Early morning stop at Kizik which is 400 kilometers south of the Arctic Circle and our northernmost part of the trip.
This place had been designated as an UNESCO world museum/heritage site.
Occupied by the Finns in WWII, fortunately for the Russians, the commandant had studied architecture in the USSR prior to the war. He appreciated the structures on the island, some dating back to the 1300s (if I remember correctly). He forbade them being destroyed, and the second oldest church in the country still exists for us to see today.
These original churches were built with no nails as nails were prohibitively expensive because they were handmade and the materials were costly.
The largest cathedral was the Summer church and the smaller the Winter church. It was much easier to heat the smaller space than the larger one.
Wooden shingles make up the onion domed tops. At first view today they were gray from the rain but by the time we left they sparkled more silver in the sun. Their colors constantly change with the weather.
The larger house we visited was considered its own village. Any cluster of houses made a village and the
largest ones had 8-10 houses. In this specific house 22 people lived in the top floor all the horses, cows and sheep were housed below. In the winter all creatures lived and slept on the ground floor for warmth. Talk about being up close and personal with nature.
They are keeping the ancient arts alive as we saw artisans, dressed in ethnic clothing, carving shingles with a hand axe, another making wooden toys the same way, women embroidering linen, weaving belts to ward off all evil spirits, and also weaving flax into linen thread.
We kept passing the Turner group, eventually seeing Ted being pushed back towards the ship in a wheelchair. Some of our friends said they had seen him pushed around a palace and also to the Kirov. It was a first for me.
Back on board by 10:30, the ship passed thru six locks the rest of the day.
We attended a Russian language lesson and already knew everything thanks to Olia! I've tried using my Russian a bit and people have been kind. I think it cracked up two of the very young shop girls on Mandrogi as smiles cracked their traditionally bored, stoic faces when I spoke. I take it that they were amused by my attempts rather than just laughing at my ineptitude.
Tonight we finally checked out the little gift kiosk. We didn't do a great deal if damage but I think we were able to finish our shopping. All things considered this trip will be the one in which we bring back the least amount of treasures.