During the tours there will be a variety of potential excursions. This literature offers a condensed impression of what you can see and do on a Djoser tour through Russia. The country has enormous and varied natural, historical and cultural treasures.
The Djoser formula guarantees plenty of freedom on the tour. We do not have a planned moment-to-moment itinerary. Instead, the tour leader will offer you choices. On most days the tour leader will suggest one or more activities, but you never have to feel obliged to participate. Optional activities are always planned with the group. This gives you plenty of room for your personal explorations and unexpected events such as a spontaneous picnic, a walk or a cup of tea in a small village. Please keep in mind that due to unforeseen circumstances, the program might have to be altered and some activities cannot take place.
In the following itinerary, you will find the days numbered as they are in the Djoser, Netherlands program so that all participants on the program will refer to the same schedule. We have denoted the extra travel days to and from the United States with +1.
Moscow
+1 day Depart USA
Day 1 Arrival in Moscow
Day 2 Moscow
Day 3 Moscow
We fly from the U.S. to Moscow. We arrive in the capital of this previous superpower by KLM airlines the next day. From the bus on the way to the hotel we already see fabulous significant sites such as the gilded domes of the Kremlin-churches and the Christ-the-Savior Cathedral, which was destroyed by Stalin and is completely restored today. Historical buildings are still plentiful in the most ancient part of Moscow. Especially inside the oldest defense structure, the ‘Kremlin’, are many churches and palaces. Moscow is a large metropolis yet our hotel is centrally located within walking distance of this old center. We seldom use the metro. However we will have a tour to admire the beauty and splendor of the stations. In the old Soviet days, Moscow had an uninviting reputation due to its gray atmosphere and its vastness, but that has changed rapidly of late. Lots of construction is ongoing in the center of Moscow; churches are being renovated and it seems there is construction on every open space. The enormous Manege Square is now accessible to pedestrians only, complete with modern underground shopping mall. All over town you will find plenty of restaurants, vendors and kiosks to buy something to eat or drink. Your first steps into town naturally lead you to the best-known spot in Moscow and in Russia, the famous Red Square, Krasnaja Plosjtsjad. The car-free square in front of the Kremlin has undergone tremendous change in recent years: a medieval chapel and 18th century gateway, which had perished to make way for pompous military parades, have been reconstructed and the façade of the GUM department store has been sandblasted from gray to beige. The Lenin mausoleum with the preserved body of the former Soviet leader inside is still there. Don’t miss the museums with their invaluable art from many former private collections.
The Poesjkin Museum mainly exhibits 19th century West European impressionists; the Tretjakow Gallery is famous for old icons and offers an overview of Russian paintings up to present time. Also the elegant Nowodewitsji Monastery is worth a visit. At the cemetery we find the graves of many Russian celebrities, generals, politicians, authors and actors. Gorki Park is where the Russians have a good time. This amusement park with grandiose fountains, water organs, merry-go-rounds and a giant Ferris wheel dates back to Soviet times, but has already been expanded with two roller coasters. Opposite from Gorki Park is a sculpture garden with downed Soviet heroes who had to give up their spots at the central squares in Moscow. If you have some free time you may want to stroll down the Arbat, a promenade with lots of shops, restaurants and souvenir stands. Besides T-shirts you will find typical Russian things such as religious icons and wooden matrjosjka-dolls. Nowadays modern versions are for sale as well, representing all rulers from Nikolaj II (the smallest one inside) to Putin (the outer one). You can’t help but notice the contrast between the young people in their modern clothing and the women with heavy make-up, and the older women in their faded coats and their babushkas. It will be fun spending the evening going to a concert, ballet performance or opera. The unique presentation of such performances alone is worthwhile. Just take into consideration that in Russia as well as elsewhere the theater season is closed during the summer. Instead, it will be great fun to go see the famous Russian circus, which is open during the summer months.
Golden Circle
Day 4 Departure from Moscow to Vladimir and Suzdal
Day 5 Suzdal
Day 6 From Suzdal via Kostroma to Jaroslavl
Day 7 From Jaroslavl to Sergijev Posad - Moscow
When we leave Moscow by bus we are about to see and experience quite a different side of Russia. After the bustle of the largest city in Russia you will meet the countryside. It will take us three hours to get to Vladimir, our first stop, where we will see two glittering white churches covered with aesthetic bas-relief. Then we’ll take a walk to the awesome 12th century chapel of Pokrowa na Nerli, on the riverside in the middle of the vast landscape. We will continue to Suzdal where we will stay for two nights. You will have a full day to wander through this romantic town that falls entirely under the supervision of a Russian historic preservation organization.
