Board Maxim Rylsky at Northern River Terminal

Photograph: Northern River Terminal. Notice the red star on top of the spire, a symbol from the Soviet times that I would see many times in my travels in Russia.

Diary, Saturday, July 23, 2005,
I am sitting on the deck of the ship [Maxim Rylsky]; we will sail tomorrow. My room smells-bathroom especially-maybe sewage. The food is quite horrible-so depressed-but determined to make the best of it. I don't know how much or how little I should complain. I have to keep telling myself that I am in Moscow and on the Moscow Canal and should be happy. Tomorrow I'll buy Lysol, books and food and should be happy. It's a floating gulag!

Shopping list: apples,yoghurt, find a device to boil water (for coffee),oranges and cream (for coffee).

(Entries written from the deck later in the evening)

"I was becoming pretty depressed when all of a sudden we had quite a gathering of Elderhostel people [Dottie, Judy and Bob] -a literary gathering-almost the Algonquin club. What a change from a few hours before-my spirits are much improved."

End of diary.




Between diary entries, we took to bus to town and shopped at a supermarket not far from the Golden Ring Restaurant. I'm sorry to say that my coffee grinder was missing when I opened my bags in the room. I check back with the hotel and they did not have it. You would have to know me to know how important a coffee grinder is. Anyway, I bought all the items from above as well as

• toilet paper
• wine from Georgia
• apples
• cheese