ST SAVIOR CHURCH OF SPILT BLOOD

                   St Petersburg, Russia Highlights

We moored at a pier in the Neva River about 45 minutes from the heart of the city. There was a subway nearby and we were cautioned to be careful with our belongings when using it. Most of the many trips we made we used a bus shuttle which besides being comfortable gave us a chance to view the scenery along the way.

You may remember my post on the Yusopov Palace months ago(You can locate it in the blog archives in July 2012). St Petersburg is such a fabulous city.

St. Savior Church of Spilt Blood, also known as the Church of Resurrection or Assumption Church, is a takeoff on St. Basil’s. A local guide told us, “In 1881 Alexander II, age 63 and after a 26 year reign, was assassinated on the site of the church. After a parade, Alexander was riding in an English built bulletproof carriage when a bomb was thrown at the carriage. No damage was done to the carriage, but Alexander stepped out of the carriage just in time to take a second bomb that blew off both his legs causing him to bleed to death.

“The church is very unusual architecture for St. Petersburg. His son, Alexander III, refused numerous church designs as he wanted something truly Russian. This Byzantine design church won his approval. Funds for the church were raised by the people. It took 24 years, 1883-1907, to build.”

We had to walk down a street the bus could not navigate to get to the church. Both the outside and inside are covered with incredible mosaics, wall to wall and floor to ceiling. It really is quite beautiful. The Church contains over 7500 square meters of  mosaic pictures. The intricate detailed main pictures are biblical and each is surrounded with a finely patterned border, setting it apart from the next one. The artistry and workmanship was mind boggling.

The church was closed in 1930 and remained closed for 30 years when churches were being destroyed in Russia. A massive 27-year restoration project was completed in 1997. When in St. Petersburg it is a must see.

CROATIA

                               Croatia Overview

            Croatia is about the size of West Virginia. About 90% of the country’s population is Catholic and 5% are Serbs. The coastal areas of the country feel more Mediterranean than Eastern European. The currency is the Kune (Kn). One US dollar equals 5 Kn. A kuna is a fox-like animal that goes back to medieval times. The currency was changed to kuna in 1994.

            In the country of spectacular scenery, nude beaches are no big deal. They are labeled FKK, German for free body. The Croatian shrug means don’t know, don’t care.

            Except for Dubrovnik and Zadar, the coast was generally untouched by the recent war. However, it is advisable to stay on paths and avoid deserted villages, or tall grass fields.

            In upper Croatia Slavic influence and traits left from Austrian rule are evident, where the coastal areas portray a Roman and Venetian past. There are no specific Croatian foods as it is influenced by Italian, Turk and Hungarian cuisine. The common element is lots of meat. Food is a flavorful blend of Mediterranean and Slavic.  Prosciutto, Italian-style ham, is unrivaled anywhere. Pork leg, smoked and dried, is served with dry cheese. 

            Meat is smoked in a traditional indoor fireplace called a komin. Meals are often cooked ‘under a bell’ over hot coals. I liken this similar to an imu. Meat cooked this way is very tender but vegetables on the bottom tend to be a bit oily. Desserts most often include figs, dates, almonds, and honey. On the coast seafood is popular and plentiful. Inland, burel (phyllo dough) filled with meat, cheese, apples or spinach, is popular. These are especially good when fresh but tend to get greasy as they sit. The big meal is eaten at noon and many stores close afterward for siesta.  Croatians refer to the country as Hrvatska. The crescent or C shaped country has a population of 4.5 million. During the Homeland War between 1991-95 nearly five percent of the population left. A million Croats live outside of the country in other parts of the old Yugoslavia.  Forty percent of the country is mountainous and 30 percent is forested. The breadbasket is in the north. Road construction was common in Croatia and signage was poor----another manana.land.

            Croatia has 372 miles of coast line as the crow flies, but when one counts all the coves it expands to 1100 miles. Only 66 of the 1185 islands in the Adriatic are inhabited. Beaches in Croatia are not sandy, but pebbly and rocky. We were told that is how the Croats like it. The coastline is rocky with many cliffs that fall right into the sea. Croatia actually has more mountains than Switzerland, although Swiss mountains are higher. There is almost no where in Croatia that one cannot see mountains.

            Grape vineyards and olive groves thrive in the red soil around Pula. Strong Turkish coffee is common here but picturesque sidewalk coffee cafes were few in this town.

            Our guide told us, “During Europe’s 30-year war, 1618-1648, Croats were sent to Paris. They wore a scarf in a unique way. The French intrigued with the fashion adopted it. The French word cravat means tie, and thus the tie was born.”

