Day 3 - Mandrogi

After breakfast we enjoyed our cup of tea on deck while we watched with interest the process of entering and leaving one of the many locks along the river . The locks always attract a lot of interest from the passengers as they are all so different. This lock was the first of many we would negotiate during the course of our cruise.

Before arriving in Mandrogi a safety drill was called so we donned our life jackets and stood outside our cabins ready for inspection. Sal's cabin was first in line so she was filmed and is now the star of the trip DVD. Some passengers were having great difficulty with their jackets so I’m not sure how we would go in a real emergency.

We docked in Mandrogi and alighted to a beautiful sunny day where we joined our group on shore. Following Olga’s information talk about the village and its inhabitants we were free to explore until lunch. Mandrogi is a little village of 150 residents where authentic Russian souvenirs are made to sell to the tourists. The original village was destroyed by fire in the 1941-1945 war and the residents moved to other villages. During the Soviet years the existence of the village was officially erased from all maps .

In 1996 the revival of the village commenced and it opened as a centre for tourism to demonstrate the ancient crafts including woodwork, weaving, embroidering, Vodka distilling and hand painting of the famous Matreshka dolls. These ancient arts are practiced in the village today to ensure their longevity for future generations. The residents are most proud that their village has now been charted on the map of Russia since the Russian Federation came to power.

Our village tour also included a BBQ Kebab lunch specially prepared by the Chefs from our boat which added a nice touch to our visit of Mandrogi. We managed to make it back on board the boat just before we set sail. Prior to boarding Sal and I did manage to pick up a few trinkets to add to the ever growing mementos of our visit.

The entertainment on board this afternoon included "Let’s speak Russian" and Russian Folk Dance Classes – somehow we were otherwise engaged and didn’t quite make it to either class. We did however make it to dinner which was a Ukrainian style dinner and very tasty indeed.

Day 4 - Kizhi Island

After cruising overnight through the Volga Baltic Canal, our boat docked at Kizhi Island on Lake Onega at 8am. This early arrival meant an early wake-up call for breakfast so we would be ready to disembark by 8 .15am.

I was quite looking forward to our visit to Kizhi having first heard about it on the Getaway program. Our guide was waiting on shore to greet us and was easy to spot in her traditional costume. Once we were all present and accounted for we set off to see the fascinating wooden structures that Kizhi is famous for.      

We walked from the dock along a long wooden walkway and were surprised to hear the walkway had been built to protect visitors from the vipers lurking in the grasses! Who would have thought such things existed in this part of the world especially when their summer average is only 14 degrees.

First stop on our list was the ancient wooden churches and Belfry located within a pogost boarded by an equally ancient wooden fence.   The most elaborate of these structures is the Church of Transfiguration which was built in 1714 and features 22 impressive wooden domes. The main structure is built entirely of pine logs fitted together without a single nail . The second church is the Church of Intercession (or Church of Prophet of God’s Mother) and it has 9 wooden domes. In 1990 these structures were included in the UNESCO World Heritage listing.

It’s no wonder these magnificent structures have been heritage listed. Standing before them you can’t help but be in awe of the incredible craftsmanship and sheer imagination of their creators. To complete the experience we were taken into the Church of Intercession where three parish priests sang hymns in their beautiful baritone voices.  

The churches are currently undergoing structural repairs which they hope will be completed in 2018. Unfortunately these churches like many we have visited fell into disrepair during the Soviet years and it is only now through donated funds that the much needed renovations are occurring.     

Our tour moved on to Oshevnev’s house which was built around the same period and is furnished with original pieces . From the outside the house looked quite large but on entering we noticed the family living quarters were very small as the majority of space was allocated to their animals and storage for their boats, sleds and farming equipment during the extreme winters.

Today, local craftspeople demonstrate loom weaving, spinning and hand embroidery in the traditional way of bygone days. Outside the house a man demonstrated how the original round shaped domes on the churches were fashioned from wood.

To complete our tour we viewed a small wooden chapel and windmill. On the way back to the boat there was just enough time to drop into the local souvenir shop which was conveniently located along the way so tourists could indulge their shopping passion and leave behind their contribution to the local economy. Back on board the boat lunch was being served in the Katrina restaurant so we were off to see what delicacies and treats they were offering today .  

After lunch we turned our attention to the on-board day's activities which included a visit to the Captains Bridge followed by learning the art of celebrating “Maslenitsa” one of Russia’s important holidays. This apparently required us to learn how to make Russian pancakes which would later be washed down by Russian vodka - it all sounded interesting!  

The art of Matreshka doll painting was also on offer however someone forgot to order the dolls so only a select few were fortunate enough to learn this craft. Trev decided to take a raincheck from attending any of the afternoon activities as he liked to spend his cruising time on deck checking out the locks and watching the ever changing landscape. Sal and I decided we couldn’t let the side down so we attended all the activities on offer – even the vodka tasting which turned out to be loads of fun.