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Saturday, September 28, 2013

Russian Riverboats 101

My home for 10 days
The Island of Kizhi which was the most interesting stop
Entering Yaroslavl

The Kalyazin Bell Tower as we near Uglich.  The belfry was built in the late 1790s  but as Stalin ordered the construction of the dam several structures were submerged
My route for this adventure
Lake Ladoga

Lake Onega
Most stops we has some "sister ships' join us.


My latest adventure has led me to Saint Petersburg to Moscow via the riverboat, here is some of the info that will be helpful if deciding to take on this trip. My ship (MS Surikov of the Russian Co. Mosturflot) was very clean and safe but was built in 1974  (has had many upgrades since) so don't go thinking it is a modern day liner as your doing reno's with only so much boat, plus your dealing with rivers and locks so size of the craft needs to be limited to navigate this tight areas. Also the typical riverboat will host approx. 200 passengers plus crew with no extra amenities ie. no swimming pool, fitness center, casino or 24 hr restaurant's, with scheduled eating times, small entertainment and bar area, no TV"s in your room and public internet only at certain times. Finally the rooms would be a challenge for 2 adults given they are the size of a railcar berth, but you need to look past all of this as it has a certain charm to be plying the waters without all that glitter.....which lets face it is just "window dressing"  So lets shove off and get to see parts of Russia only that MS Surikov can take us to

One of eighteen locks we went through to Moscow, and believe me they were not all during the day.......so a few restless sleeps