Why this Grand Circle traveler thinks a local’s daily life is the most enlightening part of travel
By Russell Schoeneman, 7-time traveler & Vacation Ambassador, Tempe, Arizona
My wife Dianne and I have always liked to travel. But for the past 20 years, we’ve found our time taken up by work and family, so it’s been difficult to do much of it. During a baseball game several years ago, one of our friends told us about Grand Circle. We liked what we heard, so we booked our first trip on Romance of the Rhine & Mosel, and since then, we’ve been on several Grand Circle trips (seven to be exact!).
When we were contemplating one of our next trips, Dianne and I were browsing online and saw Grand Circle’s Russia Revealed: Moscow to St. Petersburg River Cruise. After reading a few of the reviews, we turned to each other and said, “Why not?” And although we were a little nervous about it—thinking about the “Russia of old” and having to obtain a special visa—we realized as soon as we arrived that all of these worries were unfounded. From the moment we got there, we were well-cared for by the Program Directors, and everyone was very hospitable—both locals and Grand Circle staff alike.
Russell and Dianne in front of their ship, the M/S Rossia.
Our ship, the M/S Rossia, and its crew were excellent. Without exception, each member of the team did everything they could to make our travels enjoyable. Specifically, the restaurant manager, Andrev, was outstanding. He visited all of the tables frequently, listened, and had fun (often admitting he was quite the "ham"). Our servers, Oksana and Alesya, were attentive and helpful; the bartender Mike made great drinks and had a wonderful, sardonic sense of humor; and our hotel manager Ludmilla seemed to be everywhere. We knew that she—and Captain Boris—was always on top of things.
The list of highlights from our trip could go on and on: Red Square and the Kremlin surprised us immensely after all of the misbeliefs we’d formed—and Dianne and I couldn’t believe we were standing there … the Peterhof fountains were beautiful … and Catherine Palace was amazing. We were also impressed with the Russian countryside and how beautiful it was as we cruised from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
One of the highlights of the Schoenemans’ vacation was viewing the fountains at Peterhof, where Dianne is pictured here.
But we found one stop along the route to be particularly interesting: Petrozavodsk. One Saturday, our Program Director Alex Didkovsky brought us to the small town for an included tour, explaining that it would offer us a great view of daily Russian life. When we arrived, we noticed the lack of tourists around us. We first visited the market. Dianne and I have visited many foreign markets in the past, but there was something different about the market we visited in Petrozavodsk. It seemed more real to us. Merchants sat beside their stalls selling their produce—raspberries, radishes, and other local specialties—and we knew that these foods came directly from their own gardens at home. There wasn’t really anything special about the market. But that’s what made it such an enlightening experience for us. These people were just people—just like Dianne and I—selling their wares.
Some of the local merchants at the market in Petrozavodsk display their produce.
We then stopped at a “wedding palace”—a building where you’ll find brides, grooms, and their wedding parties standing in line, preparing for the upcoming nuptials, which will occur within the venue’s walls. Since we were traveling during the spring, we were surrounded by beautiful greenery and flowers, and watched as all of these people stood around waiting to get married.
After leaving the wedding palace, Dianne, our travel companions, the Hartleys, and I decided to explore the town on our own. We soon discovered a local carnival. There, we saw one of the brides and grooms from earlier in the day. The bride was riding a large horse, while the groom sat on a small donkey. Our Program Director Alex—who was preparing for his own marriage later in the year—laughed when we told him about what we saw. He said, “Who do you think has the real power in the marriage based on their choice of transportation?”
A bride and groom board their modes of transport—a horse and donkey—after getting married at the wedding palace in Petrozavodsk.
And Alex continued to be an exceptional Program Director throughout our entire trip. He personalized every discussion or tour by sharing his family’s experiences under previous Russian governments, which was both interesting and poignant.
From start to end, Grand Circle provided not only a spectacular tour, but also an enlightening learning experience. Russia became a new country for Dianne and I. The insights into the culture, people, and history of Russia were never-ending. But the biggest surprise for us was that we didn’t find the immense palaces and buildings the most awe-inspiring parts of our vacation. It was the unexpected places we visited—and especially the common, everyday life of the locals—that was most spectacular. After visiting this fascinating country, we’d go back to Russia in a heartbeat.
Learn about the everyday lives of the residents of Russia on our Russia Revealed: Moscow to St. Petersburg River Cruise.