We were up at the crack of dawn, actually thirty minutes before dawn, which today was at 7:34. We had been awake at four and five and got back to sleep sometime after six before the obnoxious radio woke us. I was up in a flash and making coffee and breakfast and then making lunches. I had made some egg salad last night using whole grain mustard, Dijon mustard, mayo, capers, salt and pepper. I sliced some dark bread and put a piece of cheese on each side so as to not get the bread soggy from the egg salad. Topped it off with spinach and then placed some pickle slices in a small baggie to go with the sandwiches. I threw the sandwiches into the carry case along with a pear, some peanuts and two bottles of water and headed for the shower. We were out the door at 8:20 and off on the ninety-minute ride to the west of Moscow.
I’m not fond of bus rides and this one did nothing to make me a fan. The bus was hot and the windows quickly fogged up so that you couldn’t see anything. I finally convinced them to turn on the air conditioning and in fifteen minutes we could once again see where we were going. It was a pretty trip with the fall colors against a slate sky, and the rain held off almost all day. The town where the first monastery is located is rather quaint and very charming. The air was really different, clean and crisp and fresh and we all piled out of the bus happy to be able to stretch. Here is a link to the monastery, which will give you all you need to know about the joint, except for the fact that they have a bakery on the grounds and as we left I purchased this loaf of bread stuffed with shredded apple and spices and covered with powdered sugar. It was shaped like a fish: get it, loaves and fishes?? Anyway, it was delicious and I went around to the group encouraging them to break bread, which is as close as I’ll ever come to giving communion.
We piled back on the bus and ate our lunches as we drove to New Jerusalem Monastery. I felt like I was back in grade school on a class trip eating my sandwich on a school bus. This monastery is much, much larger and much cooler. It is like a Disneyland for the religious of Russia. For some reason they wanted to create a church like the Holy Sepulcre in Jerusalem and the guide was talking like Jesus had actually been at this church and had been crucified and buried here. It was all very, very strange to me and to many of our group. When it comes to rituals, the Russian Orthodox Church takes the cake. It takes a penitent about two minutes to kiss a relic, what with the number of times they must cross themselves, find where to kiss the relic, back away crossing themselves again many times and then bowing and touching the ground. All very fascinating to watch. Here is a link:
Here is a link to all the photos of the monastery you might every want to see:
We walked around the grounds and enjoyed the scenery and then headed back to the buses. There were two marriage groups in the parking lot getting ready to have their photos taken at the monastery. They were a happy group, drinking vodka and Russian sparkling wine and toasting and kissing everyone. I think I got some good shots but I’m too exhausted to even download them. We piled into the bus as the rain started and were doing well in our travels until the rain got heavy when everything on the highway just stopped. Three lanes became six and nothing was moving anywhere fast. It took us hours to get home and now we have locked the doors and will not leave the apartment until at least noon tomorrow.
Best wishes, Cindy and Wm
From CC: I must congratulate my dear non-touristy husband on a fair and balanced report on our day. Somehow I thought we had made a mutual decision to go on this trip (not that it ever would have been his idea, but he seemed agreeable enough when I asked him about it). As soon as that awful alarm went off I knew we were doomed in terms of fully enjoying the day, but as reported we saw some very pretty sights and the monasteries were extremely interesting. What this really means is that we never have to go to another monastery again – not to sound jaded, but we feel we have this area of religious experiences covered!
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