Today we needed to be back at the hotel by 2pm to be picked up for a 30km car ride to catch the train in Vladimir at 3:49pm. We decided to walk the 'northern route', to the Monastery of the Savior and St. Euthemius, and then round to the Intercession Convent, making our way back to the Market Place where we would have lunch at the Gostinyy Dvor (Гостиный двор, where we had eaten yesterday).
A leisurely walk up to the monastery allowed us to get the feel of the city. The population is only about 10,000, so it was like walking through a provincial town in Victoria — people walking and talking along the street, cars on the road, but 'traffic' by no means, and the odd 'hoon' on the road who thinks that a noisy vehicle is 'cool'.
The Monastery of the Savior and St. Euthemius was founded in the 14th century, and grew in importance in the 16th and 17th centuries. Construction in this latter period included its massive outer walls (constructed in part to defend the city of Suzdal), the Assumption Church, the bell tower and the seven-domed Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour, which contains magnificent late 17th century frescoes.
Throughout the day, every day, there is a five-minute performance on the carillion in the bell tower, something to be heard and enjoyed!
In November 1967, journalist Yury Bychkov drove his car along a route planned in Suzdal two years earlier: Moscow – Zagorsk (now Sergiev Posad) – Pereslavl-Zalessky – Rostov – Yaroslavl – Kostroma – Ivanovo – Suzdal – Vladimir – Moscow. It formed a ring, a necklace of precious stones – ancient cities with priceless architectural monuments and unique culture. Following this trip, Yuri Bychkov published a series of essays on ancient Russian cities under the general title "Golden Ring : an invitation to travel around the cities of historical North-Eastern Russia". Each sketch was accompanied by a description of Bychkov's route. The first of these essays was published in 'Soviet Culture' on November 21, 1967, which date is regarded as the birthday of the new tourist route now known as "The Golden Ring". There's a stone outside the Monastery of the Savior and St. Euthemius which commemorates this. The Text reads
Auto route ideas — journalist Yury Bichkov'.
Well, after spending a relaxing time in the monastery, it was time to make our way round to the Intercession Convent. This white-painted convent, nestled in the gentle curve of the Reka Kamenka (the Kamenka River), is possibly the most recognized feature within Suzdal. The nuns here use the river flats outside to grow their vegetables, and use the space within the convent to produce magnificent displays of flowers.
After this we wandered back to the Marketplace, where we settled in to the Gostinyy Dvor restaurant for a leisurely lunch. Then, back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and in turn, be picked up for transfer to the station in Vladimir.
Our train arriving
The transfer to Vladimir was with a taxi-driver who spoke little or no English, so we were left to ourselves to comment about the journey. The station in Vladimir looked somewhat unprepossessing from the outside, but was reasonably appointed inside. We got out to the platform and waited for the train to arrive. This time it was a high speed train, and we had seats for the journey. We were a little concerned that our luggage would be a problem, but it turned out that there were sufficient baggage racks at floor level within the carriage. The journey was short — about 2 hours, from 3:49pm to 5:30pm. (The speed was about half that of the Chinese bullet trains.)
Dennis with Suzie's case
We got into Moscow, at the Kursky railway terminal (Ку́рский вокза́л, Kursky vokzal), where we were met by Dennis, who drove us to the Peter I Hotel, right in the theatre district of Moscow. Our drive from station to hotel was full of lively, informative conversation. Thank you Dennis! So we've reached Moscow! The next few days should be interesting!
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