Petersburg - Moscow

Day 1

Flight from Zurich to St. Petersburg with the then still existing Swissair.
Reception at the airport by the local guides. Ludmilla was waiting for us. Transfer to the ship and check into the cabin.

Day 2

City tour in St. Petersburg

More than 65 river arms and canals separate the individual islands from each other, and more than 600 bridges connect them. This is why the city of St. Petersburg, which was only founded by Peter the Great in 1703, is also called the Venice of the North.

On the city tour we saw, among other things: Peter Paul's Fortress, the Winter Palace (from the outside), the Admiral's Building, the Triumphal Column, Nevsky Prospekt - the main shopping street, Decembrist Square, St Isaac's Cathedral and - as usual with tourist tours - a souvenir shop housed in a former English church.

In the afternoon we visited the Russian Museum. With 315'000 exhibits, it is one of the most comprehensive collections of Russian art.

Day 3

Excursion to Peterhof, the summer residence of the tsars. We visited the palace and the fantastic fountains with their impressive water features.

In the afternoon visit to the Hermitage, one of the largest art collections in the world. We were very impressed by both the buildings and the art treasures.

Day 4

Cast off and the calming river trip begins. In the evening we reached Lake Lagoda. It is so big that you could almost put the whole of Switzerland in it.

Day 5

In the morning we reached Kishi, a museum village on a peninsula of Lake Onega.
The churches, chapels, bell towers, houses, granaries, windmills and bath houses - all made of wood - were brought here from the Onega region. The whole thing is called the Kishi State Historical Architectural and Ethnographic Park.

Day 6

Arrival in Goritzy: from there we took buses to the Cyril Monastery. The complex is imposing, but was still in a rather sad state - but work was underway to renovate it. The monastery is protected by huge fortress walls - 11 m high and 7 m thick. These were built by Ivan the Terrible.

Day 7

Drive through the Rybinsk Reservoir to Yaroslavl, one of the seven cities of the "Golden Ring". In the Prophet Elijah Church we admired an extremely impressive iconostasis and frescoes. After a walk along the banks of the Volga and a visit to the Saviour's Monastery, we went to the allegedly oldest theatre in Russia to see a folklore performance.

In the late afternoon, our ship sailed back across the Volga to the Rybinsk Reservoir.

Day 8

Uglitsch, one of the oldest cities on the Volga, founded in 937. During a tour we visited the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Christ and the Demetrios Palace.

Day 9

Due to numerous locks, progress in the Moscow Canal was slow. Due to a lock breakdown, we had to travel the last part by bus and visit Moscow. Suddenly we were standing on Red Square. We would never have thought that possible a few years before.

In the evening we visited the Russian National Circus. In the meantime, our hotel ship had also arrived in Moscow's inland port.

Day 10

Moscow: Visit to the Kremlin, drive up to Sparrow's Hill with a view of the city and visit to the Convent of the Virgins. In the evening Moscow by nigth, a city tour in illuminated Moscow.

Day 11

Moscow privately: we bravely took the metro and actually made it to the surface at the right place, despite changing underground. We also found our way back to our ship in the inner harbour.

In the evening transfer to the airport. At midnight we flew with Krasnoyarsk Airlines to Siberia.