russia: moscow in the cold

I've been a happy camper all week. Temperatures have plummeted, and there has been plenty of snow. It truly feels like winter, I finally need to wear a proper winter coat, hat, and mittens or gloves.

On Wednesday evening I went out to a spot called Rechnoy Vokzal, which has had renovations finished in the past year or so. It has been on my list of places to go in Moscow, and stays on the list even after this visit. I had planned to wait until summer, or at least late spring to visit, but then I saw a photo showing holiday lights in the surrounding park.

I enjoyed the lights, and due to the cold there weren't many other people out walking around. I didn't have to wait long for people to get out of my photos, yay. I wonder if there are lights in this park every year, or if this is just a special year.

The weekend did not go the way I originally planned. Not at all. I had train tickets booked to go out of town, and a booking for accomodation as well, but when Friday evening rolled around I just didn't want to go. I cancelled both, and stayed in Moscow all weekend instead.

Unlike last year, this winter in Moscow has actually been cold. This weekend the temperatures stayed around -18C/0F, with one day of wind and snow and one day of blue skies. I'm a huge fan of winter, so I was generally thrilled.

On both days it took me too long to get dressed and walk out of my flat, but that's normal for me. My first sight on both days was a statue of Lenin. There are so many in this city, I wonder if I'll ever see all of them. I think a few are behind fences and closed gates, so probably not.

By the time I got to my second sight on Saturday evening, it was after dark, but that was the plan. Every year an area in Moscow called VDNKh builds a giant ice skating track/rink. I had no real desire to get out on the ice, particularly with the wind and continuing snow, but there were plenty of folks out there having a grand ol' time.

There is a bridge built over the middle of the track, giving a great view of the entire territory. This is where I wanted to be, as it gave me a slightly elevated view of all the holiday lights. Very pretty. I took a few phtos, then started walking back to the metro because my fingers were SO COLD.

On Sunday, I walked to Lenin, then walked to my second sight as well. The temperatures on Sunday were colder (-21C/-6F) and the sky was blue. While walking in the sun I wasn't cold, but as soon as I had to walk in the shade I got chilly very quickly, particularly my fingers and toes.

The second sight on Sunday was a park I've visited before, but not in winter. Park Dubky is beautiful in fall, as there are plenty of trees with heaps of brightly coloured leaves. I wanted to see the seasonal contrast. Everything felt crisp and clean, if that makes sense.

It was wonderful to walk around and take photos, right up until my phone froze, and I realized I didn't know how to get to the closest metro station. Whoops. I walked out of the park and was fortunate to see a supermarket almost straightaway. I walked in without intention of buying anything, but with the intention of warming up. It worked, woo hoo.

russia: arkhangelsk

Arkhangelsk is listed in my guidebook, and I found out the mom of one of my previous students is from there, so it seemed like a good place to go for a weekend. The city is nowhere close to Moscow, getting there requires flying to go for just a weekend. You can drive, but you'll be on the road for a while, as you'll have to cover 1250 kilometers. You can take the train, but it takes almost a full day. (I have taken longer trains, but obviously I'm not going to do that for a weekend trip.)

The earliest history of Arkhangelsk comes from the recorded history of Vikings. Wikipedia tells me they were in the area as early as the year 890. Vikings definitely raided the area in 1027, led by Thorir Hund.

During the 12th-15^th centuries the two empires fighting back and forth for control over the area were Russia (the Novgorodian part of what is now Russia,) and Norway. Trade with the English started in the mid 16^th century, followed quickly by trade with the Dutch.

Arkhangelsk has been a port since the beginning, because of its location on the Dvina River, where it empties out into the White sea. This is one of the reasons the city used to be so important to Russia. The port was the biggest in the country until 1703, when the port of St Petersburg was founded and became more important. One of the reasons St Petersburg was founded was because the White Sea is frozen for several months every year, therefore stopping the transport of goods, while the Baltic Sea does not freeze.

There are two huge fires in the history of the city, both during the 17^th century. The result of the fires was the destruction of the entire city.

