Days on the Volga River

I decided to go to Russia.  It was always on my bucket list.  When I heard a traveler on another trip describe taking a boat from Moscow to St. Petersburg, I knew that was the way to go.  Those are the two cities I wanted to see and what could be better than taking a boat rather than a bus, train or plane to get to both of them? 

I went on the internet to figure out how to plan this.  I don't like tours very much unless I am going to somewhere really different like China.  It seems on tours you end up going to a lot of churches.  They always begin looking the same to me unless you are going to an unusual one like Mont Saint Michele in France.  As I think back to my travels, that is the only church I remember and a tour did not take me there.

I got on the internet and I found an American guy in Moscow who helped me make the connection I needed.  I would fly to Moscow, get on the boat to St. Petersburg and then fly out of St. Petersburg back to Chicago.  The only risky thing was that I would not get my tickets and itinerary until I showed up at the Aeroflot desk  at Kennedy in New York.  I expressed  my doubts. The guy  gave me his name and the names of the prep school and college he attended in New England.  He also explained why his phone number originated in Greenland.  I asked a million questions and still wasn't sure.  I somehow verified his attendance at the schools. I also checked the advantage of using a Greenland number for multiple business calls.  It was legitimate.   Finally I took a chance and sent the money to Moscow. I felt pretty sure that he was legit but  I figured if there was nothing at the Aeroflot desk  for me at Kennedy I could just stay in New York until my return flight back to Chicago was scheduled.    I would  see to a lot of plays and visit a lot of museums.  

When I first appeared at the Aeroflot desk I was told they don't hold anything for passengers there.  I asked to see the manager.  I was still sure that I had made the right decision.  The manager appeared and knew exactly what I was talking about.  She gave me everything I needed.  After that experience, I knew that I would not be who I am today if I had been scammed.  Instinct won over naïveté. 

Happily I boarded a plane and ended up in Moscow.  I was picked up and driven into the city.  As we approached the city I felt relieved when I spotted an Ikea store.  There was one not far from me back home so it somehow comforted me.  We soon arrived at the boat where I would spend the rest of my trip.

I located a money exchange where I  could get Russian money.  My walk there  took me to one of the largest streets I have ever seen. It was 16 lanes wide!  I looked up and down the street and even walked a bit but I could not see traffic lights where I could safely cross. The cars also never stopped!   I couldn't ask or even imagine making the right gestures to communicate to passers-by my dilemma.  I stood and observed.   Well duh!  I finally noticed that people were going down some stairs and disappearing under the street.  There was an underpass.  Mystery solved as I carefully descended into the lower bowels of Moscow and easily got to the other side.

While we were in Moscow we were taken to the opulent stations on the subway,  bridges where Moscovites gathered to socialize, the Kremlin and Red Square.  I was amazed at the beauty of the Kremlin.  The rest of Moscow was mostly drab but their government buildings were striking. 

Life on the ship was pleasant.  It was May and not too warm.  The ship sometimes had to break ice to keep moving.  The crew was efficient.  I talked to some of the women who worked as attendants.  It was like talking to Natasha from the Rocky and his Friends cartoon that my kids used to watch.  I kept looking for Boris Badenov.  People with Russian accents just sound sinister.  It was hard to overcome my sense of mistrust.

We had assigned seating for meals.  I found myself assigned to a table in the middle of a group of college students.  While we ate we all just stared at each other.  I wanted to tell them I was there as a spy for their parents or their school.  Immediately after our meal I went and had my seat changed. I ended up eating with a lovely couple from South Africa. As time passed I became great friends with some of the college students.  They were fun to talk to as we traveled the Volga river.  I quickly became their  resident romantic advisor.

When we would stop at a village for a look-see the old peasant ladies would line up and sell us flowers they had just picked along the path we were walking.  It seemed kind of strange because we could have picked our own flowers.  I soon learned that many of the older generations in Russia were in bad shape.  When Communism ended they were suddenly left in a lurch.  The pension they should have gotten disappeared.  If their children could not support them they had to scrabble.  That knowledge meant I always had flowers in my little cabin. 

The voyage was pleasant and restful.  Sometimes we had to break through ice when the river widened.  It was May in Russia and not exactly balmy, but the diversion added interest to the trip.  We would see cottages, onion-domed churches and farm landscapes preparing for spring planting.   It is unfortunate that this is no longer possible because of the conflict with Ukraine.  I wonder about all the Russians who depended on tourism for their incomes especially those elderly ladies selling us flowers they just picked along the path.

We ran into a similar situation in St. Petersburg.  When we visited the famous Hermitage Museum most of the rooms would have an older woman sitting on a chair watching us.  I was told that they were hired as security and sat all day in the room in order to make up for the pensions they no longer received.  It was an easy (but boring) job but I bet they would have loved to be at home relaxing in a rocking chair.

Besides the Hermitage we saw the Winter Palace, some cathedrals and lots of unusual architecture.  In May the days are getting longer leading to the white nights of summer. And of course, there is a visit to the theater to see a ballet.  However, I could not visit the ballet was frustrated .  There was something about how I could  pay for it.  They did not take credit cards so you had to pay in either Russian or American money neither of which I had much of at that time.  So I passed up the ballet. I was sad about it because I did not picture myself  ever visiting Russia a second time.   A few years later I was on a Scandinavian cruise and the opportunity to go into Russia and see a ballet in St. Petersburg occurred.  So I did get to see Swan Lake.  You never know where life will take you.   

 I am happy I took a chance and went on that trip. If I had taken a train from Moscow to St. Petersburg it would have taken a bit over three hours.  A plane would have flown there in an hour and a half.  Our boat trip was about nine days.  I think I gained a much better impression of Russia during that extra time.

  Russia is now not a place where Americans visit and I do not see it being available in the near future.  I sometimes wonder about that American guy in Moscow who made all the arrangements for me to travel on that boat.   He told me he was engaged to a Russian girl and was going to continue to live in Moscow.  I hope somehow he or they finally did come back to the U.S. to live.  But who knows, maybe he is working for Putin and helps compose fake social media stuff.  I hope not.