Sergiev Posad

In February John and I had the opportunity to travel outside of the city for a weekend. Craig, Renee, Pete, John and I headed to a town called Sergiev Posad. We stayed at the bed and breakfast Pancake Hill that is ran by a sweet Russian woman named Sveta. She greeted us with tea and blinis (thin little pancakes eaten with just about anything we had them with jam). After our breakfast we headed out into the woods of Russia for a horse drawn sleigh ride. We were lucky and had beautiful weather, the sun was shining and the sky was blue. The sleigh ride ended in the middle of the woods where a campfire had been prepared and we stopped for a wiener roast. Of course a Russian style wiener roast would not be complete without pickles and vodka. So we enjoyed our hotdogs and pickles and washed it all down with vodka and champagne.



After our sleigh ride, we toured the Trinity Monastery, a beautiful church built in 1420. Sveta prepared a Russian style dinner for us. We had borscht, pickled herring (yuck!!), beef stew served in clay pots and more blinis for dessert. Of course all washed down with vodka!! Once dinner was over we had our first banya experience. We hung out in the sauna and again doing as the Russians do, we used birch tree bouquets to beat each other, at one point Sveta came into the sauna to be sure we were doing it correctly, turns out we were being a little too gentle, to do it like the Russians you must be harsh and really whack each other until turns bright red. Once you are warm and beaten, you then either take a roll in the snow or a dip in the pool. It is both quite refreshing and a shock to the body.

Before heading back to Moscow, we spent some time touring the Cave Monastery. It was great to get out of the city, away from the noise and enjoy what Russia has to offer.