Bob and Ann in Russia 2007

Please visit August 26 slideshow.

Tretyakov Art Gallery

This morning we went to the Tretyakov Art Gallery after making a stop to shop in a local grocery store. The store is part of a chain that has very high prices. We bought some cookies after looking at the $20+ bags of peanuts.

The art gallery (museum) is one of Moscow's most famous. It contains lots of very old and well-preserved icons. It also has landscape and portrait paintings by well-know Russian artists from the 18th century to today. I know that icons are very important to the art and religious world, but I preferred the paintings. The landscapes were very realistic and showed the Russian countryside. The portraits were displayed in chronological order and showed how the Russian artists picked up the techniques from the French and Italians. It was very impressive.

It was now time to go back to the boat for lunch. We both had cabbage scaloppini. It sounds strange but it was quite good. At 2:30, we jumped up from our table and raced to the top deck to watch our sailing from Moscow. We were finally under sail (or motor).

The Moscow Canal


Picnic Along The Moscow Canal

The journey for today was along the Moscow Canal. We will eventually reach the Volga River tomorrow. The canal is narrow and lined mostly with wooded areas. We saw lots of people on the bank enjoying their Sunday afternoon, although it was a little cool and overcast. It appears the people come to the canal from the nearby high-rise apartments for the day.

We attended a session where two "guests" were introduced. The man is Belgian and his wife is Russian. They both have backgrounds in the travel industry. Their purpose on the cruise is to discuss Russian culture with us and to answer any other questions about travel.

In another session the program for the next two days was explained.

The Captain's Reception was next on the top deck. Here the command on the tourist crew were introduced. The captain gave a short welcoming speech in Russian while one of the Vantage tour people translated. He then gave us a toast and circulated to touch glasses.

Then it was on to the Captain's Dinner. We had very traditional Russian food. The salad was similar to the one Ann had in the Russian restaurant yesterday - potatoes, olives, chicken, etc. The next course was "Grandma's Knot" - a cabbage mixture wrapped in a blini that was tied with a leek. For a main course, I had a zucchini dish cooked with a cheese sauce. Ann had salmon. Desert was ice cream in a candied waffle cookie.

When dinner was over, we went back on deck to watch us go through some locks. This was one of many as we descend to the Volga River. We also watched a trio that played and sang traditional Russian folk music. One person played the accordion, another played a balalaika and a third - a mezzo soprano - sang. Considering we were on a cruise ship, they were very good.

The map of our route from Moscow to Uglich is below. To see it in Google Earth, follow this link.