Mandrogy

Saturday, May 28, 2011

The ship docked in Mandrogy about 9:30 in the morning.  The town is located on the River Svir, which connects Lake Onega with Lake Lagoda.  Many of the souvenirs that are sold in Russia are made in this small village with its cobbled streets.  About 29 homesteads located here were burned down in WWII.  When the buildings were rebuilt, starting in 1996, they were made to look like fairy tale structures.  There was no organized tour today--we were on our own to see the people making the various crafts and to shop for souvenirs.  We bought Matryoshka dolls, a tiny bird of happiness and small birch box made by the people who sold them to us.  We also bought several small bottles of Russian vodka at the Vodka Museum.  About 150 people live in Mandrogy permanently and 200 people work here every day.  We went back to the ship for lunch on the Sun Deck, which was “A Taste of Russia.” The food was good; we had some beer, lunch meats, marinated chicken legs, meats baked in dough (one looked like pigs in blankets) and sweet desserts.  Around 1:30 we passed through the last lock of the trip.  The River Svir will take us into Lake Lagoda, which is the largest lake in Europe at nearly 7,000 square miles.  While crossing the lake this afternoon we attended our last lecture.  Zhenja talked about Putin and Medvedev.  We had time for a nap after that and at 7:00 we went to the Captain’s dinner where we toasted all the crew and guides.  Our dinner companions were from Hudson WI, and their daughter may have gone to Stillwater HS with our daughter-in-law Sarah.  Small world.  The passenger talent show was at 10:00 and the funniest act was an economist who told some good jokes.

Photos

The temperature today was about 56 and we were dressed too warmly.  It started to sprinkle while we were having lunch on the Sky Deck.

© JAY DEITCH 2020