Near the end of the 17^th century Peter the Great created an official state shipyard, three great ships were built in the first year. Even though the winters are harsh in Arkhangelsk, the entire region has remained important to the Russian military, in particular the navy. Some military industry is still in the area, though I don't know the specifics. 

Not long after the port of St Petersburg opened, Peter the Great decided Arkhangelsk shouldn't be a shipping center at all. A decree was sent out to this effect, resulting in the economic downfall of the city and region. It wasn't until the end of the 19^th century, when a railroad was built to Moscow, when trade revived, and the timber of the region was exported.

According to Wikipedia, during both World Wars Arkhangelsk was a major port of entry for aid coming from the Allies.

Arkhangelsk is still an important seaport, with much of the business coming from the fishing and timber industries. The port is able to stay open year round because of ice breaker ships. (I'd love to spend a month on an ice breaker at some point, just to experience the life.)

My flight from Moscow arrived just after 2 in the morning, I was not thrilled to see how small the airport was. There was wifi, but no plugs. Because of my arrival time I wanted to stay in the airport for the next 5-6 hours, then take a public bus into the city center. 

Apparently this is not a common thing to do in this airport, as there were very few chairs where I could sit for those hours. The lights were even turned off for a couple hours!!

The bus into the city was cheap, only 28 rubles. That's the current equivalent of about $.33USD, which is a fantastic price! It was really easy to get from the bus stop to my hostel, and I was able to check in straightaway. The receptionist was quite surprised that a foreigner was traveling to Arkhangelsk, she said I was brave. I don't consider myself brave, and Arkhangelsk definitely isn't a scary place to go.

Before getting on the airplane I'd looked for Lenin statues, and ended up with a few of them marked on a map. My first sights were two of them, I was able to take city buses to both of them. The two I saw the first day were on opposite ends of town, so the bus rides weren't short, but they were easy. The first Lenin had plenty of pigeons hanging around, argh.

Between the two statues I waslked around the area near the first one, partly because I saw a couple wooden houses that I thought were really photogenic. Photogenic in that they were abandoned/falling apart. 

The weather was absolutely fantastic, making for an interesting contrast of abandoned buildings in the sun.

The second Lenin was in the courtyard behind a building that looked like an abandoned Soviet government building. I have no idea if it actually was abandoned, but the courtyard certainly hadn't received any care in the past couple decades. There was a hammer and sickle carved into the building, but that doesn't mean anything, since many current government have that same carving. Anywho.

From the second Lenin statue (which was actually just a head on a pedestal,) I walked back to the city center. In my head I thought this would be a short walk, but it wasn't. That being said, it was a nice walk, including a short detour onto the beach just because I could.

Arkhangelsk is pretty far north, which means winter days are short, even when it is sunny. Official sunset was right at 1600 on Halloween, so photos started to look a little blue around 1530, darnit. I looked it up and found out Arkhangelsk gets only 4 hours of daylight on the shortest day of the year, while on the longest day of the year they get 21.5 hours of daylight. 

It changes by 5-6 minutes a day, so you notice the changes quickly.

There were two museums I wanted to visit during this trip, I was able to see both of them on the first day, yahoo! Both of them required me to wear a mask, and one of them required me to put on shoe covers though that had nothing to do with Covid. 

The first was the northern maritime museum. As is obvious from the name, the museum showcases everything maritime from this region of the world.

There were models of boats, photos, flags, etc... There was also a fair amount of information, though I only read about half of it.

When I came out of this museum it was already close to sunset. Since there weren't any clouds in the sky, it was a gradual rainbow of colour, as opposed to the strikingly coloured clouds that everyone loves to see. I strolled along the boardwalk for a bit, which the city has developed really well. It was a bit crowded though, it felt as if half the city was out walking with me.

Before long I got to the second museum I wanted to see, which was the regional history museum. The entry fee was higher than I expected, which was a bit disappointing at first. By the time I walked out of the museum, I felt completely different. The museum was huge, absolutely ginormous. The docents kept showing me more rooms to see, it felt never-ending at one point.

The history covered geologic history, various cultures, religion, etc... I was impressed by the wide range of exhibits, which included items, photos, and information. Whoeva curates the whole thing has done a good job.

