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Valday was first mentioned in historical documents in 1495, but I think the majority of town formation and growth happened during the mid 17^th century because of the foundation of Valday Iversky Monastery on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

russia: priozersk and st petersburg

 

September is a lovely time to travel north to St Petersburg. I don't think there is really a bad time of year to go to St Petersburg, but September is particularly lovely, because the trees are starting to change colours.

My train arrived on time at the early hour of 0539. It wasn't completely dark, but it wasn't light yet either. Even so, I felt comfortable starting to walk, because I've been to the city a number of times. My walk took me from one train station to another: Moscow station to Finland station. As it was still pretty early, there was very little traffic, neither foot nor vehicular.

When I got to Finland station it was easy enough to buy a ticket for the next train to a city called Priozersk. The cities are around 150 kilometers from each other, a two hour drive. The train ride was around 3 hours. The station building itself in Priozersk sits at one end of the tracks, I didn't even see it for a while.

On one side of the tracks you see water, on the other side you see woods. It's quiet and peaceful.

What is now known as Priozersk is a small town of less than 20,000 residents. In its history, it has been known as Kakisalmi and Kexholm, when the Finns and Swedes were in charge. This region has been part of several wars between empires, so the names switched regularly for a while. During WW2 it was mostly part of Finland, with a bit of Russia thrown in at times. The Russian name at the time was Korela, it wasn't changed to Priozersk until 1948, several years after the war.

Wikipedia tells me Priozersk was officially founded in 1295. Documents from the year 1500 show there were probably 1500-2000 residents at the time. The population of the city grew regularly, though there were five major fires, which always considerably shrunk the population. When the first courthouse was built (in the year 1800,) there were only 400 residents.

The main industry of the current city is a furniture production plant, which was originally a paper mill. If I dug around I could probably figure out other parts of the economy, but I don't care enough to do so.

After getting off the train I climbed down from the end of the train tracks, and found a path toward the city center. The path quickly connected to a road, which I only had to follow for 5 minutes or so to get right to the city center.

The city center is a platz, which at the time was covered with various stalls. It didn't take a genius to figure out Priozersk was celebrating its city birthday. (There were a couple signs telling me so, hee hee.) There was also a Lenin statue, which I intended to come back to soon enough. I always take a photo with Lenin, whether at the beginning of a city visit, or later on.

My first sight was an old Lutheran church. The signs out front give the history of the church, and also told me it is no longer in use. I was sad to read this, because I really wanted to go inside the old church, but that wasn't possible with locked doors. I wonder who has the key.

After my quick glance at the former church I walked back to the city center (a whopping 5-10 minute walk.) I wanted to take my photo with Lenin, and see if any of the booths set up for City Day had anything I wanted to buy. None of them did, but it was fun to wander around anywho.

On the other end of the main platz was a series of military vehicles for people to see and take photos. There were also a few men standing around in military clothing, though I have no way of knowing if they were active duty servicemembers or just wearing the clothing.

I kept going, another 10 minutes or so, to the main tourist sight in the city: the remains of a fortress. The Russian/Novgorodian name is Korela, the Finns called it Kakisalmi, and the Swedes called it Kexholm. When those names are used it is almost always the fortress that is being referred to, not the city.

The fortress sits between one side of a small inlet and Lake Ladoga, it's really photogenic. I walked around the entire exterior, which didn't take long. It's small, and I don't envy anyone who ever had to live inside the fortress. Entry into the area was 100 rubles, with no extra fee for foreigners, woo hoo.

The entry fee basically paid for the small museum in one building. The museum had uniforms and clothing worn back in the day, as well as maps and other items of use in the daily life of the fortress. I've seen so many local/regional history museums around Russia that they all tend to blend together. I only spent about ten minutes inside, it wasn't worth more than that.

After going back outside I walked up to the top of the fortress walls, and was able to walk all the way around. As I said earlier the fortress was quite small, so the only reason it took me longer than five minutes was because I stopped to take photos a few times.

Next up was a short walk along the part of the lake that the fortress sits on. Very pretty, especially because it was September. It didn't take long, again because the area is so small.

From there I intended to walk back to the train station, because I thought I'd seen everything there was to see. As I walked along I spied another Lenin statue!! This one wasn't marked on Google maps or Yandex maps, so I was proud of myself for finding it. He sits, leaning over a book to study.

Also on the way back I walked along a pedestrian zone in between two sides of a street.

There wasn't much to it, but the weather was lovely so I sat on one of the benches for a few minutes.

Then, I really had seen everything. I walked back to the train station, and didn't have to wait more than thirty minutes to hop on the next train.

When I arrived back in Moscow I had the choice between walking or taking the metro. Since the weather was good, I chose to walk. I think it was about an hour to get to my hostel, since I stopped to take a few photos. (Walking times are always longer for me because of my taking photos.)

