As we continued down the connecting waterways, we noticed that there were small communities near the shore lines that had small “houses” right along the river banks. These were actually boat storage facilities.  The people here use the waterways for transportation, fishing and pleasure.  The dams generate electricity and many kinds of goods are moved along from city to city.  During the winter months, much, if not all of this activity is stopped due to the weather and the water freezing.  All boats are taken from the water and dry docked for the season.  But when the rivers open again, they return to being the busy and productive waterways that we saw.
 

We stopped in Yaroslavl for some time and had a chance to wander around the city center.  This town was founded in the early 11^th century and, according to legend, on the very spot where Prince Yaroslav bravely killed a bear.  This was a much livelier place and certainly more modern than some of the other towns we had visited.  There was a lot of traffic and the people and homes just had a city feel to them.  We visited a beautiful church as well as an open air market and a lovely shop where artists sold many of the small lacquered boxes that are famous throughout the world.  These boxes are delicately painted with scenes from Russian fairy tales, historic or symbolic designs or places.  They are wonderful treasures.

At Uglich, our last river stop before reaching Moscow, we had the chance to really walk through a small portion of the of this delightful city.  There were some nice small shops, along with some historic buildings and gardens.  And, Uglich is said to be one of the best shopping spots along the river, with its long outdoor section of booths.  There were many interesting things for sale and some of the artists were there as well.   Nearby was the Bankomat--the Russian ATM machine.  My sister and our friend tried to use it, but of course, everything was in Russian.  A lovely lady from the nearby hotel came to the rescue, so they did manage to get the machine to cooperate.  It was an interesting experience!

The closer we got to Moscow, the more industrial and the more prosperous the country and the people seemed to become.  We passed some beautiful homes and saw quite a few new homes under construction.  There were a number of churches that seemed to be actively in the process of restoration.  We even passed a building and dock that was said to be a yacht club.  It just wasn’t what we expected to see along the Russian waterways.

Far sooner than we wanted, we began passing many apartment buildings and other large buildings and were docked in Moscow.

 

In the next and last segment of this travel article on Russia, I’m going to share some of the interesting places we visited and some of the fascinating sights we saw in Moscow.  Also I’ll share with you some of my thoughts and impressions on Russia, along with some additional photo tips.

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 Visit her site at www.noellaballenger.com or send her an e-mail at Noella1B@aol.com   Write to her at P.O. Box 457, La Canada, CA 91012, call: (818) 954-0933 or fax: (818) 954-0910 for more information on her workshop/tours.

 

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