When I walked out it was pitch black. My original plan had been to go to a specific cafe, but I was so museumed out that when I saw a fast food place not too far away, that seemed perfectly reasonable. On my way back to my hostel I walked by the tallest building in the city, which is lit up at night. It's just an office building, but you can't miss it. It's heaps taller than any of the nearby buildings.

The next morning I was awake and moving at the perfectly reasonable hour of 10, which is rather amazing for me. I'm normally awake long before then, but don't get moving until later. Anywho.

I started my day by hopping on a marshrutka to a nearby town, the ride was about an hour each way. I got off in the middle of the city, because it was closest to the Lenin statues, I never found out where the end stop was, but it didn't really matter.

There were two Lenin statues to see, they were rather close to each other. The first was in the middle of Lenin Square, in front of the large palace of culture. Normally the palace of culture is somewhat grand (and big,) but this time it was just big. Ugh. Neither statue was particularly interesting, but I took the photos anywho, because I always do.

There wasn't much else to see in this town. I found some old wooden buildings that were not level, I find those photogenic, wierd as that sounds. They were long-ish horizontally, and you could see where one part had sunk into the ground a bit. I'm surprised people lived in these buildings, but I'm pretty sure most of them were inhabited. Many of them had attempts at exterior decoration, with snowflakes or stars formed out of pieces of wood. Pretty yes, but also in serious need of being painted. I guess there is no point in doing a yearly paint job considering the winter weather, but still...

I found one war memorial, complete with eternal flame. I found a couple traffic circles with statues in the middle. It was such a gray and windy day that I didn't take as many photos as I normally do, oh well.

After wandering around for just 4 hours, I caught the next marshrutka back to Arkhangelsk. I wouldn't mind doing another day trip to this town, but preferably in better weather.

By the time I got back to Arkhangelsk it was already blue light for photos, so I only took a few.

One of a tank memorial, made with a captured British tank! Tank memorials are quite common all over Russia, but using a British tank is not nearly as common. The other photos were of another abandoned building, because it was circular, and a sailor's monument along the boardwalk.

Dinner that night was from a pizza place, mostly because it was on my way back to the hostel.

The last morning I woke up to another gorgeous day. Cold and crisp. I packed up and checked out, leaving my bag behind for the day. First up were two more Lenin statues, neither of them within the general city area.

To get to the first one I caught a bus across the river, then had to walk another 15 minutes. This one ended up being in the middle of nowhere, at the intersection of two dirt roads. The roads weren't in great shape, neither was Lenin. Peeling paint, chipped rock, fallen trees, massive holes and ruts. I know it sounds crazy, but I think this is the type of Lenin statue many people think of when they think of how long ago the Soviet Union was.

Getting from the first to second Lenin statue also involved a marshrutka and more walking. This one was in a residential area, in between several large apartment buildings. 

This statue was in better shape, as was the entire area around him, but he was still in need of some TLC.

These wooden buildings were in much better shape than what I'd seen the day before. They weren't sinkind in random places, and the exterior decor and paint were in better shape. That being said, I'd still be worried about living in one of these buildings.

The last place I wanted to see in Arkhangelsk is one of the highlights of the city, it's an open air wooden architecture museum. 

Getting there by public transport involves a bus that doesn't come very often, I was nearly an icicle by the time it rolled around. I had to pay the normal fee, as well as some extra because the museum is all the way at the end of the line. The ticket lady yelled at me for not paying the correct price when I boarded the bus, but I didn't see any sign telling me there was an extra fee. Thank goodness a nice guy translated for me. I was happy to pay the extra, but not happy to be yelled at for not knowing about it. Argh. Typical Russian customer service.

The open air museum was huge. There were several different areas, with lots of forested area in between. It was really really well done. I was there an hour and a half, and wanted to spend more time, but the bus back into the city center only came once an hour. Argh.

I got to see windmills and churches and homes and barns and crosses and more. There was a small sign outside most of the buildings, giving far more detail than I'd ever be interested in knowing, but I appreciated the effort. I assume school aged classes are brought here regularly for various history lessons.

When I got back into the city center I walked a tourist pedestrian street. Maybe it was because it was near the end of my trip, or near the end of daylight, or cold, or Monday, but I wasn't very impressed. I liked the city overall, but this tourist street wasn't as pretty as I'd hoped.

