Russian Language - today we learned about the 33 letters that make up the Russian alphabet. Our handout divided the letters into five sections based upon pronunciation as each letter they use has one distinct pronunciation. When you know what is going on, I think it might be easier than English. The five sections were English friendly letters (same pronunciation in both languages), false letters (like B which pronounced like a V), Greek Orthodox letters, Hebrew ...

The UNESCO World Heritage site of Kizhi Island (one of 1600+) in Lake Onega is a go for us as tomorrow and we will have a 2 1/2 hour walking tour. We got the final word today as the Lake Onega, the second largest lake in Europe, freezes completely and travel through it with a boat is not possible during many months. The Lake is also part of the ice road mentioned earlier. Kishi means "ritual games", due to the pagan rituals, dances, worshiping of the sun and rai...

Olga our kitchen manager and Katrina our head chef taught a class on the art of making Russian Blinis. Russians have a holiday to say farewell to winter, "Butter Week. " During this week they don't eat any meat- but can eat butter, eggs, and cheese. This week takes on a carnival atmosphere and lots of pancakes are eaten. The tradition of making pancakes is passed on from Mother-in-law to daughter-in-law. Blinis can be made from many types of flour, wheat, corn,...

Today we stopped in the little village of Mandrogi. Which is a crafting village on the Svir River. ( The Svir River is part of an ancient trading route and was part of the ice river route that helped to save some of the people in St Petersburg during the seige of Leningrad. )This village was completely destroyed during WWII, but due to its picturesque site was rebuilt by Mr Goodsitter (hope I got the name correct) as a center for the crafts. The houses were built...

Today we experienced our first of eighteen locks that we will travel through this week as we went from The Neva River and Lake Ladoga to the Svir River. This was a fairly quick process as it only took around half an hour to get through. Our Captain and crew had excellent communication for this process as the width of our ship is 54.8 feet and the lock is 59 feet. Sort of like putting your car in a garage only you have unpredictable water to contend with. In this ...