            We visited many small cities in Croatia and their unique qualities are spotlighted in other posts.

WINDMILLS OF HOLLAND

                                Kinderdijk

            Kinderdijk is a small village 16 kilometers from Rotterdam and a little less than 10 kilometers from the city border of Dordrecht, the oldest city in Holland. The village is unique for its 19 windmills dating from the 1500s.

The name is derived from a 16^th century legend about a baby, a cradle and a cat that all survived after being tossed into raging waters. For centuries the Dutch were at the mercy of floods. The innovative structures drain water from  polders (reclaimed land below sea level) pumping it into rivers and canals. This distributes the water levels and prevents devastating flooding. Today engines turn paddle wheels that scoop up water to redeposit it. Understandably the country has a unique bond with windmills.

            Kinderdijk is the only place in the world where one can find so many windmills concentrated in such a small area, and is the reason Kinderdijk is a UNESCO site.

            The Kinderdijk milling complex consists of 8 stone brick windmills,1738, of the waterboard Nederwaard; 8 thatched windmills, 1740, of the waterboard Overwaard; 2 stone windmills, 1760,  of the polder Nieuw-Lekkerland; and 1 windmill, 1521,  of the polder Blokweer. The last windmill  burned down in 1997, but has been rebuilt and operational since the spring of 2000.  

Kinderdijk is the final station of water of the Alblasserwaard, an area approximately 10 by 20 miles, before the river Lek empties into the sea. Even today rain water needs to be disposed of. Since the 1950's water has been pumped by one of the largest pumping stations in the world.  However, in case of emergency, the windmills that were operational until WW II still can be used.

Windmills have two doors on opposite sides because the blades are always facing the wind, and the direction of the wind vary. The blades turning in front of the door make for a dangerous situation!

The top floor of the windmill rotates with the blades and the tail of the mill, and therefore a chimney cannot be attached to the roof. Sparks of the open fire used to heat the windmill might set the thatch roof on fire. The chimney of a windmill is horizontal instead of vertical. The smoke would be blown down if there was only one ending. The second ending creates a natural draft through the chimney pulling the smoke out.

A windmill is a windmill. Not necessarily so! Watermills, can drain the land like in Kinderdijk. Grindingmills, grind flour, as well as colors to dye fabrics. Sawing mills cut wood. There are also modern two or three-blade electricity windmills. Windmills have different shapes and constructions. Windmills in old cities were built on a house, so they would reach over the buildings of the city. Windmill blades are 42-feet long and mills are placed at least 1300-feet apart. There are 1000 windmills left in Holland, a tiny fraction of the many mills that once dotted the landscape.

When there is a hole in the sail, it is patched, if there is another hole another patch is made, and when there are more patches than sail the sail is replaced. The old sail would be used for making children’s clothes. Capacity of an older windmill is 40.000 liters/min while capacity of the Nederwaard pumps is 1.350.000 liters/min.

ST ANDREWS, SCOTLAND

                       St Andrews

Golf, golf, and more golf. That is about it for the small town of St. Andrews, Scotland. It was explained, “A link golf course is one that connects sandy beach with the course. In Scotland all beaches are public, so a link course cannot be private. Most golf courses in Scotland are near a beach and therefore are public link courses.”

The Central Highlands, north of Edinburgh, is the county of Fife where the area is still referred to as a kingdom. The Stuart kings were from this area. The Cult of Green is a 1754 club where golfers still flock to.

The medieval and  royal city was once filled with monasteries and ancient houses that did not survive King Henry VIII.  Little remained after his destruction. Most of the city today was built in the 18^th, 19^th, and early 20^th century of local stone. Golf was first played in the 1400s. The municipality owns the six courses. A letter of introduction from a bonafide golf club and a certain handicap are required to play the Old Course. The other courses are the New Course (1896), Jubilee Course (1897), Eden (1914), Balgove (1942, a nine-hole course for children), Strathtyum (1993), and Royal and Ancient Golf Club (1754) which remains a private men’s club. Golf  is the symbol of St. Andrews.

Our guide told us, “An ancient law prohibits golf to be played on the 18-hole courses on Sunday. And since it is Sunday you may walk on the course, and we’ll stop by the 18^th green.”

The University of St. Andrews, established in 1411, makes it the oldest in Scotland and Britain. St. Andrews Castle, late 13^th century, maintains secret tunnels, bottle-shaped dungeons, and high stone walls to keep religious heretics out.

 I headed to the bathrooms a block away. It was a bit of a surprise to pay 20 pence to do so, and the first and only time we had to pay to pee in Scotland. Then we headed uptown to wander the streets. All the stores were open and 9 out of 10 was a golf store. I did find some fresh raspberries in a grocery store. Scotland is known for raspberries and I do love them. The whole container was gone before we reached the corner of the next block!

We sat in the park and listened to a band concert, which was a delight, while we waited for everyone else to do their thing.  Can you tell neither my travel buddy nor  I are sports fans or shoppers? Because of its familiarity it was nice to see St Andrews, but I wouldn’t bother to stop there again.

MOSCOW CHURCHES

                              A Few of Moscow's Churches

 Several times during our Moscow stay we passed by Christ Our Savior Cathedral.  The largest church in Moscow  was started in 1839 after the war of 1812, but took 44 years and the reign of four czars to complete. The first electric lights in the city were installed in front of this church. Stalin destroyed it in 1931 and it became a city swimming pool. The pool was covered up in 1994 and in 1995, financed with private monies, construction began on this new church. It took four years to finish the exterior and two years to finish the interior. The mosaics inside are beautiful. The church has five domes with a big central and four angular turrets with 14 bells. The church is so big that the main cathedral of the Kremlin can fit inside!

      
The white limestone Assumption Cathedral’s exterior dates to 1475. Five gilded cupolas sparkle atop narrow drums. The cathedral has stood for centuries as a Russian national shrine. Patriarchs have been anointed and czars have been crowned before her altar.  Ivan the Terriible’s custom-made coronation throne is housed within. Napoleon used the cathedral as a horse stable and its icons for firewood in 1812. The bell tower, holding 23 bells, reaches 264 feet into the air.

Archangel Michael Cathedral with its five domes was built 1505-08. Sarcophagi dominate the interior. The remains of every Russian czar up to Peter the Great rest here.

The churches are all Russian Orthodox, and it  was at the nine domed Annunciation Church where we learned a lot about the Orthodox Church. People attending church services stand,  with the exception of a ‘royal’ or ‘patron’ box, there are no chairs, benches or pews. Frescoes cover the walls, ceiling and columns in the church, and I swear there is not a square inch of free space! The frescoes in this church date to the 15^th century and were restored in the  17^th century. The frescoes tell the story of the bible for the illiterate.

The altar is hidden behind an iconostasis, which covers the entire front wall of the sanctuary. Icons are religious paintings that are usually painted on wood, sometimes on canvas. In the center of the iconostasis is an ornate door that opens to the altar. The second icon to the right of the door is of the saint for whom the church derives its name. The rows of icons is always an uneven number with five being the most common. The bottom row is ‘local’. The second row represents the district, the third row represents the feast and festival, the fourth row represents the prophets, and the fifth row represents the fathers of the church. Each of the icons is ‘framed’ with ornate gold molding making for a glittering wall. Russian Orthodox churches normally do not have statuary, angels etc as they are considered pagan. From what we could gather music is sung without the benefit of instrumentation. 

A COUPLE OF SMALL GERMAN CITIES

                                          Interesting Small Cities

Rudesheim

            During that blistering hot summer in Europe we arrived in Rudesheim mid-afternoon where it was 104 degrees. The town is small and probably best known for the enormous 35-foot high stone statue of Germania, the female symbol of the unification of the German Empire in 1871. It towers 1000 feet above the town of Rudesheim, but it was just too hot to make the steep hike up to it.

            It only took a short while to walk the small city before we visited the music instrument museum. It was much different than expected but interesting. There were many player pianos, carnival organs, and gramophones on display. The thick walls of the old building kept it a bit cooler than outside.

            There was no air conditioning anywhere in town. Other than the usual souvenir shops there were few shops. After the museum we sat at a sidewalk café enjoying a chilled soda while dreaming of ice and something really cold. Europeans simply do not understand cold.

Since we were eating in town that evening we decided wile away the afternoon in town and meet at the restaurant on the cobbled wine alley Drosselgasse at dinner time.  The restaurant was very hot with no cross ventilation. Ceiling fans would have been nice, but are not common. A small band played good music, but it was so loud it eliminated any dinner conversation. The food was fair at best, and the service very slow and inconsistent.

We anticipated and looked forward to the cool comfort of our air conditioned river boat cabin!

