WaWaterwaysterways ofof ST. P ETERSBURGETERSBURG N MOSCOWOSCOW CruisingCruising aboard the Deluxe M.S. VOLGAOLGA DREAMREAM August 2 to 12, 2013 featuring Temple Professor Therese Dolan Dear Temple Alumni and Friends, Cruising the network of rivers, lakes and canals that runs between Russia’s two great cultural capitals has always been an excellent way of seeing the Russian countryside and visiting the cities of the “Golden Ring.” Aboard the deluxe, modern M.S. VOLGA D REAM, we will take a late summer sojourn that will begin in St. Petersburg and then travel along the “Blue Road” to end in Moscow. With us throughout our journey will be Temple art historian Therese Dolan, a perennial favorite among Temple alumni travelers. Byzantine icons, Renaissance painting, Baroque palaces, masterpieces by the French Impressionists—we will explore them all in her company and with the help of a team of expert guides and lecturers. C We will spend two full days in St. Petersburg, Peter the Great’s visionary “window on the West,” and then cruise through the heartland of Mother Russia, where daily life goes on at the measured pace it has kept for generations. Villages of traditional wooden houses, onion-domed churches and fortifi ed monasteries dot the banks. For this journey we have chartered the most deluxe small ship cruising Russia’s waterways. The M.S. VOLGA D REAM also features the lowest passenger density, so there will be plenty of space and time to compare notes on what we have seen with other like-minded companions. This thoughtfully crafted itinerary features nine UNESCO World Heritage sites. Space is limited and the ship sells out every year, so reserve today. Sincerely, Laura Gruen Director of Temple Travels Temple University Alumni Association For questions about the educational program, call Temple Travels at 215-204-7521. For questions about registration and logistics, call 800-922-3088. To see all of Temple Travels’ 2013 alumni trips, visit our website at alumni.temple.edu/templetravels. Temple Faculty Therese Dolan fi rst visited Europe right after her graduation from college, and the experience changed her life, converting her into an art historian. She has lived for signifi cant periods abroad and visits Paris each year as a guest lecturer on French Impressionism (many of whose masterpieces are collected in St. Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum). Her numerous publications include studies of Impressionist art and the literature, art and music of the 19th century. During three decades of teaching at Temple’s Tyler School of Art, Professor Dolan has shared her profound love of Byzantine art and architecture. Professor Dolan has received both the Lindback Award for Outstanding Teaching and the prestigious Great Teacher Award from Temple University. During the past few years, she has traveled the country, lecturing to alumni groups and earning their praise for her lucid and lively talks. In the past four years, Professor Dolan led highly successful alumni trips to Tuscany, the Amalfi Coast, Provence and Normandy. U.S. St. Petersburg Friday, August 2 Monday, August 5 Depart the U.S. for Explore the city’s historic center, a UNESCO St. Petersburg, Russia. World Heritage site whose legendary landmarks are scattered across more than St. Petersburg, 100 islands linked by more than three times Russia as many bridges. St. Petersburg’s main Saturday, August 3 thoroughfare, Nevsky Prospekt, showcases Arrive in St. Petersburg and meet exquisite examples of Russian Baroque and your Travel Director. Transfer to neoclassical architecture. On the morning the Deluxe M.S. VOLGA D REAM. tour, see the beautiful Church of Our Aboard ship, enjoy the Captain’s Savior on Spilled Blood (Church of the Welcome Reception. The ship remains Resurrection of Jesus Christ), built on the docked overnight on the great Neva River, site of Emperor Alexander II’s assassination; M which fl ows majestically through the heart see the Admiralty tower; and visit the of St. Petersburg, known as the “Venice of 19 th -century St. Isaac’s Cathedral, with a the North.” striking golden dome that is one of the glories of the city’s skyline, to see its dazzling interior St. Petersburg of malachite and lapis lazuli. Tour the city’s Sunday, August 4 oldest edifi ce, the Peter and Paul Fortress, Enjoy a specially reserved entrance and built in 1703 to guard the country’s only outlet tour of the State Hermitage Museum, to the Baltic Sea. The impressive Baroque f former palace of Catherine the Great and Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul contains repository of one of the world’s oldest and the tombs of czars from Peter the Great to greatest art collections. View the priceless Nicholas II, the last of the Romanovs. collection of 19th - and 20th -century French Enjoy time on your own or join the 1 Impressionist and Post-Impressionist optional excursion