Route: Oslo – Kirkenes – Murmansk – Solovki – St Petersburg - Oslo

Day 1 - Oslo - Kirkenes - Murmansk
We are met by our guide in Kirkenes and travel on to Murmansk by bus. Already shortly after crossing the border, we are met by the remains of the rise and fall of communism. We pass through the environmental nightmares of Nikel and Zaployarny and the Litza valley with its enormous cemeteries from the second world war. There are few borders in the world which show a starker contrast than here between the Russian and Norwegian north. We have a light lunch on board as we absorb the first impressions of Russia.

We have a brief sightseeing and visit a museum when we arrive in Murmansk – Russia’s only icefree port and the largest city north of the polar circle. In the evening we continue by train from Murmansk to Kem / Belomorsk, dinner on board the train. This can in itself be a challenge with Russian menus and waiters – point and taste is the rule here! Be prepared for culinary surprises!

Day 2 Kem / Belomorsk - Solovki
Breakfast on the train which then arrives in Kem / Belomorsk where the boat is waiting to take us out to Solovki. The White Sea is shallow with brackish water due to the great rivers of Onega and Dvina. History of maritime trade between Russia and Norway goes as far back as the Vikings and the Pomor trade. The white Sea has its own seals and dolphins and Norway used to hunt seals here. If we are lucky, we catch a glimpse of the seals on our way out.

Our visit to Solovki starts with a Russian lunch before we embark on our first adventure – by boat to Bolshoy Zayatsky island where we can see magical mazes, sun signs and the Andrey Pervozvanny church. More than 90 plant species grow on the island, including the “dancing birch”!

Day 3 - 5  Solovki
Over the next three days, we experience Solovki – Russia’s oldest functioning monastery with a fascinating, at times brutal history. In 1429, the monk Savvaty set forth across the stormy White Sea and sailed towards Solovki to find a quiet place for worship and meditation. In the 16^th century, the monastery became an important centre of power in Russian religion and politics. This interested both russian and foreign war lords – Solovki has been attacked by the British, Swedish and even the Russian tsar himself!!

Solovki also played an important role during the Soviet Union and became one of the first gulag camps for criminals and political prisoners in 1923. 100,000 men, women and children were sent here. Today, the monastery is again functioning and an important destination for Russian orthodox pilgrims.

We live through this history full of contrasts and brutalities during our stay at Solovki. We stay in a small family run hotel and feast on genuine Russian food, naturally accompanied by dito drinks! There is also a “banya” (sauna) available for the brave among us.

Day 3 Solovki
We rise early to make the orthodox morning service at the monastery. This is far from the Norwegian sermon and rather a beautiful seremony with song and candles. Remember that women should cover their heads and men remove their hats before entering. After the service, we wander through the classic Russian onion domes, small chapels with fascinating icons and paintings. Maybe we meet the monks who live in the monastery.

We then visit the botanical gardens where we have a picnic lunch and wander among flowers and trees which theoretically should not grow at these latitudes. The leader of the monastery used to walk and rest among these more than 100 plant species.

We then visit Sekirnaya, a 70 m hill where we find the Church of the Acension which was built by monks in the 1800’s. This is the only church in the world crowned by a lantern rather than a cross – to help navigation for the ships in the White Sea! Sekirnaya also has a brutal past as a prison. “Normal” criminals stayed on the first floor where there was a fire whereas the political prisoners where held on the second floor, where the temperature would sink to several minus during the winter. The stairs going down from Sekirnaya have been restored with the help of Norwegian funds and have a bizarre past. After a full day, we have dinner and rest at the hotel.

Day 4 Solovki
After breakfast it is time to take a trip on Solovki’s intricate system of channels – this was built to facilitate the transport of timber and supply the monastery with water. Our guide tells us the story as we row along the channels. We find a nice place to stop for lunch and enjoy the grilled shashlik and maybe a vodka!

After lunch we return to the monastery, this time to hear more about the modern Solovki. We visit the Gulag museum where the guide tells us about the stories and everyday lives of the prisoners. This gives an insight into Soviet life under Stalin. We also see how the monastery is slowly being restored – much is needed to revive the monastery after years of focusing on things other than religion.

We have dinner and get ready to enjoy the newest addition to Solovki’s cultural life. Art Hangar is a modern art centre located in an old airplane hangar. With Norwegian speaking Ljuba we learn about Russian modern art and perhaps listen to a concert or a poetry reading.

Dag 5  Solovki
In the morning we are free to stroll around the island on our own. Perhaps another visit to the monastery or to ”downtown” Solovki? We then board the boat which takes us back to Kem / Belomorsk and the nighttrain bound for St Petersburg.

Dinner on the train, maybe easier now that we know the menu? We hopefully get a good night’s sleep as we roll towards the “Window to the West” – the metropol St Petersburg.

Dag 6 - St Petersburg
We are met by our guide who speaks Norwegian and will be our key to discovering St Petersburg. We check in at a nice hotel in the centre before we immerse ourselves in the city and its people. We experience the history of St Petersburg with good help from the guide and a minibus. We visit the Hermitage – a museum which would take X days were we to look at each item for 10 seconds. We are lucky to have a guide who helps us navigate!

Our next stop is the Cathedral of the Resurrection on Blood. This temple of kitsch was built exactly where Tsar Alexander II was killed in 1881. From here we go to the Jusupov Palace where Grigory Rasputin, monk, healer and chief advisor to the tsar family was killed in 1916. The story goes that the first attempt on his life was with cyanide cakes, then gun shot and when this did not work he was finally drowned in the river Neva. A few months later the tsar regime collapsed.

We take a well deserved breather at the hotel before entering the night life of St Petersburg. Dinner is at a Russian – or maybe Georgian or Uzbek – restaurant. Russia and the former Soviet republics are full of culinary adventures!

Dag 7 - St Petersburg
Today we get to see a piece of the modern St Petersburg – how people work and live today. Russia has been through dramatic developments since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, which we will experience here. Beautiful old buildings are scattered among advertisements for Western products, brand new cars, modern art and homeless children.

After breakfast, we visit the market – where you can buy anything your heart desires! Fruit and vegetables, samovars, a puppy….! We travel by metro, which is a work of art in itself, and mode of transport for most locals. Our guide gives us good advice at the market and tells us the story of the metro.

We enjoy lunch on board one of St Petersburd’s canal boats. Russian lunch, vodka and traditional dances is served as we float on the Neva with an amazing view of the city.

In the afternoon we travel to the suburbs where we see the every day life of the city. Perhaps we visit a school or a family. The architecture here is very different from the centre and characterised by Soviet style buildings, designed for fitting many people in small spaces. The guide talks about the “kommunalkas”, appartments (still) often shared by several families. The winner of the Nobel literature prize Joseph Brodsky and President Vladimir Putin are two of the many people who have lived in “kommunalkas”.

We return to the hotel and get ready for our final evening in Russia. The world famous Russian opera or ballet is one option. Or, for the more adventurous, a visit to a Russian night club where stiff prices and metal detectors are standard ingedients? Our guide finds a good restaurant for us.

Dag 8 - St Petersburg - Oslo
During the morning we have time off to wander the streets, do some shopping or more sightseeing and have lunch were we want. Remember to through a coin into the river Neva, that means you will return to Russia!

Departure for the airport after lunch.

REMEMBER!
Russia is an exciting and unpredictable country! That will make our trip a unique experience. However, it also means that we must be flexible and that the programme may vary from what is described here. That is part of the experience and something wich we must accept as we travel through Russia – that is how it works….!

The trip includes: