May 14

Time to pack up, off to the breakfast buffet, check out, and meet Ina, our guide from two days ago in the lobby. We had a new driver, forgot his name, who didn't speak any English and, as we learned later in the day, was a driver as a second job and really was an interior decorator. Our morning's destination before we returned to St. Petersburg were two nearby sites, Izborsk and Pechory, west of Pskov and near the Estonian border.

We arrived at Izborsk first, about a 30 km drive. Izborsk is known for its fortress which defended Russia's western border. The town is reported to be older than Pskov, dating back to the 800s. We had to walk down a dirt road past some wooden homes and one that was made from stone as the Estonian homes are. When we got to the fortress, there was much construction activity going on as it is being restored. According to our guide, it was much better before when one saw the original ruins. Now walls are being reconstructed and one can see the difference in the new and old bricks. No part of the restoration was completed (and per Russia, should have been done last year). We walked through the fortress walls into the central area and went to the church, the Nikolsky Cathedral, built in the 14th century. There were quite a few people inside and as we walked in, on of the first things we saw was an open casket with a body of an elderly woman inside. We had walked in on a funeral. The church was small with some requiste icons on the walls. So as not to disrupt the mourners, we did not stay long. I was quite "churched out" from my travels, but for Michael this was only the second church he had visited after the one in Pskov.

"The fortress was supposed to be impregnable, which is why the seizure of it in 1569 by a small Lithuanian regiment came as such a shock to the then ruler, Ivan the Terrible. The relative ease and suspicious circumstances of the seizure of the fortress deeply troubled the already paranoid Ivan. In the dead of night Teterin, a Russian turncoat disguised as an oprichnik (a member of an organization established by Tsar Ivan the Terrible to govern the division of Russia known as the Oprichnina (1565-1572)

The Oprichniki were in charge of the supression of internal enemies of the Tsar. Guided by Ivan, they laid waste to civilian populations. They dressed in black garb, similar to a monastic habit, and bore the insignia of a severed dog's head (to sniff out treason and the enemies of the Tsar) and a broom (to sweep them away). The dog's head was also symbolic of "nipping at the heels of the Tsar's enemies." They were sometimes called the "Tsar's Dogs" on account of their loyalty to him. They also rode black horses in order to inspire greater terror. The Oprichniki were given orders to execute anyone who was disloyal to Ivan IV)., ordered the gates of the town be opened in the name of the oprichnina, thus allowing the enemy regiment to enter and overtake the fortress. Though Ivan managed to retake the city with little difficulty, the treachery and conspiracy involved in the original seizure led him to order the executions of the assistant crown secretaries of Izborsk, as well as the secretaries of the surrounding fortresses. With rumors of disaffection and growing discontent throughout the country on the rise, Ivan feared that other cities would soon follow the treasonous example of Izborsk."

Though Ivan managed to retake the city with little difficulty, the treachery and conspiracy involved in the original seizure led him to order the executions of the assistant crown secretaries of Izborsk, as well as the secretaries of the surrounding fortresses. With rumors of disaffection and growing discontent throughout the country on the rise, Ivan feared that other cities would soon follow the treasonous example of Izborsk.

We walked around and looked at the fortress walls, gates, and towers, and then walked outside to a path that gave a better view of the location of the fortress up on a hill. We took the path down the hill, passing some homes and viewing some pretty rural scenery. The path took us down to Gorodishenskoje lake. As we approached the lake, we passed the Slovensky Springs, also known as the Springs of the Twelve Apostles, to the left of the trail. The water from the underground springs exits through the rocks in a row of 12 small waterfalls that empty into a pool and then flows into the lake. The water is supposed to have healing powers.

As legends say, all those who drink the spring water here are endowed with beauty, health and happiness. Each spring is very special: one helps to keep good health, another - to preserve youth, the next one - gives true love. However nobody knows what exactly is each particular spring granting. That is why one needs to have a drink from all springs. However, Ina informed us that her sister is a microbiologist who works with water control in the city of Pskov and does not endorse this practice. She told us that her sister's son had come on a field trip with his school to visit the springs and was strongly advised by his mother not to drink the water, but he told his aunt Ina that he had because the other kids were giving him a hard time. Fortunately, no bad outcome and his mother never knew. A man passed on the trail and we saw him getting a drink from the springs, per Ina to maintain his eternal youth.

We walked back to the car and headed on to Pechory. Ina told us the area we were driving in had gone back and forth between Russia and Estonia. From February to December of 1918, Pechory was occupied by the Germans. During Estonian War of Independence, the town was captured by the Estonian forces on March 29, 1919 and after WWI, Pechory and the territory around it, called Setomaa, were given to Estonia. During the World War II it was occupied by the German army from August 1941 until August 11, 1944. In 1944, however, during the Soviet occupation of Estonia, Pechory and most of Petseri county were annexed to Pskov Oblast of the RSFSR. The territory has remained under Russian control ever since. Ina was explaining to us that the Russians who lived in this area lost their Russian citizenship when the area became Estonia and have had difficulty regaining Russian passports. The Estonians, on the other hand, seem to have passports for both countries and can freely travel back and forth.

