Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Three hundred years ago Arkhangelsk was a major sea port for North-Western Russia – The White Sea region – and quite the city. The combination of a short day (due to arrival and departure times of the ship) and a tourism industry in its infancy resulted in us hardly seeing anything of the place. We were docked in the industrial port, some 20km out of the city proper; special permits were required to leave and re-enter the port area. So a self-guided tour was out of the question. Tour buses were arranged to drive us around.
In the morning we joined the ‘highlights of the city’ tour. Unfortunately we hardly stopped, and, when we did stop we only did so for short periods: the bus would drop us off and pick us up again 200, 300 or 400meters down the road. Once back on the bus we saw things at just about every corner that would have been worth at least a stop. Oh well, hopefully tours will improve. Our local guides were all very knowledgeable and had an amazing command of the English language. In the afternoon we joined the bus to the Malye Korely Open Air museum. An impressive collection of wooden structures from the region, from the last couple of centuries has been relocated here to be restored and preserved.
