russia: back to vologda

One of the places I visited in early January was a city called Vologda. Since I was there in winter, everything I saw was white or gray, if I could see anything at all. When I looked at the map I realized there were a number of things I didn't see, so I decided to go back. This visit was in mid-July, with warm weather, so the city looked and felt completely different. Yet since I was there during the pandemic I'm sure it wasn't the same as summer would usually be. I wonder whether I should go back to see what that's like?

The beginning of this trip was a bit nerve-wracking for me, because it was a time when everything in Russia was changing in regards to actions being taken for the pandemic. I had booked accommodation, and a couple days before my arrival, my accommodation sent me a message saying that there was currently a 14 day quarantine for any foreigners arriving in the city. I wrote back and expressed that I wouldn't be coming if the quarantine was still a requirement during my days there, as that would've defeated the purpose of going. 

They understood, and said they would let me know what decision was taken by the city a few hours before my train was scheduled to depart. Thankfully the city decided to lift the quarantine, so I was able to go.

I arrived in a city where every employee in the train station was wearing a mask, and they were checking temperatures of random arrivals. I stayed in the train station for a couple hours, then started walking.

First up on my list of sights was a tank/big gun memorial. I knew it wasn't going to be anything unique, but I still wanted to see it. Next up was a bridge marked on the map. I tend to like bridges, for who knows what reason. This one turned out to be completely lame, as it was basically a flat concrete pavement with boring handrails, over a small creek. Not only was it boring, the mozzies were out in force. Like any normal person, I'm not a fan of mozzies, so I left as quickly as possible. The world would be so much better without them. Are they really a necessary part of the food chain?

My path took me back to the main road in town, which took me to the landscaped area behind one of the Lenin statues. I noticed the landscaping immediately, because it was so colourful. Different flowers and small bushes everywhere, it was lovely.

More walking took me to the platz next to the kremlin. The last time I saw this platz it had had a New Year's/Christmas festival set up. This time it was completely empty. I really enjoyed the quiet. The construction wall that had been there in winter was still there, so the outside of one of the churches didn't look quite as nice as it will be at some point in the future.

There is a park of sorts behind the kremlin, I didn't walk through the park in January. During this visit, I did. At one end of the park was a monument to the letter O. Why O, I have no idea. Why no other letters as well, I have no idea. I took a photo and moved on. This park runs parallel to the river, so of course there is a bench at a lookout point, that bench is marked as a sight on the map as well.

I kept going, out of the park and down another street. This brought me to another memorial, one that noted the more than 800 year history of Vologda. The view over and downriver from this monument was quite lovely.

From there I backtracked to the platz near the kremlin and kept going. I got to a bridge over the river which again provided me with the opposite view of what I'd seen in winter. Both times I'd crossed this bridge in winter a mini-blizzard had been taking place, each only about 10 minutes long. Howeva during that ten minutes I'd hardly been able to see anything, as the wind was crazy strong, and the snow was blowing hard.

This time I was able to see the churches on either side of the river, as well as the colourful buildings that also lined the river on each side. Very very photogenic. 

The photos I took just after crossing the bridge were some of my favourite of the entire two days in Vologda. I even laid down on the riverbank for a few minutes, just soaking in the beautiful view.

I decided to visit a couple of the old churches on the second side of the river, just because I could, and these types of buildings always catch my eye. Several of them looked to be falling down from the outside, and I think were under renovation. The interiors weren't nearly as interesting, with very little colour. The areas I was able to see were small, and looked temporary.

I crossed back over the bridge and followed a main road through town and all the way to a small park where I found a house museum. This one was dedicated to Peter the 1^st, or Peter the Great as he is often called. The house was actually owned by traders who hosted the tsar when he visited Vologda in March of 1724. Am I the only one who thinks it a little crazy how many museums are in Russia as a result of small, specific events in the life of someone? I've seen a number of museums where Lenin lived, for example. 

The museum itself was rather small, but still had photos and information. There were also a number of items that belonged to Peter the Great, including a coat he wore. The description of the coat amused me, as it said things like 'He loves to walk in nature's curly hair,' and 'he does not tolerate a large retinue,' all of which made me laugh. Apparently Pete was a man of the people ;)

One of the employees was really keen to have me take photos dressed in contemporary clothing, but I had no real desire to put on a dress in the style of the time.

From there I walked to my accommodation and checked in, I got an entire dorm room to myself, yippee! As I'd stopped throughout the day for various snacks and grocery store checkouts, I didn't need to go anywhere or make anything for dinner.

The next day I woke up to much cooler temps, dark grey skies, as well as wind and rain. Not my idea of good weather. I ended up staying in the hostel as long as I could, hoping the rain would taper off, but it never completely went away. Darnit.

The first sight I tried to see was a house in which Stalin spent some of the time while he was in exile. It is now a museum dedicated to all of those who spent time in Vologda while in exile. Stalin only lived there for 2-3 months, but that's plenty long in the way Russia thinks to make it into a museum. Unfortunately, it was still closed, probably due to the pandemic.

I kept walking, and the rain mostly held off. The sidewalks had plenty of puddles from heavier rain earlier in the day, so I added quite a few steps to my daily count by zigzagging all over the place. I probably looked a little loco to anyone who saw me walking.

I got to Oktober Square Park, which had a few memorials, mostly to various aspects of WW2. There were also playground areas, and a couple 'statues' that made no real sense to me. Two alligators standing on their hind legs, frogs hanging out with snails, etc... Cute, but no real point to them.

Next up was another house museum. This was was the former estate of the Leonteyev (sp?) family. I can't find the specifics, but I think it was a middle to upper class family, so I got to see furniture from back then, as well as some clothing on display. Let me say that I am happy I didn't live back then.

Those clothes and furniture do not look comfortable. In a sign of their wealth, I got to see a barrel organ, and a gramophone.

I went to another museum straightaway, one that I had wanted to visit in January. This was the lace museum, which is located on one side of the platz next to the kremlin. This was pretty big, and there weren't many other visitors, so it felt even bigger. I was thrilled to be able to wander through a number of large rooms with heaps of exhibited lace.

There was one room mostly dedicated to the history of lace in the area, along with some information on how lace is made. Another room was dedicated to 'political' lace, which even had examples of lace with CCCP 'written' or a 'picture' with Lenin and Marx. There were pieces of clothing, like vests and veils, and kitchy small pieces you would put on end tables; there were big wall hangings and table runners. Who knew lace could be fashioned into so many different items?

After seeing the lace museum I went back to the same bridge I crossed yesterday and crossed it again. I'd found a set of 'ruins' marked on a map, so I headed in that direction. When I got there I was a bit disappointed, as it was just another old building that was no longer in use. There was graffiti on some of the outer walls, and all the windows were boarded up. Since it was the middle of summer, the wildflowers were growing like crazy. Photogenic, in a way.

From there I walked back to the hostel to eat a quick dinner, then grab my bag and walk back to the train station. All in all, another nice visit to a nice city.