shining, beautiful day, there is a statue next to our hotel overlooking the river, I made my way down the steps towards the river where I found a boat with Soviet insignia, next to river bank on permanent display hoisted up on a concrete slab thingo can't figure out what it's doing there. From there I walked back up toward the Kremlin, yes another kremlin, it seems the ancient cities all have them, it is a fortress by definition and in the old times they need to build a wall to protect their cities from invaders.Each one is also diferent. Anyway there were tanks and other military vehicles on display, a plane etc. inside in a park. I
followed the soldiers walking towards the back of the garden and I saw the War Memorial park, there were student cadets practicing there next to the eternal flame, they were marching, I decided to sit down in a corner and observe for a bit only the kids got distracted and keep looking at the tourist behind them(me), giggling, whispering to each other, they're very curious, decided to leave before their drill sargeant gets ticked off at them and me. Met Andy and Amy at the Kremlin also Catherine and Anne, everyone is doing their own thing, just casually and leisurely strolling about this wonderful town. I went out of the Kremlin and decided to get to the other side of town, done internet then got myself lost intentionally, just wandered about admiring the old wooden house with intricate carvings on their windows, went to some Church but it's almost bare, the caretaker saw me in the corner and made me come inside he was explaining something about the church but nyet Russian, I said, he smiled and left me alone, I asked him how to get to the Stroganov church and he pointed me to the right direction, only I
wandered again and chanced upon this beautiful church at least from the outside, it's got this golden domes shining in the brilliant sun, it's not in the LP map, so can't tell the name, followed a path from there and ended up at a clearing looking down on the city, I was on a hill used by locals to short cut their way to the city as there are no proper paths I have to come down on dirt tracks, from there I saw the spires of the Stroganov church and followed it, beautiful architecture, nice colors, went inside, great collection of orthodox ornaments and icons. There are some novice nuns outside in grey suits that Andy was taking photos of when I met them outside. Made my way down towards the harbor, some statues near the naval academy, there is a park there with fountains and all so I chose to have my herring sandwiches there, after lunch saw more churches. I made my way back to the main pedestrian walk and found a place to burn my photos to CDs, while killing time I found on a corner alley a way to get to veggie and fruit market,
NIZHNY NOVGOROD
ANDY AND ME GOOFINGstalls of fresh produce, I bought some peaches from an Indian looking guy, he was very friendly. Made my way back to the hotel after picking up my cd, stopped at a grocery store and bought dinner of fried chickens and pickled mushrooms and some tofu dish, always my fave since Central Asia. It came down to almost the same price if you go to a sit down dinner, it's not cheap but oh well. Peter was in our room, watching the usual MTV channel, we channel surfed and found the Russian Nanny, they copied it, it does not look as authentic though, the Russian Fran does not have an annoying nasal voice. Met up with the group for dinner but I just want some beer, did not find the restaurant in the LP so we split off we went Italian and since Andy does not eat pasta at all they left, I stayed but no beer, so I left as well.
Foggy day on our departure for Vladimir, 3 1/2 hours from here. Andy and Ron are having a great time waving the big red hand to early morning commuters trying to get a response from the usually
expression less face of the locals, the kids and young teenagers usually wave back, with big smiles. Just about on the outskirts of Vladimir we stopped at a cafe/restaurant to pee only we were not welcome, they are not happy, won't let us inside for coffee and aske us to park the truck outside at the road shoulder, while the girls form a line to use the outdoors loo, a man keep pacing around as if he wanted to throw us out right away, the boys peed among the bushes as usual and we left, we concluded we might have intruded on a drug deal or something, they look mafia types.
We have half a day at Vladimir, so we scattered about and did our own thing, 2 kids who saw our truck come in keep pacing around the park, ever curious, I took their photos and they loved it, we looked for lunch found a cheap local Mcdo type fast food, not bad. Went to the attractions, churches and towers etc. By this time I am getting churched out, I can't believe there are so many churches in Russian towns but not a lot of people sems to
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AMY AND CATHERINE go. I am sure we'll see more of those as we head for the big cities like Moscow and St. Pete.
The afternnon went by quickly and while waiting for others to return we noticed a TV camera crew and a reporter interviewing people near the kid's park, we approached them(me, Bruce, Anne) there a big poster that people are drawing things related to Vladimir and some greetings, I can't figure out what it is for but when we were asked to sign as well , we saw it as our chance for 15 mins of fame on local tv, so we did ,cameras rolling, smiling and interacting. The people around us are amused at us, you know the truck and all, they have the look of inquiry/curiosity but can't speak English so they just stare and observe everything we do, every movement. Some taking photos with their phones. We waved goodbye and off we are to Suzdal, the town of a thousand churches..
WIKI INFO:
NIZHNY NOVGOROD:
Nizhny Novgorod (Russian: Ни́жний Но́вгород, Ninij Novgorod), colloquially shortened as Nizhny, is the fourth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Novosibirsk. Population:
1,311,252 (2002 Census); 1,438,133 (1989 Census). It is the economic and cultural center of the vast Volga-Vyatka economic region, and also the administrative center of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast and Volga Federal District.