The next morning I was quite proud of myself, as I got out the door of the hostel a little after 0900; this is at least two hours earlier than I normally get moving on the second day of a weekend trip. Part of the reason is that I knew the weather was good, and the first photos I wanted to take were at a spot I knew would have other visitors showing up sooner rather than later.

The first photos I wanted to take were at a pedestrian bridge with gold painted flying animals on either side. Not a spot that would make you think of St. Petersburg, or even Russia in general, but oh well.

It was still early enough on a Sunday for me to take pictures of the main side of a building called Gostiny Dvor without any people in the photo. This building is huge, and the street it is on is a main street, so it's rare to have a photo without anyone else in the background or on the side.

From there I walked to the front of another building in hopes of a good picture, but here my hopes were dashed. Not by people, but by a vehicle. It was parked just in front of the building, there was no way I could keep it out of the photo. This particular building is actually a hotel, with beautiful mosaic decoration on the exterior of the street level.

Next, I found my way to 'Friendship Square', which isn't a square at all. More like a small area that would more accurately be called a park, but it isn't that either. There was a so-called 'Chinese Gate' painted mostly red, with a few stone characters in front.

There was also a short wall of sorts, with mosaic tile decoration. I'm not sure what that was, but I loved the colours.

While looking at the map on my phone I noticed something listed as Mosaic Palace, or something along those lines. Wondering what it was, I decided to make that my next stop. It turned out to be a garden area between several apartment buildings, with each thing totally covered in mosaic tiles. It was really colourful, I loved the whole thing. I definitely want to go back in future trips to St Petersburg.

I kept walking, making my way to the Summer Garden, which is around the Summer Palace Museum. The museum used to be a royal residence, used in summers. (Which should be obvious from the name.) The museum wasn't open (probably for Covid reasons?) but the gardens were, and I enjoyed walking around.

There were various busts and statues placed around the garden. I took some photos of them, but I didn't find any of them very engaging. I know that's the architectural style of planned/royal gardens, but it doesn't do anything for me.

The pathways in the garden were made of tall hedges, which also created a bit of a labyrinth atmosphere. It was always obvious where to go, but there was also a sense of privacy.

After figuring out how to leave the garden, I walked across one of the many bridges in the city, stopping at the Solovetsky Stone. It came from the Solovetsky Islands, in the north of Russia, where the first Soviet gulag camps were created. The stone honours those who died in those camps. There is at least one 'partner' stone, located in Moscow.

One of the places I'd marked on my map of places I wanted to see in St Petersburg came up as being close by, so I walked over there. It was marked at the House of Peter 1^st, who was a pretty powerful character in Russian history. I was disappointed when I got there, because the entire building was surrounded by a construction fence. Clearly it was all under renovation, I have no idea when it started, and when it is expected to be finished.

I made my way to another spot I had marked on my map, a Lenin monument. This one ended up being just a bust, but I took my photos anywho. Across the street was a bakery, so I stopped for a break. Unfortunately the goodies looked far better than they tasted.

After that I made the long walk back to my hostel. It was a bit earlier than I originally would've called it a day, but my feet were swelling, which doesn't usually happen, even on a long walk day.

Even so, I still felt as if I'd seen enough, so it wasn't a horrible thing to go to bed.

The next day I left the hostel at my normal time, around 1130. My first sight of the day was another Lenin. I was happy to see that this one was a full statue, on top of a pedestal with propaganda carved into it. I've seen this phrase before, it translates to 'proletarians of the world unite.' While I don't agree with it, I love seeing this kind of stuff as a tourist.

Near the statue was a pretty church, this one was painted light pink on the outside, with a nice wood iconostasis inside.

Since this was Monday morning, it was a very quiet time to visit a church.

Next up was another church. This one was not small, and not simple. The name translates to Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, quite a mouthful. The sanctuary was really big, with a high ceiling, and colourful frescoes all over the entire interior. There were a couple signs saying photos were not permitted during services, but overall it seemed as if photos at other times were okay. Absolutely lovely. One of those places where you can really 'feel' faith.

This second church was close to a pavement that followed the closest canal for a while. Since the weather was gorgeous, I walked along the water for a while. I would be happy to do this in every city I visit, all over the world. There is something about water that calms me, every time.

There was one other big sight I wanted to see that day, so I started walking. It took me over an hour to get there, but I didn't care. I had been to Tikhvin Cemetery previously, but had only visited one side. This time I opted to enter the 'art and cultural masters' side. There were burial plots of famous musicians and writers, including Dostoyevsky and Tchaikovsky.

The monuments at those spots were big, but no more ornate than any of the others in that cemetery. They were howeva, more spaced out than the graves on the 18^th century side of the cemetery.

After getting my fill of the cemetery, I stopped at a random Korean cafe for dinner. Not the most amazing I've ever had, but Korean food always makes me happy. From there I walked back to my hostel to pick up my bag, then made my way to the train station.
This will not be my last visit to St Petersburg. I love this city.