Excursion to Vladimir and Suzdal
Sunday 26th June - Suzdal
| At 09:07 I am up and having breakfast with Jennie, Starla, Audrey and whoever it is taking the picture (I can't remember who it was) in the hotel dining room. |
| At 9:55 we were on the steps of the hotel waiting for the bus that was to take us on the short trip across to Suzdal, which was about an hour from Vladimir, for the second half of our weekend excursion. |
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| There was enough time to find someone else to take my camera and take another picture with me in it. Judging by the tripod in front of us, I think it must have been Greg who took this. |
Suzdal
| At 10:53 we were in Suzdal, and our first stop was the 'Museum of Wooden Architecture and Peasant life'. As with many tourist attractions in Russia there was a fee payable if you wanted to take pictures, and as I was too mean to pay it, I only have this one picture taken from outside the main gate. If you want to see more pictures you will have to look at the pictures from my visit last July. |
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| Ok, I did manage to sneak one picture inside this rather colourful and pleasantly cool Church. |
| Our next destination, at 11:53, was at a roadside stop which apparently gives an excellent view of the area. |
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Another crude attempt at a panorama to give you an idea of what the view looked like.
| Then the sudden influx of tourists to disturb the serenity of the scene... |
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And a look back in the other direction, showing our assembled party with
the road in the background.
Just beyond the treeline, along the side of this road in the middle of nowhere, was a group of street vendors selling drinks and souvenirs. So this was obviously a popular tourist stopping point. |
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Afternoon in Suzdal
The afternoon started with a visit to the Saviour Monastery of St Euthymius and the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour, in which we heard an impressive recital. At 14:00 we had a traditional lunch at a restaurant in Torgovaya Ploshchad (trade square), where I seem to recall that Greg, Josh and I stayed for quite some time after the meal discussing some weighty topic the details of which now escape me.Unfortunately I seem to have been a bit remiss with the picture taking for both events - so if any of my fellow travelers reading this have some pictures they want to contribute to fill in the gap, let me know..
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After lunch our time was our own for the rest of our visit, although
by the time Greg, Josh and I left the resturant there wasn't much time
left.
This is a view of pillared trading arcades of Torgovaya Ploshchad, with two small churches in front. It would have looked better without those pesky cars parked in front. Behind the arcades is a thriving market full of all manner of souvenirs, as well as two more small churches. |
| At 15:50 our group was starting to assemble at our designated meeting point on Torgovaya Ploshchad for our scheduled 16:00 departure for our return to Moscow. |
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back in Moscow
| At 22:08 we were back at the university and Sandjar was making sure that the last evening of the summer school was not wasted. |
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Sandjar (second from the left, behind Natacha) led us away from the
university toward the viewing point which provides an excellent view of
the centre of Moscow (the university is apparently located at the highest
point in Moscow), as well as a source of some economical evening snacks.
The location is also apparently the meeting place of Moscow's biker community. They have apparently mellowed in recent years. |
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| and at 22:24 time for a last photo of those of us left at the university, with the view of Moscow in the background. |
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