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Valday was first mentioned in historical documents in 1495, but I think the majority of town formation and growth happened during the mid 17^th century because of the foundation of Valday Iversky Monastery on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