Don Curry gets wings

Don Curry loves unusual means of transportation. He has experienced a whole range of them on his travels - from riding elephants in Cambodia to riding ox carts in India and using the Tarabita, a tiny cable car in Ecuador. He is also familiar with various watercraft: the primitive mokoro canoe in Botswana, various rowboats, inflatable boats, and motorboats, and of course all kinds of ferries. He had a different form of water transport today: a hydrofoil boat, a ship that does not float on water but rather glides over it. He wanted to take off with such a hydrofoil boat today to the famous Kizhi Island.

However, first he expected the breakfast buffet in the 'Karelia' restaurant of the 'Karelia' hotel. The breakfast buffet in Pskov had been excellent, the one in Veliky Novgorod even better, but the one here in Petrozavodsk reached another level. In the huge breakfast hall, you burned more calories fetching the various delicacies from stations far apart than you could consume afterwards - even though the selection of calorie-rich foods was magnificent. From an extensive muesli section to ten different hot options, a comprehensive salad buffet, and a lavish assortment of beverages: in addition to the usual juices, there was also typical Nordic lingonberry juice, and even sparkling wine was always available for self-service. Don Curry had too little time to indulge in these diverse delights because he was supposed to buy his boat ticket to Kizhi at the reception at 9:00 am.

However, the reception referred him to the hotel's tourism department, which was housed outside in the basement. Don Curry found the inconspicuous office, expressed his desire for a trip to Kizhi today, was promised seats at his desired times after some searching in the computer, and was informed that he could pay for and collect the ticket at the reception in 20 minutes - incidentally with a 20% discount because the hydrofoil boat belonged to the hotel.

Punctually, Don Curry picked up his ticket, walked through the already familiar birch grove, and waited at the pier with many others. Before boarding the boat, each passenger was given a collar with a large sign displaying the name of the boat and an individual number. For identification, in case the ship sinks?, Don Curry thought sarcastically. But the name tags served another purpose, which is why Don Curry was also asked how his name should be pronounced. Don Curry pronounced it for the boat attendant, and he made a note of it.

The journey itself took about 90 minutes. Don Curry had reserved a window seat, but after a few minutes, the windows fogged up due to the fully occupied interior, making it impossible to see outside. So Don Curry just dozed off.

After landing, the boat attendant who had asked for names earlier appeared with a large sign displaying the name of the boat. The request was clear: all around 80 passengers of this boat should follow him. They went directly to the Kizhi open-air museum, the entrance fee of which was already included in the boat price. Here, the boat attendant called out the names of all the passengers one by one, thereby forming three groups, each of which was joined by a Russian guide. Even Don Curry's name was pronounced almost perfectly! Only later did Don Curry learn that for an additional fee, he could have joined a German-speaking tour. So he had to limit himself to observing and was repeatedly forced to take breaks while the informed woman apparently provided important information to her receptive audience.

The weather was very capricious today. Short rain showers and short sunny periods alternated. When it rained, the group usually took shelter somewhere. The first destination of the tour was also the real highlight: the incomparable ensemble of the Transfiguration Church, consisting of a summer church, a winter church, and a bell tower.

The summer church from 1714 with its 22 wooden domes is certainly the most famous wooden church in Russia. Restoration work has been ongoing for many years; the exterior is largely completed, so the church looks photogenic again, but the interior cannot be entered. The heated winter church from 1764 not only contains a magnificent iconostasis from its time of creation but also several old icons from other wooden churches that no longer exist.

The special advantage of the group tour was the small performances: in the winter church, three young priests with fantastic voices sang a three-part Orthodox church song. In a nearby residential house, a young woman demonstrated and explained how to create a continuous thread from horsehair using a hand spindle.

At another wooden church, a bell ringer presented an impressive melody with his various church bells.

Without a group, Don Curry would have missed all of this - which is why he initially tolerated the slow progress. But when he noticed that more and more group members were simply leaving, he also became a deserter and explored the grounds of the open-air museum on his own.

Eventually, he had seen everything of importance and decided to also explore the busy northern part of Kizhi Island. Here, everything had to be built of wood as well. Don Curry headed for the highest point of the island, which is also crowned by a small wooden church. Unfortunately, the church was locked, but the view in all directions could only be described as magnificent.

Suddenly, it started raining again, and Don Curry hurried back to the ship's pier.

For the return journey, he chose a seat in the aisle this time, in order to have easy access to the open deck while gliding over Lake Onega. However, this joy lasted only briefly, until a powerful splash of spray hit Don Curry directly while he was taking photos, soaking him quite a bit and temporarily disabling his camera.

Back in Petrozavodsk, Don Curry strolled along the promenade for a while. Here, the city had not only set up many artworks, but Don Curry also found a free fitness park with dozens of weightlifting equipment, running tracks, and other exercise machines. Exemplary!, he thought, although it was not made for him.

He preferred to get his exercise at the hotel restaurant. This time, he ordered 'elk hooves' as an appetizer, which are potato pancakes filled with elk minced meat, served with sour cream; the main course should be three skewers of trout, chicken, and beef grilled over charcoal, served with various sauces made by the chef, and accompanied by fried potato balls. Surprisingly, the balls were brought first, then the skewers, and the elk pancakes were brought much later. Don Curry would experience this frequently in Russia, that appetizers and main courses do not necessarily mean one after the other; whatever is ready is served to the guest!

Don Curry didn't mind. He ate until he was more than full, enjoyed the wonderful view of Lake Onega from his high balcony for a long time, and reminisced about this day: not only did the boat have wings, but the magnificent architecture of the old wooden churches, the idyllic atmosphere of Kizhi Island, and the overall relaxed and problem-free itinerary also gave Don Curry wings. After such a heavenly day, he could have taken off...