On the Volga

4 days out of Moscow- on various rivers and through many locks- I had never been through a lock until we took the canal trip in Paris- and now we're experts! I'm not sure I understand the exact technology behind them, but they are fascinating to watch.

And speaking of fascinating- our stop yesterday was at a monastery founded in 1397, and still functions today, although with 6 monks instead of the the mass number of people at it's peak- 200 monks, 2,000 police and 20,000 serfs, as of course sefdom was in full swing. It was an extremely profitable monastery, as such things go, as the tsars located in St Petersburg maintained it as a "safe house" in case of turmoil or revolt, and of course they wanted it to be comfortable and secure. As comfortable as you can get in the 15th and 16th centuries in a area with a winter climate of 60 degrees below zero- Celsius.

Still, we've seen a lot of icons (our cousin Gail would be proud) and we are ready for something else- namely shopping. And that is promised today as we stop this afternoon in Yaroslavl.