2. Vacation Travel • Поездки

Anniversary in Yaroslavl (06.2011)

It was supposed to be Europe for our 20th anniversary, but not knowing if Susan might need another surgery on her thumb, we decided to conserve our resources and headed north for a four day weekend. We spent two nights in the village of Vyatskoe as guests of Oleg Zharov who's made it his mission to revitalize and restore this town of one thousand residents, followed by two nights in the region's capital, Yaroslavl - a 1001 year old city on the Volga River in what's known as Russia's Golden Ring. It took us more than seven hours to drive the 150 miles north thanks to Moscow's infamous traffic jams and mediocre to poor roads, and once there we encountered heat, humidity and monster mosquitoes, but it's about togetherness... right?
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We sat in the shade of these trees near the banya.
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We sat in the shade of these trees near the banya.

вятскоеyaroslavl regionvyatskoerussiarusurusu photography

  • Nina demonstrating how the gilded bird still sings. Oleg has an amazing collection of music boxes, old gramophones, and player pianos all of which still work.
  • The Poniznofka estate in Krasni Profintern near Vyatskoe soon be be a yacht club.
  • Summer Volga scene.
  • Kids on an old barge on the Volga.
  • The Vyatskoe hotel's backyard.
  • We had breakfast out back each morning.
  • Striking a pose.
  • Children's slide in the hotel's backyard done in old Russian style.
  • We sat in the shade of these trees near the banya.
  • Backyard birch.
  • The village of Vyatskoe. About 1,000 people live here.
  • Vyatskoe windows & roof.
  • A home next to the hotel.
  • Bridge to the village's natural mineral springs.
  • A Vyatskoe home.
  • Crossing the bridge with a bucket in hand.
  • Walking the plank.
  • Vyatskoe banyas. Before the days of indoor plumbing, Russians built steam baths. After the incredibly intense heat (up to 200ºF, 90ºC) people jump in cold water or roll around [naked] in the snow. Russians love their banyas to this day & go to what are often elaborate paid, public banyas. Banya traditions include smothering yourself in honey and/or coffee grounds & being beaten with dried birch branches.
  • These banyas dating from the beginning of the 20th century belong to village residents & are still in use today. I used Orton & sepia filters to reflect how it might once have been photographed. Oleg generously gave us a watercolor of this scene that we admired in his museum.
  • Interior of a home Oleg's renovating with a traditional Russian stove.
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