Published: September 27, 2007 07:00 am      

Sacred bears and Uglich cheese — no Velveeta!

Ex football coach captains a Russian riverboat?

There is an old legend about the building of a small wooden fortress named after Prince Yaroslavl and set on the right bank of the Volga river at the confluence Kotorosl river. It says that the Prince was traveling around his lands with a large retinue and came to a place called "Bear Corner." The inhabitants of the settlement worshipped bear as a sacred animal. Local people let loose a bear, but the prince fought the bear and killed it with his battle-axe. The legend explains why the coat of arms of Yaroslavl shows a bear and an axe.

In 1218 Yaroslavl become the capital city of the Yaroslavl Principality, and in 1463 the principality joined the Great Moscow Principality. By the middle of the 16th century, Yaroslavl was a trade transit point between Moscow and the countries of the east and west.

Yaroslavl is rightly called the "Russian Florence." The first stone structures were built in the city as early as the 13th century but the oldest surviving building dates from the first half of the 16th century when a cathedral, belfry and refectory with the Church of the Nativity of Christ were erected within the mighty walls of the Monastery of Our Savior and the Transfiguration. But Yaroslavl's golden age was the 17th century. This was the time when the famous Yaroslavl School of Architecture came into existence as a splendid blend of Moscow stone and northern wooden architecture.

The first Russian professional theater started its performances in Yaroslavl in 1750. The names of many great people are connected to Yaroslavl: the founder of the first Russian theater, Fyodor Volkov; Russian poets, Nikolai Nekrosov and Leonid Trefelov; an opera singer, Leonid Sobinoz; and the first female cosmonaut. Velentina Tereskova, a Soviet cosmonaut and the first woman to fly in space on Vostok 6 (from June 16-19, 1963), was born to peasant family in Yaroslavl region. She began work in a textile factory when she was 18 years old and soon joined a club of amateur parachutists. She was chosen one of three women to train as cosmonauts in 1962. She married fellow cosmonaut Andrian Nikolayev in 1963 and their daughter Yelena was born the following year, the first child of parents who had both been into space. Tereshkova received the Order of Lenin and Hero of Soviet Union Awards.

Yaroslavl, founded in 1010, was certainly worth the few hours we spent there. And the few minutes I spent with a couple of Dixieland players was a hoot!

Our next port of call was one of the ancient towns of the Upper Volga region. Since ancient times, Uglich (pronounced OOG-LICH) has been proud of its craftsmen, blacksmiths and jewelers and their traditions are still alive. The approach to Uglich is one of most memorable sights of a cruise along the Volga. Bereft of the usual screen of Kremlin walls, its especially fine churches and cathedral arise from the horizon in a brilliant play of red, blue, green and gold. The town is famous for its cheese, which is available in local shops; its Chaika watches; and as the site of the death of young Dmitry, the son of Ivan the Terrible. The city has survived tremendous devastation from war, siege and fire. It flourished during the 13th and 14th centuries and was favored in the 16th by Ivan the Terrible.

The Chaika watch factory came into existence in 1940. These distinctive enamel-plated watches, both fake and real, were available at the many souvenir vendors along the river front. Twelve years ago, when we visited Uglich, a lovely shaded gravel walkway led from our ship through a wooded park to town. Today the gravel walkway has been replaced by an inlaid stone street and a curbed sidewalk and has been widened to accommodate at least a hundred vendors that set up their tents on the sidewalk. Capitalism is at work in Russia!

The Uglich Cheese Factory was founded in 1973. It can process 330,000 pounds of milk a day producing natural cheese, butter, milk, spreads and sugar.

The factory, even though located in a small, backwater town, competes successfully in the Russian marketplace.

His name is unpronounceable, his signature unreadable, but this 39-year-old gentleman has acquired a new name as he captains the Grand Circle Russian river boat Tikhi Don. His home is Moscow — when he is home for a day or two after round trips to St. Petersburg. He is married and has a teenage daughter.

Many of the passengers, when meeting the captain and his crew the day after boarding, were immediately struck by his likeness to someone else, but it wasn't until I was asked to present him with a well-deserved award later in the trip that that likeness was officially bestowed upon him.

I began by telling of a young Russian athlete who eventually made his way to the U.S. He became quite famous as a football player and eventually a well-know football coach. His name was Mikhial Ditkanova, but it was not long before the sports press shortened that to Mike Ditka! Yes, the captain is the spitting image of a young Mike Ditka! The story is pure fiction, but a truly nicer gentleman you won't find. When I mentioned that I had traveled these waters 12 years earlier on a boat named the Kirov, he went immediately to his laptop computer and found the current schedule of the Kirov. It was to be leaving Moscow about two hours after our arrival! On the day we were scheduled to dock in Moscow the telephone in my cabin rang as I was checking the pictures in my camera. When I answered, a heavy Russia accent said, "Krees, come da bridge!" When I arrived, "Captain Ditka" took me to one of the radar screens, pointed to blip, and said "da Kirov." It so happened that we were arriving in Moscow two hours later than scheduled; the Kirov was just departing. Shortly it passed near the Tikhi Don and I was able to snap a picture that took me back to 1995! This incident describes how thoughtful and accommodating the captain the Tikhi Don and his entire crew are. They, along with our program directors and a great complement of passengers, made this adventure aboard ship, on the rivers and in the cities and towns of the former Soviet Union, now the Russian Federation, one of the most rewarding travel programs you could wish for.

Next: The new Moscow