From 1932 to 1990 the city was known as Gorky (Го́рький) after the writer Maxim Gorky who was born there.
The city was founded by Grand Duke Yuri II of Russia in 1221 at the confluence of two most important rivers of his principality, the Volga and the Oka. Its name literally means Newtown the Lower, to distinguish it from the older Novgorod. A major stronghold for border protection, Nizhny Novgorod fortress took advantage of a natural moat formed by the two rivers.
Along with Moscow and Tver, Nizhny Novgorod was among several newly-founded towns that escaped Mongol devastation on account of their insignificance and grew up into great centers of Russian political life during the period of Tatar yoke. Its importance further increased, when the seat of the powerful Suzdal Principality was moved here from Gorodets in 1350. Grand Duke Dmitry Konstantinovich (1323-1383) sought to make his capital a rival worthy of Moscow: he built a stone citadel and several churches and was a
patron of historians. The earliest extant manuscript of the Russian Primary Chronicle, the Laurentian Codex, was written for him by the local monk Laurentius in 1377.
VLADIMIR:
Vladimir (Russian: Влади́мир) is a city in Russia, located on the river Klyazma, 200 kilometers (124 mi) to the east of Moscow along the Vladimir Highway. It is the administrative center of Vladimir Oblast. As of the 2002 Census, it had 315,954 inhabitants, down from 349,702 recorded in the 1989 Census. Vladimir was one of the medieval capitals of Russia, and two of its cathedrals are a World Heritage Site. It is served by Vladimir Semyazino Airport, and during the Cold War Vladimir was host to Dobrynskoye air base.
The area occupied by the city of Vladimir has been inhabited by humans (at least intermittently) for approximately 25,000 years. Traditionally, the founding date of Vladimir has been acknowledged as 1108, which is the date of the first mention of Vladimir in the Primary Chronicle. This view attributes the founding of the city, and its name, to Vladimir Monomakh, who inherited the region as part of the Rostov-Suzdal principality in the 11th century. Its foundation is traditionally attributed to
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ANDY AND HIS KNIGHT OF SHINING ARMOUR Vladimir's desire to distance himself from the ancient centers of boyar power, such as Rostov and Suzdal. In 1958, the 850th anniversary of the city foundation was celebrated, with many monuments from the celebrations adorning the city squares.
In the 1990s, there has evolved a new opinion that the city is older than this. They reinterpreted certain passages in the Hypatian Codex, which mentions that the region was visited by Vladimir the Great, the "father" of Russian Orthodoxy, in 990, so as to move the city foundation date to that year. The defenders of the previously uncontested founding year of 1108 dispute the claims of those who support the new date, arguing that the new theory was fabricated in order to provide a reason to have a celebration in 1995.
The neighboring town of Suzdal, for instance, was mentioned in 1024, and yet its 12th century inhabitants alluded to Vladimir as a young town and treated its rulers with arrogance. In the words of a major chronicle, they said that the people of Vladimir were "their kholops and scions". In the seniority conflicts of the 12th and early 13th centuries, Vladimir was repeatedly described as a "young town"
compared to Suzdal and Rostov. The Charter of Vladimir, the basic law of the city passed in 2005, explicitly mentions 990 as the date of the city's foundation.
After the city's incorporation into Muscovy (1392), the local princes took the name Shuisky and settled in Moscow, where they were prominent at the court and briefly ascended the throne in the person of Vasili IV. After being burnt by the powerful Crimean Tatar chief Edigu in 1408, Nizhny Novgorod was restored and regarded by the Muscovites primarily as a great stronghold in their wars against the Tatars of Kazan. The enormous red-brick kremlin, one of the strongest and earliest preserved citadels in Russia, was built in 1508-1511 under supervision of Peter the Italian. The fortress was strong enough to withstand Tatar sieges in 1520 and 1536.
In 1612, the so-called national militia, gathered by a local merchant Kuzma Minin and commanded by Knyaz Dmitry Pozharsky expelled the Polish troops from Moscow, thus putting an end to the Time of Troubles and establishing the rule of the Romanov dynasty. The main square before the kremlin is named after Minin and Pozharsky, although it is locally known as simply "Minin
Square". Minin's remains are buried in the citadel. Also in commemoration of these events on October 21, 2005 an exact copy of Red Square statue of Minin and Pozharsky was placed in front of St John the Baptist Church, which is believed to be the place from where the call to the people had been proclaimed.
In the course of the following century, the city prospered commercially and was chosen by the Stroganovs (the wealthiest merchant family of Russia) as a base for their operations. A particular style of architecture and icon painting, known as the Stroganov style, developed there at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries.
The historical coat of arms of Nizhny Novgorod in 1781 was: In a white field a red deer, horns and hoofs are black. The modern coat of arms circa 1992 is the same but the shield can be adorned with golden oak leaves tied with a stripe with colours of the Russian national flag.
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