Wertheim

This is where Galileo thermometers are made. In fact they are made nowhere else in the world. See post of June2

The castle sitting high up on the hill anchored walls that led from it surrounding the city like a necklace. Originally 18 gates/towers surrounded the city. We ended a city walking tour at the Plaza where the attraction was the red sandstone Angel’s Well, built 1574. From here a fellow and I hiked up to the castle leaving his wife and my travel buddy sitting by the well.

It was a fairly easy walk. We walked most of the stairs up and the path-ramps down. The view from the top was spectacular. These are Germany’s second largest castle ruins. After the castle was destroyed a new one was built below, and now that 300-year-old castle is the city hall.

The tower clock at the 1383 Gothic church is rather unusual. The tower was added 40 years later. On the town side is a normal clock with both minute and hour hands so workers would work to the last minute. But only an hour hand is on the clock facing the castle, as the rulers were only interested in the hour, not the minutes.

I need to gather the info from all the unusual clocks I’ve seen in my travels and do one comprehensive post. One day when I have the time to search through the mountain of diaries!

Having made several European river cruises I’ve really enjoyed the small towns along the way. Unlike big cities , you have time to really see the town, learn its history and visit with the people, who without exception, I’ve found friendly and anxious to tell us about their hometown.

SPLIT, CROATIA

                                  Split is a City

            Split, with a population of 200,000, is Croatia’s largest city on the Adriatic Coast and the country’s second largest city. Founded in the 3^rd century, the picturesque ancient city lies between a high mountain range and the palm tree-lined waterfront pedestrian promenade. Strolling the waterfront or sitting in a café are popular pastimes. The ocean view includes sandy beaches, rocky cliffs and unspoiled islands. One of the sunniest spots in Europe, the   premier resort town has breath-taking views of beautiful blue Adriatic waters that contrast with high coastal mountains.

            The city is a living museum of classical and medieval architecture and archeology. Expanded industry, a shipyard, limestone quarry and a commercial-military port are all located on the north end of the city. An aqueduct built in the 3^rd century and repaired in the 19^th century is still in use supplying water for the entire city.

            Old town has two square-shaped sections; to the east is the Diocletian Palace and to the west lies the medieval town. The summer residence of Emperor Diocletian took ten years to build and was finished in 305. The UNESCO site was built as his retirement palace. In 600 AD, some 2000 people moved into the palace to establish the city of Split.

            One of the last buildings built by Romans, the palace is at the heart of Split’s history.  The fortress-like palace, with walls 590 feet by 705 feet, originally had 16 towers. One of the rectangle towers on the right is original. Small churches were built in several of the 16 wall towers and bell towers were added. Today 3000 people live and work within the palace walls. In the Middle Ages nobility and rich merchants built residences within the old palace walls. There are 200 buildings within the palace.

            Originally the palace south wall was at the water’s edge. Now reclaimed land provides  a wide street and a tree lined promenade, placing the palace several meters from the water.

            The Diocletian lived on the sea side of the palace with its 42 arched windows. Servants lived viewless on the inside. The front door was originally the back door, and when the water level was high it was only accessible by boat. The palace cellars, 305 AD, are Europe’s largest Roman underground structure.  Originally they held water, not liquor, and were built to level the lower first floor. Today it is a gallery for souvenir stands.

             Cathedral St. Domnus is located in the Peristyle, a square in the center of the palace.  Originally the octagon shaped structure was a mausoleum. After the fall of Rome, it was converted to a cathedral taking 300 years to complete.  Multi colored marble pillars highlight the baroque interior. The ornately carved Romanesque door dates to 1214. The cathedral remains in daily use. The church bell tower is 13^th century. The stone pulpit is unusual; the baroque altar is white marble. The   Golden Gate is the former main entrance. The entry vestibule to living quarters is impressive.  Emperors were believed to be gods, and called themselves Jovius, son of Jupiter, most powerful of all gods.

             Diocletian Palace was home to administrative prowess, but also was used for feeding pesky Christians, unwilling to worship him, to the lions. A gate in the palace wall led to a pillared courtyard where the emperor received homage of subjects. It descends into a maze of ancient underground rooms that apparently were used as a city dump until the 1970s. It also served as a discothèque at one time. The garbage of centuries ago has been cleaned out, but the place still smelled musty. It is the largest underground structure in Europe. Large stone vessels made from a single piece of stone once were used to store olive oil. Now many of them are used as flower planters.

            Marble paves Old Town’s streets. The black sphinx, one of 13, is the only complete one. The medieval town of Split took shape within the palace walls. The palace is the centerpiece of the old section of the city. The area is a virtual open-air museum with the city’s contemporary life bustling through it. The maze of narrow alleys is lined with fashionable boutiques, cafés and Roman artifacts. Red granite columns, from Egypt, can be seen everywhere.