Multiple churches with bright colored onion-shaped domes peak out above wooden homes with beautifully decorated roof frames. Plenty of vegetables and fruit are for sale in the marketplace: not only lettuce, onions, tomatoes and cucumbers, but also eggplants, peppers and zucchinis. Exotic fruits are unknown, but there are bananas and oranges. On the way to Jaroslavl we visit the old trading town Kostroma, with its outstanding feature the Ipatjewski Monastery on the scenic river the Volga. The classic shop arcades in the old town’s center are proof of the town’s glorious past. Both in the Ipatjewski Monastery and in the center of this town you will find traces of the special relationship this town had with the ‘Bojares’- and even the tsarist family Romanov. Jaroslavl is an old city with many pastel colored houses and pretty churches. In the evening people stroll down the promenade along the peacefully streaming Volga. Upon arrival we will have ample time to enjoy the airy and peaceful atmosphere in the center of this town. An absolute highlight is the Spaso-Preobrazjenski Monastery built as a fort near the bridge. In the church of Ilya Proroka in the town’s center are again numerous beautiful frescos. If you are lucky you may hear some beautiful singing coming from one of the chapels. You have the option to take a fun boat tour on the Volga to some villages upstream. An hour from Jaroslavl lays the old city Rostov-Veliky, where we will spend an hour to view the walled Kremlin. You will see many wooden houses as we continue down the road. The Russians are very hospitable, and especially in rural areas your chance to be invited for a cup of tea or a glass of vodka is good. One hour and a half down the road from Rostov-Veliky is Pereslavl, where many Muscovites have their “datsja” within the walled center. This is the home base of the Russian marine, even though this village lays far from the sea. This is where Peter the First built his first ships after he had visited The Netherlands and here, on the vast lake, he practiced his fleet maneuvers. The naval museum still has an antique boat on display from this time period. Lastly, after yet another hour, we arrive at the Golden-Circle-town of Sergijev Posad. Here stands the “Trinity”-Monastery, the focal point of the Russian Orthodox Church. You really should attend a church service in the heavily scented Oespenski Sobor. The services are well attended and consist of song and liturgical words by a priest. Icons are believed to be holy objects with magical powers, not just decorations.
Tver and Novgorod
Day 8 Moscow - Tver
Day 9 From Tver to Novgorod
Day 10 Novgorod
The rural route to Tver provides a good impression of the common Russian countryside. We may stop to see the home of the famous composer Tchaikovsky in the town of Klin. Tver is a typical Russian province-town. You will notice the difference in wealth and recognize the lack of up-keep of large buildings and the poor condition of the pavement. You should take a walk by the local market place, before continuing along the Volga to the palace. This travel palace served Catharine the Great during her frequent trips from Moscow to St. Petersburg. The next day we will travel six hours on the expressway to Novgorod. We will spend two nights in Novgorod, the oldest town in Russia, founded in the 9th century by Scandinavian traders. This town is strategically located at the Ilmen Lake and is the site of the Kremlin, the oldest building in Russia, the Sofia Cathedral dated from 1050. Novgorod is a picturesque small town with a heart that needed almost complete reconstruction after 1945 due to the destruction by Germany. It is a cozy town with people out and about. The small beach on the riverbank of the Volchow near the Kremlin wall will be in full use on a nice summer day. Located across from the Volchow river is the old market section Court of Jaroslav filled with many old churches from the 12th to the 17th century.
St. Petersburg
Day 11 From Novgorod to St. Petersburg
Day 12 St. Petersburg
Day 13 St. Petersburg
Day 14 Flight St. Petersburg – Arrival USA
It will take us about four hours to drive to St. Petersburg, where we will spend the last days of the journey. St. Petersburg is absolutely the most beautiful city in Russia. The elegant mixture of Italian baroque and Russian styles is reflected in many palaces over the city. St. Petersburg was founded in the 18th century by order of Tsar Peter the Great with the intention to make it his window to Europe. It is not surprising that the inhabitants feel that Russia really has two capitals. Along the wide boulevard Nevski Prospekt you will find huge stores and outdoor places where you can sit back and enjoy the bustle of a metropolis. Like in Amsterdam, this part of town is crisscrossed with canals and surrounded by exquisite palaces of the old aristocracy. The winter Palace, former living quarters of the tsarist family, lays on the Neva and is now the home of the largest museum in the world: the Hermitage. On the other side of the powerful Neva you see the Peter and Paul bastion, the town’s cradle in 1703. The 18th and 19th century tsars are buried in the church and, since 1998, Nikolaj II and his family were also laid to rest there in a separate chapel. In the days of the tsars the old fortress was also used as a prison. Further down stands tsar Peter’s small wooden home and the legendary armored cruiser Avrora. Other not-to-miss remarkable sites are the Smolny cathedral and the Alexander Nevski monastery with the burial sites for famous authors and composers. The Mariinski Theater is the stage for opera and ballet. It is the home of world famous principal conductor Gergijev and of the Kirov Dance Ensemble, which is even more valued than the Moscow Bolshevik Company. Pawlowa and Nijinski danced on this stage around 1900, and later also Baryshnikov and Nureyev. Depending on the schedule, you may plan to attend a ballet performance here. The impressive country homes of the 18th century tsars are a short distance out of town and may be visited on various excursions. The magnificent palace of Catherine the Great with all its splendor of the Russian 18th century is located in the tsar village of Poesjkin. From the Hermitage a speedboat takes you by sea to Petrodvorets. This is where Peter the Great had a palace built to resemble Versailles surrounded by gardens with plenty waterfalls and fountains finding their way into the Gulf of Finland. On the way to the airport we exit St. Petersburg in the direction of Moscow in order to pass impressive buildings with Stalinist architecture, such as the Home of the Soviets with a huge statue of Lenin in front. The Russians leave him alone: Lenin has become part of their history. It is a final Russian memory of days gone by. The following day you will fly home to the United States.
