Victor Travel Blog

 
This happened long time ago, when the young tzar, Peter I, ascended to the Russian throne. It was a time of troubles for Russia since many struggled for the throne. Dubrovitsy, a small estate near Moscow, was owned by Prince Golitsyn, a tutor of Peter I. Court intrigues forced Boris Golitsyn to leave Moscow for his estate, but after a year, news of his forgiveness reached Dubrovitsy. To mark the reconciliation with Peter I, Golitsyn decided to build an unbelievably beautiful temple, Baroque Church of the Sign of Our Lady, fairly unusual for Russia.

Peter I approved this decision and even recommended an Italian architect. In 1690, he and his entourage took part in the groundbreaking ceremony.

Baroque Church of the Sign of Our Lady, Dubrovitsy, Russia.

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On that day, our targets were the Russian castle Vyborg and the landscape park Monrepo.

We left St. Petersburg for Vyborg, the ancient city located near the Finnish border. It was early morning, and the ring road around St. Petersburg was empty. We had an auto-transmission Peugeot 206 with the usual acceleration for these cars. Although, I must confess that this one was a little bit quicker, especially when I found a button “S” at the transmission box. I pressed it, and the sound of the engine gradually changed to a rumble. I pressed the accelerator, and we almost flew over the ground. 🙂 Oh, I understood then, that “S” was for “Sport” mode.

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That winter was very cold in Russia. We met the New Year 2011 at a temperature -27°C, sometime -30°C, near the historic town of Uglich on the river of Volga where Dmitry, the 8-year-old son of the Russian tzar, Ivan the Terrible, was killed in 1591.

See more photos and two funny video