            Just through the back gate stands a larger than life bronze statue of St. Gregory. It was removed from a small square where the huge statue overwhelmed it. Cut into three pieces it was moved and reconstructed. The huge statue showcases in the large courtyard. The tour of the Diocletian Palace took two and a half hours with a local docent. It is huge and considering its age and tools available at the time of its building, it just boggles the mind. It is an amazing feat and a big window into life in ancient times. It was a fascinating and informative visit.

PANAMA CANAL

                     The Canal Transit

            At 7:15 AM our Panamanian narrator was already on the loud speaker. He kept us informed all day during the eight hour, 50-mile canal passage. During breakfast we learned that forty ships a day transit the canal bringing 500 million dollars to Panama. In a year over 13,000 ships from 79 countries make the trip. The canal is often referred to as lifting a ship up and over Central America. If all the excavated dirt was put on a train it would circle the earth four times! The Canal saves 2000 miles if ships had to sail around the tip of South America. All arrangements must be made and paid for in cash in advance of transit and fees are based on tonnage; a different fee scale is used for laden ships and for ships in ballast.

It was a beautiful day and we spent all of it up on deck taking it in all the activity. For those who have not read any of the books on the building of the canal I’ll relay a few of the many things we learned.

In 1850 a canal railroad was built over a 300 year old mule trail. In the late 1800s a French Company attempted to build a canal but disease (malaria, plague, and yellow fever), rain, mud, scandal, corruption and the loss of 16-20,000 lives eventually bankrupted the company. The US negotiated a favorable treaty with Panama in 1903 and started construction. The geographically   stable area was a big consideration for the site of the canal.   

In 1904 Col. William Gorges undertook the problems of sanitation and the task of eliminating mosquito breeding areas in the jungle. Ten years later, in 1914, the canal was complete. It had taken 75,000 men to build this marvel, often referred to as one of the man made wonders of the world.

There are three locks 110-feet wide and 1050-feet long on each end of the canal. Each lock has two chambers, side by side, so ships can go in either direction at the same time. Four and a half million cubic feet of concrete were used for the locks and dam. The gates are seven feet thick. The drop and rise in each lock is 28 feet. The water drops 39-inches a minute through 18-inch culverts. All the water in the locks and lakes is fresh fed by the mighty Chagras and two smaller rivers.

The ship captain gives up  control of his ship to a canal pilot before the beginning of the transit. In the lock all operations are under the control of the lockmaster who sits in a small ‘lookout’ building—kind of like an airport control tower. Electric mules manage the lines once they are attached to ships in the locks. Each mule has an engineer sitting in the cab. General Electric built the original 39 mules for a total cost of $528,680. The new mules, built by Mitsubishi, cost  $2- million dollars each.

Miraflores Lake, at the end of the second lock, is a small lake with a yacht harbor at the north end. The Gaillard Cut, named for the engineer in charge of construction of this section, is now 500-feet wide, having been widened from its original 300-foot width. The cut is nine miles long and 40-feet deep.

The cook moved his kitchen onto the deck to provide us a wonderful BBQ lunch. He didn’t want us to miss any of the scenery.

In 1914 a mile long dam was built at the north end of Lake Gatun. The concrete spillway is clearly visible as you enter the Gatun locks. The dam is ½ mile wide at the base tapering to one hundred feet at the crest. It is 105’ above sea level and 20’ above the normal level of the lake. On the Atlantic side of the canal Gatun Lake is 87-feet above sea level. Gatun Lake was the largest man-made lake in the world until Lake Meade was created. It is a huge lake with many islands within its 164 square miles. The Smithsonian has a research center on Barrocaro Island, one of the larger islands. There are 140 miles of trails on that island, and it takes three to four months to obtain permission to land there.

The Atlantic entrance is 22 ½ miles west of the Pacific entrance. Because of the snake like direction of the canal the sun rises in the Pacific and sets in the Atlantic. The cost to build the Panama Canal was $400 million.

I made my transit before the canal control was handed over to Panama and there was a lot of controversy about it at the time. There also was a move afloat to enlarge the canal so newer bigger ships can transit it.

It was a long, hot, but exciting and informative day. I’m sure it becomes routine for the ship’s crew after a couple of transits, but for us it was a thrilling experience.

Columbus once described the Atlantic coast of the canal as a coast with contrary weather as it is most often rough. On our exit of the canal we were greeted with seven foot seas on the breach-- Columbus was right!