Joanne Kuzma trip to Russia 2010

July 2010 Trip to Russia

(click on thumbnails to view larger picture)

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, July 8-10, 2010

Fly from Heathrow to Moscow on Thursday. Friday morning city tour to Moscow visiting Red Square, St. Basil's Cathedral, GUM department store. Saturday morning visit to 15th century Kremlin.

City tour of Moscow

Ski jump facility

Red Square -on left is Lenin's tomb

St. Basil's Cathedral

Joanne in front of St. Basil's

Soldier's parade in Kremlin

Cathedral in Kremlin

Swimming in canal outside Kremlin

Tomb of unknown soldier

Sunday and Monday, July 11-12, 2010

Sunday cruise north along the Moscow canal and arrive at Uglich. Visited the blue-domed Church Prince-Dimitry-on-the-Blood, built on the site where Ivan the Terrible’s son Dmitry was mysteriously killed. Also visit the 18th century Transfiguration Church and view a choral concert. Sunday afternoon a Russian costume lesson. On Monday visited the village of Goritsy and the remains of Kirillo-Belozersky monastery on the banks of the Sheksna River, founded by Saint Cyril in 1397.

MS Litinov arrives at Uglich	Transfiguration Church	Church of Prince on-the-Blood	Russian costume lesson on ship	Belozersky Monastery

Tuesday and Wednesday, July 13-14, 2010

On Tuesday, arrived at Lake Onega’s Kizhi Island. Visited the famous Open Air Museum, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Viewed a collection of wooden houses, windmills and churches representing ancient Russian architecture, highlighted by the famous three-tiered Preobranzhenskaya (Transfiguration) Church. This fairy-tale structure was built in 1714 without a single nail. On Wednesday explored Mandrogi, a reconstructed 18th-century village, which illustrates the lifestyles of Russia’s past. Inside its wooden houses are many craftsmen fashioning matrushkas, lace, ceramics and other souvenirs

Transfiguration Church	Joanne in front on church		Wood carver in village	Mandrogi house	Joanne on swing - Mandrogi
Ship going through lock	Dragonfly on Joanne's hand

Thursday and Friday, July 15-16, 2010

On Thursday, had a city tour of St. Petersburg, In the afternoon visited Peterhof Palace gardens (similar to Versailles) and built by Peter the Great in 1740's. Friday morning a 2-hour tour of the Hermitage Museum. Friday afternoon visited the elegant Catherine's Palace - rococo summer residence of the Russian Czars, named for Catherine I (widow of Peter the Great). It was built for the empress Elizabeth, with the famous 'Amber Room'.