From there it was a quick stop at a supermarket for some dinner snacks, then back to the hostel. I warmed up and charged my phone, then got hot chocolate on my way to catch the bus back to the airport. Checkin didn't start until exactly two hours before takeoff, but it went quickly and smoothly, as did the flight.

I wouldn't mind going back to Arkhangelsk. Maybe late spring or early summer? I feel like it would be the total opposite of what I got to see during this trip.

russia: valday

 

Sometime during my second year in Moscow, Claire and I saw an eye catching photo on social media of a monastery on an island in a lake. We figured out where it was on a map, and wanted to visit. Unfortunately, when we looked at the train schedule, it looked almost impossible. Plus we had already done a really good job of filling in our travel calendar, so we had very little time to add in another trip. 

Since I'm traveling by myself now, and have seen a lot of the cities around Moscow, I decided to make this trip work, even though I knew I'd be super tired. 

The reason for the tiredness was the train schedule. I hopped on the train at 2030 on a Friday evening, in a regular seat. I arrived in Valday at 0213, which is basically the middle of the night, when most normal people are sound asleep. I spent 23 hours in Valday, as my departing train left at 0105 Sunday morning, which again is basically the middle of the night. (I also had a seat on this train, as opposed to a bunk.

Valday is a small town in the middle of a national park. It sits on the banks of Lake Valdayskoye, just over 380 kilometers (240 miles) from Moscow, and has a population around 16,000 people.

Valday was first mentioned in historical documents in 1495, but I think the majority of town formation and growth happened during the mid 17^th century because of the foundation of Valday Iversky Monastery on an island in the lake.

At one point Valday was a 'major' center of trade, but that is no longer the case. Part of the reason for this importance was the production of bells, of which Valday was the center in Russia. Wikipedia tells me that Valday was close to the eastern front during WW2, but was never under German control. Since 1944, Valday has been a part of Novgorod Oblast.

I got off the train at 0213, I was the only person to walk into the train station. I was thankful there was a station, as I have no idea where else I would've gone at that hour. 

The ticket office in the station was open until 0230, then that lady went home. For the next three hours I dozed on and off, convinced I was the only person in the entire station. Despite the pandemic, I'm pretty sure the main room of the train station had not been mopped or swept in quite a while. There was plenty of accumulated dirt on the floor and in the corners, as well as plenty of dead bugs near the walls.

Around 0530 someone came out of a back office to use the toilet, it was the only way I knew someone else was in the station with me. 

She was surprised to see me on the chairs, (and after thinking I was by myself for three hours, I was surprised to see her,) I reckon there are very few times she sees someone at that hour. I stayed in the station, dozing on and off, until just before 0700.

By that time, the sun was officially up, though I could still see the last colours of sunrise in the sky. I walked out of the station and was pleasantly surprised to find that fall had already come to Valday. The trees close to the station were already bright and dark yellow, I loved it.

After taking photos of a water tower just off one side of the station, I followed the road into the center of town. The walk wasn't long, as Valday isn't big. Along the way I found Hotel Valday with a giant mural on one side, featuring some bells and a big guy dressed as if he was ready to fight. Even though I was barely into town, I could already tell that bells are a big thing in Valday.

The road led me to a platz of sorts, with a church on one side, as well as a WW2 memorial, a grassy area, and some buildings that didn't look very well cared for. I think I got lucky in what time I got there, as the church was just opening when I walked by.

Trinity Cathedral is pink on the outside, and looks very boxy. I always want to see the inside of any church, but if that wasn't my thing, I wouldn't have been very interested in this one based on the outside. The inside wasn't painted, except for the iconostasis in the front. That was mainly painted dark yellow, with colours in the icons of course.

After walking out of the church I headed straight to the lakefront, which was visible from the church. The sky was bright blue, and the direct sun was already warming things up, and everything felt rather glorious. I walked out onto one of the docks, which was already being used by one guy as a fishing spot. I could see a few red leafed trees, which made me happy. Those are my favourite part of fall.

