A trip through Sergiev Posad, Pereslavl Zalessky, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Ivanovo, and Suzdal that make the so-called "Golden Ring"

This is an illustration of how an unplanned trip through these places may look like. This trip was made end of July, 2004, by a Canadian family of 4 who volunteered to act as guinea pigs and subsidized the cost. No particular misadventures to report. This is not a guide but an illustration how an unplanned trip may look like.. The trip started Friday morning and ended middle of the day Sunday at the international airport Sheremetyevo in Moscow. I'll be adding Golden Ring materials here. Contributions of materials welcomed BUT PLEASE STICK TO TEXT BECAUSE 9.6BPS AT 10 CENTS PER MINUTE AND 5 MIN. BETWEEN INTERRUPTS IS NO FUN.

You can hire me with a vehicle ($200/day, car-related expenses included, my accommodation, food, and one beer in the evening are on you), or Marisha ($50 + expenses that include a glass of red wine in the evening) to help you navigate the public transit system, find accommodation and otherwise stay safe and comfortable.  Contact details

Map of the Golden Ring region, in Russian .. I'll try replacing it with a better copy in English, or find a link when I return back to civilization.

Day 1

9am  Left the center of Moscow. Took only an hour as we travelled counter-traffic.. Hint: Avoid leaving Moscow by car on weekend afternoon and evening as 10miles may take you 3 hours. Avoid Friday evening in particular when people rush to their dachas.

11am  Sergiev Posad. About an hour walking around and making photos. Sergiev Posad is well documented, so I won't bother adding more about it.

3pm  Pereslavl Zalessky. Visited the Smoothing Iron Museum. Drove to the lake. Admired the Tea Pot Museum from the outside.  Noted the sign to the Steam Engine Museum.

	Smoothing Iron Museum Proprietor: Andrey Vorobyev Pereslavl-Zalessky, ul. Sovetskaya 11 8-08535-3-25-83 Fascinating tours on the subject of irons. Souvenirs by Pereslavl-Zalessky artists. Irons bought and sold.   ALL TELEPHONE NUMBERS SHOWN AS DIALED LONG DISTANCE FROM WITHIN RUSSIA
	"The Kettle House" Museum near Pereslavl Zalessky, founded by Andrey Vorobyev (The Smoothing Iron Museum) and Dmitry Nikishkin village of Veskovo, Peter the Great Street 17 8-08535-3-25-83
	Campgrounds by the Plesheyevo lake. $30 gets you one of these 4-person houses. Open around the year.
	A sign to the Steam Engine Museum. Heard rumours of an ancient steam train running around the Plesheyevo Lake once a week.

6pm  Rostov (Rostov-the-Great, not Rostov-on-Don).

The Yaroslavk Vodka Distillery is opening a vodka museum in Rostov soon.

Ate at the Nero Cafe (Nero here is not the crazy Roman emperor buts the name of the lake on which Rostov sits).  The dinner was excellent and more than reasonable - the total bill came to $30 or so and that included vodka and caviar for mom and pop on the insistence of the cafe owner. Rostov is a poorly managed city that failed to capitalized on the tourism industry, thus it still feels genuine and remains rural Russia cheap.

Stayed in the Rostov Kremlin in a huge ancient room with 7 beds at the total cost of about $35 for all five of us.

"Dom na pogrebakh" Hotel (House over the cellar) in the Rostov Kremlin 8-08536-61244, 8-08536-62553 fax 8-08536-61502 ("for the Museum") 152151 Yaroslavskaya oblast, Rostov, Kremlin RECOMMENDED FOR PRICE AND STYLE

Artists are invited to lodge with Michael Selishev and his mother Natalia, tel. 8-08536-6-24-83, ul. Podozerka 30, www.enamel.by.ru, www.artgallery.by.ru. General public is welcomed in their home gallery.

Day 2

9am  Left Rostov

11am  Had an excellent late breakfast at Yaroslavl, at the Premiere Cafe. Coffee was as good as in the center of Moscow.

The Premiere Cafe
150000 Yaroslavk
Pervomaysky Boulevard 5
(behind the Volkovsky Theatre)
tel. 8-0852-72-86-01

2pm  Kostroma. Drove past the Kremlin without getting out of the car.

6pm  Drove through Ivanovo without stopping.

8-9pm  Suzdal. Swamped with tourists, nothing available in big "official" hotels, only $200 VIP room left in a new private Hot Keys, found an apartment for $100 with the help of friendly English-speaking staff of "Hot Keys"

Hot Keys
Sauna, Restaurant, Hotel, 4-wheeler rental
Suzdal, ul. Korovniki 14
8-09231-24-000
www.parilka.com

Day 3

8:30am Drove through Suzdal a couple of times, proceeded to Vladimir and then all the way to Moscow.

1pm  Domodedovo International Airport. Helped my guests to get oriented and left them to their own devices.

Horseback Rides & Trips
Related pages
Tver |  St. Petersburg to Moscow | Golden Ring |  ???????

Accommodation in Moscow:
www.cheap-moscow.com