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Matryoshka Dolls
and Onion Domes:
An Unofficial Guide Moscow and St. Petersburg June 15-30, 2007 Being almost completely ignorant of all things Russian, I decided that it would be a good idea to learn a little more about the places we will be visiting. I decided that making this web page would be a good way of guiding my own education. I'm sure Pat and Kathy will be providing us with lots of information before the trip, so consider this an additional (and completely unofficial) resource. ** IMPORTANT NOTE: It is possible that our itinerary may change as we get more details finalized about our trip, so please keep that in mind. Thanks, and if you find any good websites that you'd like me to add to this page, I would be happy to do that. Note: This site makes extensive use of Wikipedia. Many of the links are to Wikipedia articles. Click here to go to Flickr.com, where I have a few pictures posted. |
 The Russian Flag
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General
Information Official site about the trip at St. Olaf College's website Interview with Pat and Kathy Quade What are Matryoshka Dolls? Introduction to Russia (from Geographia.com) Wikipedia article on Russian architecture Basic Russian phrases with audio Learn and practice the Cyrillic alphabet with these online flashcards. Wikipedia article on Leninism Virtual tour of St. Petersburg Interactive map of St. Petersburg Satellite map of St. Petersburg, from Google Maps Interactive map of Moscow Satellite map of Moscow, from Google Maps Pictures of Moscow subway stations (Famous for their beauty—in Russian, but easy to navigate) Some of the most famous ones are here, here, here, and here. More pictures of Moscow subway stations—panoramic images |
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Friday,
June 15th—Group
flight from Minneapolis to Moscow |
 Red Square photo by Dmitri Azovtsev |
Saturday,
June 16th—Moscow Walking tour of Moscow Moscow article from Wikipedia Interactive map of Moscow |
 Red Square |
Sunday,
June 17th—Moscow Red Square (article / picture 1 / picture 2) Guided tours of Historical Museum (article / picture) G.U.M. Department Store (article / picture 1 / picture 2 / picture 3) Lenin’s Mausoleum (article) St. Basil’s Cathedral (article) Alexander Gardens (article) The Kremlin Wall and Towers (Kremlin article / Kremlin towers article) Lobnoe Mesto (article) |
 The Kremlin from the river |
Monday,
June 18th—Moscow Kremlin map The Kremlin: (article / picture) The Kremlin Towers (article) Great Kremlin Palace (article / picture) Senate Palace Poteshny Palace State Kremlin Palace (article) Patriarch’s Palace Faceted Palace (article) Terem Palace (article) Armoury Palace (article) Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles (article) Cathedral of the Assumption (article / picture) Church of the Deposition of the Robe (article) The Cathedral of the Archangel (article) The Cathedral of the Annunciation (article / picture) |
 Resurrection Gate |
Tuesday,
June 19th—Moscow Walking tour of Kitay-Gorod quarter (article) Resurrection Gate (picture) Guided tour of Tretyakov Gallery (official site / article) Attend performance at Moscow Art Theatre, Maly Theatre, or Opera Helikon. |
 Bolshoy Theatre |
Wednesday,
June 20th—Moscow Full-day tour of Beliy Gorod quarter (article), including: Moscow University (article—Apparently Moscow University and Moscow State University are the same thing.) State Duma (article) Bolshoy Theatre (article / picture / see information for Thursday, June 21st) Moscow Conservatory Moscow Museum of Modern Art Moscow Art Theatre (Mkhat) and Stanislavsky House/Museum. Attend performance at Tchaikovsky Conservatory. |
 Cathedral of Christ the Saviour |
Thursday,
June 21st—Moscow Guided tours of Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts (article) Gorky House-Museum (aka Ryabushinsky Mansion) Chekhov House-Museum Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (article / picture) Attend performance at Bolshoi Theatre (official site / their article on the theatre's closure for renovation—according to Wikipedia, the Bolshoi will be performing at the State Kremlin Palace during this time.) Moscow Conservatory, Moscow Operetta Theatre, or Helikon Theatre. |
 Arbat Street, Moscow |
Friday,
June 22nd—Moscow Free Day |
 Summer Garden |
Saturday,
June 23rd—Moscow to St. Petersburg Travel to St. Petersburg Interactive map of St. Petersburg Wikipedia article on St. Petersburg Walking tour of Palace Square (Dvortsovaya Ploshchad) (article) Summer Garden (article / pictures) Summer Palace (article) |
 The Hermitage Museum (The Winter Palace) |
Sunday,
June 24th—St.
Petersburg Guided tour of the Hermitage (official website / wikipedia article) |
 The Old Amber Room at the Catherine Palace |
Monday,
June 25th—St.
Petersburg Guided tour of Peter and Paul Fortress (article / picture) Travel by train to Tsarskoe Selo for guided tour of Tsar’s Palace, aka Catherine Palace (article / picture 1 / picture 2) |
 Interior of St. Isaac's Cathedral |
Tuesday,
June 26th—St.
Petersburg Guided tours of Russian Museum (official site / article ) St. Isaac’s Cathedral (article / picture) Yusupov Palace (article) |
 The Moika River |
Wednesday,
June 27th—St.
Petersburg Guided tours of Russian Museum and Summer Garden. Cruise on the canal (website with pictures) Attend performance at Mariinsky Theatre (formerly the Kirov Theatre) (article) |
 Church on Spilled Blood, in St. Petersburg |
Thursday,
June 28th—St.
Petersburg Guided tours of Church on Spilled Blood (article / picture 1 / picture 2) Stieglitz Museum (article) Nevskiy Prospekt (article) (Click here for a site with some beautiful pictures of Nevskiy Prospekt at night.) Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan (article) Anichkov Palace (website with pictures / article) Alexander Nevskaya monastery (article) and cemetery (burial place of Tchaikovsky, Dostoyevsky, Mussorgsky). |
 Vasilyevsky Island, St. Petersburg |
Friday,
June 29th—St.
Petersburg Majority of the day free Farewell group dinner |
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Saturday,
June 30th—Depart
for United States Transfer in private motor coach to the airport for group flights to Minneapolis. |