Pechory, which means caves, is 53 km from Pskov and less than 1 km from the Estonian border. The highlight of Pechory is the fortress-monastery. Originally the monastery, the oldest in Russia, was in caves. We did not visit the caves, but apparently In the monastic caves, where the temperature is constant, are ashes of over 10 thousand faithful sons of Russia - usual monks, peasants and warriors, archers, as well as representatives of well-known noble families. Nowadays there are seven long underground galleries in the caves. The current location of the Holy-Pechory Assumption Orthodox Monastery dates back to 1473. In the next century, most of the buildings of the moinnastery were built as was the surrounding large stone wall and bastions. From the late 16 th to the early 18 th century the monastery was repeatedly besiege by the Swedes, Poles and Lithuanians. During its military history the fortress only once was captured by the enemy, but in a day the enemy was banished. .In 1721, the military activity of the monastery ended.

We drove through the town and about a block past the central town square and parked. We .passed a statue outside with an old woman praying, I believe to St. Anthony of Pechory. We then walked outside the walls which are built to the contour of the hills, Then we went inside where I needed to put on a wrap around skirt over my pants. I chose a lovely flowered print and then put on my head covering, my Borneo orangutan scarf. Michael, being a man, of course, didn't need to make any changes. The monastery at Pechory is quite an unexpected site. The buildings are very well maintained and painted in very bright colors. I was having a flashback to a visit to Portmeiron, a village in Wales that has buildings of all different colors and totally out of character with the surrounding area. We saw a few monks and a few other people, tourists, locals visiting, but the place was very quiet and very beautiful. We walked around and Michael let me take picture in front of St. Michael's cathedral. We then met our guide at the entrance and walked back to the car. Michael and I took about 10 minutes and walked the block to the town square and walked around to see what was there, then came back, and the guide and the driver found a bank where with an ATM machine as we needed some cash.

Then back to Pskov on a different road that was more rural and through a more wooded area. As we drove back, it started to rain. We drove through the city to the place where we were to board the bus at 3:45 PM, a large shopping mall at some distance from where our hotel had been and the town center. We parted with Ina, but she said the driver would stay in the car with our luggage and we could go in the mall to get something to eat. We found a sort of food court and decided to go to the food stand where all the Russians were getting food. There seemed to be some salads and hot dishes - meatballs, chicken, fish. We picked out a few salads, but by the time it was our turn they were all gone. Some replacement salads were provided so we opted for them, but somehow we couldn't get them, so we got one meatball and shared it. On the lower level there was a very large supermarket, so we went there. I got a carton of yogurt and some trail mix and Michael spent his time in the wine and liquor department to see what they were selling and how much it cost (in line with his work to becoming a sommelier).

We went back to the car, sat there for about 15 minutes until the bus came, managed to get our luggage in the compartment under the bus (the one side was completely full and we thought we were going to have a real problem, but the driver guided us to the other side of the bus which had just about enough room for our two bags. The bus ride was unremarkable, one rest stop to break up the four hour ride. Per the web site about the bus, it was supposed to drop us off at the Park Inn Hotel where I had stayed for one night with the tour group. We had the plan that we could then get a taxi from the hotel to our new place of lodging which was some distance away. Well, that is not where the bus stopped, but rather at a metro stop (actually much more logical) but about ½ mile away. We could have taken the metro, but it would have involved some transfers and at that point neither of us was really keen on lugging our bags on and off the subway especially when we weren't quite sure where we would be. So the bus stop was on a main street where many buses were stopping up and down the block. The block itself was a park and on the other side I could see the small mini buses that drive around St. Petersburg. So I told Michael to stay put with the bags and I would walk to the other side of the park where , fortunately, I saw some taxis. I went up to one and showed him the address where we wanted to go ( I had smartly printed out the hotel confirmation with the name of the hotel printed in English and Russian). He indicated he didn't' go there and pointed to some red cabs nearby. However, the cabs were empty, but I spotted some men wearing shirts with logos on the back that matched the logo on the cab at a food stand on the corner. So I went up to one and managed to communicate that I wanted a taxi, showed him the address and got a price which seemed very reasonable, and then using the few words of Russian I had indicated my son was on the other street with the bags and I would need to go tell him. The driver was really nice, didn't speak any English though, and didn't remember the street to get to Michael on the other side of the park was one way going the wrong way. We got it all figured out and got to the hotel which was only a couple of blocks from where the hotel we had been at with the tour, so the area was very familiar.

So we found the Art House Hotel, got out bags up three flights of concrete stairs to the actual hotel. By that time it was about 9 PM. Daniel, the desk clerk, said he was surprised to see us and that he had cancelled our reservation an hour ago because he could not verify the credit card (the one I had lost) and I had not responded to his e-mail. Well, I had never received an e-mail and, fortunately, the room was still available. Later when I checked my e-mail I found his message, which had been delivered at 9:30 that morning after we had left the hotel in Pskov.

Now time for dinner. We walked down the street and realized that a restaurant we had identified we wanted to try was really only about ½ block from the hotel on a cross street, The Cat Café, so we walked there. It is very small with a charming atmosphere and serves Georgian food. We were able to get a table, but were told (at 10 PM) that the restaurant closed in an hour. We studied the menu and shared some dishes including khachapuri (cheese bread), Back to the hotel and time for sleep.