to Catherine the Great’s works as well as the controversial group imperial compound of Tsarskoye Selo of 74 masterpieces “lost” in a storeroom (“Czar’s Village”), a UNESCO World since World War II and found in 1995. Heritage site, in Pushkin. Tour the elaborate Its spectacular collection is rivaled only by Baroque palace, built in 1741, highlighted by the museum’s ornate interiors. a special visit to the restoration workshops. The afternoon is at leisure in St. Petersburg, See the extraordinary Amber Room: six tons or you can choose to join the optional of solid amber, deftly carved and framed excursion1 to skim over the Gulf of Finland in gold leaf, once deemed the by hydrofoil to Petrodvorets, the splendid “Eighth Wonder of the World.” summer palace and parklands commissioned Stripped and confi scated by the by Peter the Great, now a UNESCO World Nazis in 1941, the Amber Room Heritage site. was meticulously reconstructed This evening, attend an optional 1 in 2003 in honor of Russian ballet or music performance St. Petersburg’s 300 th birthday. (performance schedule permitting). The ship departs this evening. Photo this page: Like Russia itself, the colorful domes of St. Basil’s Cathedral, one of the most recognized Cover photo: Stroll along Petrodvorets’ symbols of Russia, dazzle visitors with their timeless majestic Grand Cascade, a testament to beauty and enchanting mystique. the power and vision of Peter the Great. FINLAND K ST. PETERSBURG of Finlan Gulf R UNESCO World He Cruise Itinerary Air Routing View the Hermitage’s impressive collection of European art amassed by Catherine the Great and showcased in the museum’s exquisitely detailed interior, her former palace and residence. Neva River/Lake Ladoga/ featuring 22 cupolas built completely of wood without a single nail! Mandrogi/Svir River/ Enjoy an afternoon cruise on scenic Lake Onega Lake Onega within sight of the beautifully Tuesday, August 6 untouched, pastoral, Karelian countryside, Admire the passing wilderness of home to many ethnic Finns. serene meadows and virgin pine and birch forests. The ship calls this afternoon Lake Beloye/Goritsy/ at Mandrogi, a small riverside village. Sheksna River Continue your cruise along the sparkling Thursday, August 8 Svir River between Lake Ladoga, Along the shores of Lake Beloye, see rural the largest freshwater reservoir in Europe, communities continuing the traditions of and Lake Onega, dotted with over Old Russia. 1600 small islands. From the tranquil village of Goritsy, visit the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, Kizhi Island/Lake Onega founded in 1397. It is said that Vasily III Wednesday, August 7 came here to pray for an heir, and soon after, Early this morning, be on deck for the his wife Elena gave birth to the future unforgettable approach to picturesque Ivan the Terrible, the fi rst Czar of Russia. Kizhi Island, a UNESCO World Farther along the Sheksna River, catch Heritage site. This remarkable open-air glimpses of a bygone era as you pass rustic museum is a treasure trove of 18th -century family farms and quaint dachas, the seasonal Karelian and north Russian wooden cottages of Russia’s elite. architecture. Admire the Church of the This evening, enjoy a dinner that will Transfi guration, an architectural masterpiece include traditional Russian specialties The beautiful Goritsy Monastery was founded in 1544 by one of Ivan the Terrible’s daughters-in-law. It was primarily used for political exile for women of noble birth in the late 16 th century and now houses a small community of nuns. AND KizhiKizhi Island Lake Lake OnegaOnega Ladoga ver ANDROGIANDROGI Ri M ir T ETERSBURGBURG v S . P S LakeLake Beloye nd Neva River GORITSYORITSY Volga-BalticVolga-Baltic CCanalanal LakeLake Rybinskoye Sheksna River lga Riv Vo er YAROSLAROSLAVAV L RUSSIA UGLICHGLICH M oscow Canal MOSCOWOSCOW U M o s itage Site c o nerary w R i A ng ver The colorful Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood features over 80,000 square feet of intricate mosaics. N followed by a specially arranged sampling Stroll along the river to the Church of of Russian vodkas. Elijah the Prophet, a masterpiece of local architecture located in the Lake Rybinskoye/ heart of the Old Town and fi lled with Yaroslavl well-preserved frescoes. Then, see the Friday, August 9 magnifi cent fortifi ed Monastery of the This morning, the ship cruises through Transfi guration, founded in the 12 th century. the scenic wilderness of Lake Rybinskoye. After lunch, dock in Yaroslavl, the oldest Uglich/Volga River town on the Volga River and one of Saturday, August 10 Arrive in the “Golden Ring” town of Uglich th Kizhi Island’s wooden Church of the Transfi guration and walk to the small 17 -century Church of is completely built of wood without a single nail. Prince Dimitri-on-the-Blood, built on the site where Ivan the Terrible’s young son met his demise.