Kuzino

29 August 2016

Again today we had an early start – all aboard the buses at 9am…  I am really enjoying myself, but these early wake-up calls are exhausting…lol

An interesting fact about  today :  the Ingvar ship docked in Kuzino and dropped us off, but then sailed down river to the town Goritzy.

Today’s tour was a visit to the Kriillo-Belosersky Monastery and a visit to the local school.  We asked if it was possible to just do the school visit, but they laughed and said no…  The monastery looks more like a fortress and sits on the shores of Severskoye Lake.  It was founded in 1397 by two monks who dug out a single cave and built a wooden chapel.  In 1494 a stone structure was erected.  In 1924 the Bolshevik government closed down the monastery and executed the monks.  Later it was reopened and part of it is a museum today filled with icons – which are considered to be the Gospel in paint.  There – now you have been on the tour with us!  Lol!  After looking and listening about icons for over an hour, I left the museum and wandered about outside.  Luckily today, Pokemon was back working and I was able to snag a few more items but no pokemon…  The monastery is amazing architecturally.  It was about 65* and sunny so quite pleasant strolling around.  It is a walled compound with living quarters and 2 churches, as well as out buildings and a lakefront beach.  One of the passengers at lunch commented “when you’ve seen one icon, you’ve seen them all”…lol!

Once everybody was back on board, we headed for the visit to the local school.  One thing positive about Viking tours – I am impressed with how well they space 200 people out among the sites.  There were 5 groups total and we only ran into one other group.  It is all very well organized and our guides have been informative and friendly.  At the school we met Kate, a 16 year old who was our guide through the school.  She told us about the students, the courses and the school year.  Russian children start school at 6 or 7 and at 16 are given the opportunity to go to trade school or continue secondary school for 2 more years, after which they would go to university.

We were taken to a small auditorium where two 15 year old girls wore traditional peasant costumes and sang for us.  It was wonderfully entertaining.  After that we visited a classroom and our group sat in student desks to ask Kate and our guide questions.  It was all super fun and interesting.

This tour took about 3 hours and then we headed back to the ship, where they dropped us off for more shopping!  This time I did buy a few souvenirs and B bought a bottle of Russian soda (we think) and the local lemonade – which is made from pears and tastes more like cream soda…lol

This afternoon we are aboard ship and sailing for Kizhii.  B took a nap after lunch, but I went to crafts class and painted a Matryoshka dolls.  It was a sociable event with art skills from poor to magnificent…  I fit somewhere in the middle and did not finish mine but will do so at home…  I smiled after the lady next to me asked if I painted and commented that she had in the past.  But after today, she thought she would go back home and resume painting again – encouraging words…

There was a cooking demo in the late afternoon with Chef Joachim.  He taught folks how to make Pelmeni, which is a pillow pasta filled with beef and pork - basically Russian ravioli served with sour cream.  B went to the demo and got the recipe but says it is too much work to make for Aging Gracefully…  It was an entertaining demo however, as he had 2 passengers attempting to follow his directions each step of the way – but insisting they drink vodka about every 10 minutes…  At the end of the demonstration the Chef explained the secret to making Great Pelmeni – “don’t drink the vodka”…lol!

This evening’s dinner is traditional Russian food with borscht, and other local favorites.  I will try but may order the chicken breast too…lol

Hope this finds you well and you are enjoying our adventure.