Uglich

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

We docked in Uglich, another Golden Ring City, amid gray skies and a chilly rain about breakfast time this morning.  The first item on our itinerary today was a small group visit to a Russian home.  Mikhail and Ilyana welcomed us with tea, homemade cakes and breads, cheese and pickles and shots of Mikhail’s vodka – at 8:30 am!  We enjoyed sitting around their table, having Vadim translate our questions about Mikhail and Ilyana’s home, family and life, and several rounds of toasts in Russian and in English. As is typical for Russian families, either at their chief residences or at their country dachas, Mikhail and Ilyana have devoted part of their property and considerable effort to growing vegetables, fruits and flowers, and raising small animals – chickens, rabbits, and even a few piglets.  

After our home visit, we had a local guide for a rainy walk through Uglich’s old kremlin (fortress), situated along the waterfront.  The area is now a lovely shaded park, containing several churches, museums, and monuments.  We stopped in the Cathedral of the Transfiguration, with heavily frescoed interior walls and a six-tiered (instead of the customary five) iconostasis. During the Soviet era, when religion was outlawed, the interior showcased a tractor notable for having been driven by a woman.  We had a chance to appreciate an exhibit of gorgeous lacquer boxes in the church’s bell tower before enjoying the music of an eight-member a cappella group in a museum setting.  The traditional Song of the Volga Boatmen and an ethereal hymn to the Blessed Virgin were shivers-up-your-spine beautifully rendered.  

We ended our tour at the Church of St. Dimitri on the Blood on the site of a grim event. Dimitri was the son of Ivan the Terrible and, despite being just eight years of age, he was seen as a rival to Boris Godunov, who had his own designs on the throne.  The young Dimitri was found dead, with his throat slit, and two theories as to the cause of his death were advanced.  Though it was widely believe that Boris Godunov had ordered his murdered, the officially accepted explanation was that, as a result of an epileptic fit, Dimitri had fallen on his sword – twice!

By the time we walked back to the ship, we were chilled, wet, and a bit wind-blown.  As we headed for a “Taste of Russia” lunch, we were casting off from the dock at Uglich and headed for Moscow, where we’re scheduled to arrive after lunch tomorrow.