Dave Carruth's 2006 RussianTrip

Dave Carruth's 2006 Russia Trip (For best viewing use the "full screen" feature - F11 on most browsers - Editor) On Sept 3^rd Betty and I returned from 2 weeks in Russia. This was our 6^th tour with the Alumni Assoc. which is managed by Bobbi Collins. It was our fifth tour in which AHI was the tour director and we like them so much we try to go with them when we travel. I thought some of you might like an input for future planning. All of you probably saw the brochure titled Cruise the Passage of Peter the Great, a boat trip from St. Petersburg to Moscow. We particularly like river cruises because we can unpack once. We learned a lot, saw a lot and got a lot of exercise. This particular cruise was pretty intense and they kept us on the go. In St Petersburg we visited the Peter and Paul Fortress, St. Isaac’s Cathedral, and the Hermitage Museum and attended a performance of the ballet “Giselle “ in the Hermitage Theatre. The performance was very good and the theatre very interesting. The tourist hoard was very evident throughout the tour but particularly so in the Museum. We have since learned from talking to Warren Graham that a better month to tour, at least in Russia, is May. He and Nancy had the Museum to themselves. The next day we toured Peterhof, the summer palace of Peter the Great. Underway for Moscow aboard the M/S REPIN via the Neva River, Ladoga Lake, Svir River, Onega Lake, Kovsha River, Beloye Lake, Sheksna River, Rybinsk Reservoir, Uglich Reservoir, Moscow Canal, and Moscow River. We stopped at Mandrogi, Kizhi, Goritsy, Yaroslavl, Uglich and finally Moscow. We had walking tours in most of the stops, sometimes a bus took us to where we started walking, good guides at every stop. We visited a lot of churches/cathedrals and spent some time at Star City, the cosmonaut training center. The M/S REPIN was comfortable and the food was adequate compared to what we were served on river trips in Germany, France, Holland, and Switzerland. With all the security checks our trip home took 21 ½ hours. Needless to say we were beat. Overall we consider it a very good trip. If you have questions email me. Dave


0847 Betty at The Savior of the Blood in St. Petersburg and yes it rained a lot

0878 Peterhof Gardens

0882 You always pay to use the 'head"

0912 Church of the Transfiguration on Kizhi Island

0923 Our "cabin" very small but you don't spend much time here

0932 Elijah the Prophet at Yaroslavi

0934 Interior of Elijah the Prophet

0972 Moscow subway

0974 Moscow subway

0985 Training mockup of Soyuz

0987 Training mockup of MIR
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Dave Carruth's 2006 Russia Trip
(For best viewing use the "full screen" feature - F11 on most browsers - Editor)

On Sept 3^rd Betty and I returned from 2 weeks in Russia. This was our 6^th tour with the Alumni Assoc. which is managed by Bobbi Collins. It was our fifth tour in which AHI was the tour director and we like them so much we try to go with them when we travel. I thought some of you might like an input for future planning.

All of you probably saw the brochure titled Cruise the Passage of Peter the Great, a boat trip from St. Petersburg to Moscow. We particularly like river cruises because we can unpack once. We learned a lot, saw a lot and got a lot of exercise. This particular cruise was pretty intense and they kept us on the go. In St Petersburg we visited the Peter and Paul Fortress, St. Isaac’s Cathedral, and the Hermitage Museum and attended a performance of the ballet “Giselle “ in the Hermitage Theatre. The performance was very good and the theatre very interesting. The tourist hoard was very evident throughout the tour but particularly so in the Museum. We have since learned from talking to Warren Graham that a better month to tour, at least in Russia, is May. He and Nancy had the Museum to themselves. The next day we toured Peterhof, the summer palace of Peter the Great.

Underway for Moscow aboard the M/S REPIN via the Neva River, Ladoga Lake, Svir River, Onega Lake, Kovsha River, Beloye Lake, Sheksna River, Rybinsk Reservoir, Uglich Reservoir, Moscow Canal, and Moscow River. We stopped at Mandrogi, Kizhi, Goritsy, Yaroslavl, Uglich and finally Moscow. We had walking tours in most of the stops, sometimes a bus took us to where we started walking, good guides at every stop.

We visited a lot of churches/cathedrals and spent some time at Star City, the cosmonaut training center.

The M/S REPIN was comfortable and the food was adequate compared to what we were served on river trips in Germany, France, Holland, and Switzerland.

With all the security checks our trip home took 21 ½ hours. Needless to say we were beat. Overall we consider it a very good trip. If you have questions email me. Dave