The road and the ring and the gold.

We get up and drive into the boonies again. Our not so little mini bouncing along the not always smooth Russian roads and their unpredictable traffic. Six hours out and one pitstop: Kostroma. It‘s dark on arrival. In the morning everything feels kind of rushed and disorganised. We are 8. That kind of travelling is always shambolic. After a boat ride we end up driving to a place called Plyos. Covid is still causing restrictions in this little village so our lunch feels a little weird and I can sense the locals are a bit tense. It‘s picturesque. Our group splits. It’s been fun but thankfully we are left to ourselves. On the way out we stop at the weirdly named “Private Visit“ (Частный визит). If you ever pass this way go there. It‘s a charming and beautiful boutique hotel set in fantastical gardens with a quaint restaurant. Sadly we didn‘t have lunch there. Anyways. Back in Kostroma it‘s late when we arrive. So, next day we have a wander around. It‘s not as delapidated as some other towns I‘ve been to here. There‘s a nice market and some good cafes and restaurants. Normally it‘s probably full of tourists, but I think we shared it with the locals. That’s not to say it was very quiet. Then back in the car. Next stop Yaroslavl. It was once capital of Russia apparently. We walk a little. The centre is quaint. Worth a visit for sure. Seen it. Back in the car. We then drive to Rostov. It‘s not on the usual tourist route. Strangely we couldn‘t book anywhere here other than a kind of hostel place run by an alcoholic. I‘m sure Rostov has a few of those. Beautiful views of the lake and Kremlin And a certain charm, but it could do with a renovation or at least a damn thorough clean… it wasn‘t so cheap either. Anyway. You can kill a day around Rostov. And next day we did. If you want good food go to Hotel Bravis. It’s on the the edge of town but near a rather spectacular monastery. Russia has lots of spectacular monasteries. To be honest they can get a bit samey. I suppose you could say the same about any country. And that was it. Long drive home into the usual heavy Moscow traffic. Nice trip with a lot of impressions. I liked it.

Кострома / Плёс / Ярославль / Ростов – July 2020
Zeiss Superikonta A 530 / Portra 800 / Fomapan 400

I wanna holiday in the Russian sun.

Putin has a vote. Apparently it’s important.

He can be king until 2036 if the peasants say yes. So, all the proles are let out of lockdown. But travels to foreign shores are still not possible. Where can we go? 

We drive out of Moscow to the concrete Oblast and beyond to the fly ridden flatlands. Through towns of Babushkas and Dog lovers.

The Dacha. Hot. Sticky.

I have a cold. I sneeze and splutter and leak snot. It’s not THE virus. Of course just now noone is sure. The flies don’t care. Blood is blood is blood. They leave bites on my body. Two nights of feasting. We drive on.

Through town and country past and more Babushkas and good capatalists and once we were communist.

…and come to a resort hotel.

With animateurs. Russian style. The food in the Stolovar is passable but entirely unexciting. I try the wine and a long history of viniculture turns slowly in it’s grave. But mostly we are room ridden with our virus for company. We all have it now.

Humans and other animals. Some wear masks and some do not. And these Russians sometimes sport Ukranian bling.

The holiday is over. We drive home.

Past dead petrol stations through creeping traffic all headed for the centre of their universe, but never really finding it. Our Moscow flat feels like the height of civilisation. Sleep. Recover. Sleep Recover. 

 

Shot on Olympus XA / Fujifilm Superia 400

Lake Seliger / озеро Селигер

During lockdown we took a couple of trips up to Lake Seliger. It‘s about 5 hours from Moscow in the direction of St Petersburg. I haven‘t been out of Moscow very much since getting here a year and a half ago. But after these trips I can say it really is worth exploring rural Russia. Ostashkov / Осташков is the largest town by the lake. There isn‘t much else there other than some small villages and a large monastry (Nilo-Stolobenskaya Pustyn‘ / Нило-столобенская пустынь) which is something of a pilgramage site for orthodox christians.

Ostashkov must have been a real pearl when it was built in the 1800s. It has beautiful architecture in its centre and you can see that once it was a prosperous place. Years of communism and then the corrupt recent government have not been kind to it unfortunately.  Russians don‘t really appreciate some of the cultural heritage they have. Which is strange given their strong nationalism. Most of the old buildings could easily disappear altogether if someone doesn‘t take action. Some have been renovated and are cared for. But the delapidation does add a special and unique atmosphere to the place. The lake itself is big and quite beautiful with some great areas of solitude and nature. There be bears here!

It looks like Russia is making moves to relax its ridiculous Visa program. Hopefully more tourists coming  and their Euros/Dollars will motivate the locals into caring better for places like this.

I took some pictures on expired film. The black and white film (Ilford and AGFA) expired in the mid 80s and early 90s. The colour (Kodak Porta) expired around 2011. I used my Zeiss Superikonta A 530. A 4.5 by 6 folding camera made in the 1930s.