It was 30 hours of travel to
Suzdal. We left Colorado in blizzard
conditions and arrived in Russia to an even colder, driving snow. Two planes, three trains, and we had arrived
in Vladimir. Our last leg was a taxi that
would take us to Suzdal- 150 miles from Moscow, deep into the Russian
countryside, deep into the Russian soul.
Peering out of the frozen windows of our taxi, as the driver blared
Russian pop music, I thought of a line from Martin Cruz's Gorky Park, "All
nights should be so dark, all winters so warm, all headlights so dazzling..."
We left the comfort our taxi
and after a disorientating trek in the dark through 3 foot snow drifts we had
finally arrived at our room. After 30
hours without a bed, or the ability to lie flat (or use the bathroom without
squatting... at certain times more cautiously than others), it felt great to
arrive in our clean, warm, wooden room.
The gentle snow continued
for our entire two night stay in Suzdal, as did the constant smell of burning
birch wood (positively delightful!). To
say it was tranquil or peaceful would be an understatement. The entire village seemed to be frozen in the
past- countless, centuries old onion-dome cathedrals (some in ruin, some still
functioning), patches of birch forests surrounded by ornate wooden houses, and
a quiet solace I was quite certain we wouldn't experience in Moscow.
We were up early in the
mornings, watching the clock and bad Russian TV, waiting for 8 am when we would
bundle up and hike over to the dining building for a hot breakfast. After all, this was no ordinary continental
hotel breakfast. First we would be greeted
with a coat check, and then upon choosing a table in the elegant dining room,
adorned with traditional embroidered curtains and lovely wood features, we
would immediately be served plates of hot blinis with fruit, ricotta cheese
fritters, egg soufflés, sliced meats and cheese, and delicious, rich yogurt
(the only kind available outside of the US).
The coffee was readily available and shockingly good. We would drag out our breakfast time as long
as possible. Then it was on to the
banya- a private Russian bathhouse cabin that we had booked for the late
morning. Our banya consisted of a living
room with a burning fireplace, stone bathroom, steam room with a cold plunge
tub, and sauna. We spent the hour
alternating between the hot steam and cold snow.
Refreshed and warmed, we
began the long walk from our resort into the heart of the village. After a few wrong turns, and a couple of
bathroom breaks behind snow drifts, we were exhausted. Our first stop would be for some warm tea and
appetizers consisting of broiled mushrooms, blinis with red caviar, and an
assortment of olives. Refueled, we spent
the rest of the afternoon walking, mostly alone, in the relentless snow between
onion-domed cathedrals and the town's Kremlin.
This was the Russia I had dreamt up in my mind as a child- endless
winters, fairy-tale villages, and quiet nothingness.
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| Dining Room at our Suzdal resort |
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| Walking around the grounds of our resort |
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| The hotel rooms |
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| Inside our cozy room |
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| Russian banya (bathhouse) |
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| Living room in the banya |
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| A walk through Suzdal |
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| Leaving our resort, walking towards town |
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| Suzdal cathedrals |
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| A break for lunch |
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| Looking out from the quiet cafe |
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| Suzdal |
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| Suzdal's Kremlin |
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| Cathedral of the Nativity |
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| Inside the cathedral |