After sitting on the dock for a few minutes, I walked back toward the road that heads out of the town, parallel to the lake. It took me by a small chapel, as well as the bell museum. The architecture of the bell museum reminded me of an observatory, not a museum. Since it was an eye catching museum building, I took a photo with the building, knowing that when I came back later I wouldn't be likely to be able to get a photo without anyone else in the frame.

Further along the road was a small park, in the middle of which was the single statue of Lenin found in Valday. Obviously, I took photos. 

I passed a bus stop that used bells in its decoration scheme, another clue about how important bells are to Valday.

From there the walk to the monastery was long, even by my standards. I enjoyed the walk, as the weather was amazing, and I liked the scenes along the way. I saw another WW2 memorial, and cute, older wooden houses. Some were in great shape, painted a variety of colours with colourful gardens, others not so much.

Part of the walk took me over a bridge, which quite a few men were using to go fishing. 

As I followed the road, I got to a national park sign, which was surprisingly plain. Just the name of the park in dark yellow letters.

As I turned onto the road that led to the monastery I was almost stunned by the view of the fall coloured trees along the road. Absolutely gorgeous. (And I was really annoyed that I only had a phone with which to take photos, not a real camera.)

As I walked several cars slowed down to offer me a ride to the monastery, but I turned them all down.

I was enjoying the walk, and the idea of getting into a car with strangers without any sort of documentation (like a taxi or yandex or uber,) scares me a bit. I would assume people going to a monastery are 'safe' buuuuuuttttt....

When I finally got to the monastery I was surprised at how busy it seemed. There was a parkplatz that was full, which surprised me. I could see at least three tour buses, also a surprise. I wonder where they came from, and how often a tour to this monastery happens from different cities.

In front of the monastery there was a small, photogenic dock, I (not so) patiently waited my turn to take a photo. Other folks waited for me, which was a really nice surprise. I took a group photo for them, as a thank you.

The main entry into the monastery is through a tower painted red. The walls on that side of the fortress are painted yellow on the outside. Other sides have white paint on the outside. Once I went through the entry, I found a small courtyard like area, with another 'gate' to walk through, leading to what I would call the main courtyard.

Iver Cathedral sits in the middle of this area, you can't miss it. Painted white with light red accents, and gold and black domes on top, it's very pretty. The inside of this church is definitely worth seeing, with the entire interior painted. I saw streams of light coming through some of the windows, I always love to see that. I found a small bench at the back of the 'sanctuary' and sat for a few minutes to absorb the atmosphere.

I walked around the entire exterior of the cathedral, there was a small graveyard of sorts off the back side. The walls of the monastery stretched a bit more in this area, but most of the land seemed to be plain grass.

After wandering all over, I walked back to Valday. Another long walk, but I was still having a good time. As I got close to the bell museum, I made the mistake of looking at my watch and realizing how many steps I'd already walked that day. A lot. All of a sudden I could 'feel' all those steps, and my feet weren't thrilled.

I went to the bell museum, which was a bit of a disappointment. The entry fee was 200 rubles, which included a tour in Russian, which was of no use to me. It wasn't the tour that bothered me, it was the fact that the museum was just one room. Even with a tour, if a museum is just one room it is not worth that price. (Not in this country anywho.)

The museum had photos and information, mostly behind glass. There were also smaller bells in display cases, as well as the remains of various older bells. There were two large carillons on the walls, with bells hung at regular intervals. The tour started when the docent rang them all at the same time, which was jarring to my ears.

I'd originally wanted to visit the local history museum in addition to the bell museum, but as I walked out of the bell museum my feet and legs were telling me that just wasn't going to happen. Instead I walked back to the train station, stepping into a grocery store along the way.

By the time I got back to the train station, my watch was telling me I'd walked nearly 43,000 steps, just short of 30km, in just under 10 hours. My train didn't leave for another nearly 8 hours, which went by very very slowly. I dozed a little bit, but my feet and legs weren't happy.

The train back to Moscow went as expected, and I got back to Moscow just after six in the morning. I was really tired, so instead of doing anything useful, I went home and to bed. I don't think I missed anything important in Valday, so I doubt I'll be back. That being said, it was a very pretty place to visit for a day.