Dachas on the road to Sergiev Posad

Tuesday, 16 July.  We had signed up for the optional tour to the Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius, but Jane was feeling up to it. With her encouragement, I decided to go anyway. The bus left at 8:20 for the 50 mile drive. It was an overcast day with occasional drizzle as we headed north on the highway toward St. Petersburg.

The area was heavily built up for about the first 30 miles outside Moscow and very unattractive. Ugly apartment buildings were squeezed between ugly industrial plants, with no sign of any zoning restrictions. Finally the scenery became more rural and more pleasant. There were farms, birch forests, and dachas. We arrived in Sergiev Posad, site of the Monastery, at 9:45. This city is also the original home of the Matryoshka dolls, invented at the end of the 19th century.

Front gate of Trinity Monastery

Trinity Monastery walls

What is now Trinity Monastery started out as a wooden chapel in 1340 and grew to became perhaps the greatest monastery in Russia. In 1552, to celebrate the defeat of the Tartars, Czar Ivan the Terrible began construction of the Assumption Cathedral here. By the middle of the 16th century, the monastery was converted into a great fortress. Early in the 17th century, 3,000 defenders inside the monastery withstood a 16-month siege by a Polish army of 30,000. It is still an active monastery with about 200 resident monks.

Our local guide, a young nun of classic beauty, told us there were eleven churches within the monastery. We visited three of them. First we saw the oldest one, Trinity Cathedral (1423), built over the tomb of St.Sergius and containing his relics. There was a long line of believers waiting to kiss the reliquary. St. Sergius' well, now enclosed in a chapel, is right next to Trinity Cathedral, and another covered well stands just in front it. People were filling containers of all sizes with the holy water. Our guide said many of them use it as their regular drinking water.

St. Sergius' Well

Trinity Cathedral & the two wells

Trinity Cathedral well

Virgin of Smolensk  & other small churches

Finally we visited the beautiful baroque Refectory adjoining the St. Sergius Church (1686-92). That was the most impressive sight in the monastery.

Inside the Refectory

The Refectory

Refectory railing & altar

Leaving the monastery, we were given 40 minutes to browse the dozens of vendors' stands outside the front gate. Most of the wares were of poor quality. Our bus finally left Sergiev Posad at 11:30. There were at least seven separate accidents along the highway, involving over 25 cars, so traffic was really tied up. We didn't get back to the Tolstoy until 2:30, more than twice the time it had taken on the outbound trip.

Folk music concert

Jane was ready for lunch (which had been extended because of the late return of our tour group). After lunch we went together to a folk music concert on board from 3:00 to 4:30. It was very entertaining. At 5:30 the Tolstoy sailed away from Moscow's Northern River Terminal (@ km marker #46) and began its journey to St. Petersburg.

The Captain's reception began at 6:30, a very nice affair. I drew a disapproving look from a waiter, though, when I poured a shot of vodka into a glass of orange juice instead of throwing it down in a gulp, as he gestured for me to do. We had dinner at 7:15. Jane went to bed at 9:30. By that time, the Tolstoy was waiting to enter Lock #6 on the Moscow Canal (@ km 93). I went to the library and read for an hour before retiring. We still were not through the lock.