Day 38 of the 47th orbit

We got up early in the morning, packed quickly, got the girls up, and by a little after 8 we were already in the car on our way to Suzdal. On the way we stopped at McDonald’s near Elektrozavodskaya, bought breakfast, and headed out. We drove along the new M-12 Vostok toll road. The drive took a little under three hours and was easy. We stopped once near the beginning when Leah suddenly urgently needed to go, and then again on the approach to Suzdal when we saw a gorgeous field with those modern cylindrical hay bales. I used to see those only in Europe and always loved looking at them; now they are no longer rare here either. We took photos. The pictures turned out great—the sky was picturesque with curly clouds, plus a beautiful field and forest.

We checked into the apartment. Masha had found a nice new place in a modern three-story high-rise—by Suzdal standards, that counts as a high-rise. The apartment was on the third floor, with two bedrooms and a large kitchen. Cozy, clean, and lived-in. The host greeted us warmly and drove us toward the monastery in the center, where a costumed SUP regatta was starting.

A lot of people and some very funny costumes were waiting for us on the bank of the Kamenka River, where the costumed regatta on paddleboards and kayaks started with music, dancing, and general merriment. There was Ded Moroz, a water sprite, superheroes—you name it. We were not able to rent a paddleboard because it turned out reservations had to be made in advance, though I did not really want one that badly anyway. We agreed we would rent later. We watched the start, I fed the girls crepes, and we grabbed lemonade from VkusVill—they were giving it away for free if you showed the VkusVill app. Then we walked around the hotel grounds, looked at the river and the ducks, and went through the monastery toward the city center. On the way we crossed a little bridge and sat down near the pier to rest. Leah somehow managed to drop a sock into the water and then step into the river wearing her sneakers, soaking her feet. I had to carry her. We stopped at a café across from the Kremlin and had a snack. Prices were high, like in Moscow, only the quality was worse and the portions were smaller. The town has become extremely touristy—crowds everywhere, carriages, cars, and people selling souvenirs and all sorts of things.

After lunch we went back home for about an hour to rest and dry the sneakers. Then we returned to the same pier where we had been earlier and rented two paddleboards. We set off closer to sunset. Sonya went with Masha; Leah went with me. The river was very calm, almost no current. Beautiful green banks, clean clear water, lots of water lilies and lovely underwater greenery. Leah did not behave all that well on the board and kept wanting to get into the water, but overall we had a wonderful ride. While paddling, Misha called, and I talked to him for a bit while standing on the board. Afterward we took the girls home, stopped by the store, Masha fed them and left Sonya and Leah to watch a movie and then go to sleep, while we went out for a walk and dinner. We had a hard time finding any restaurant whose kitchen was still open—strangely, by around 9 p.m. most places operate more like bars and either do not serve food or have no tables left. We ended up having a pretty good dinner: expensive, but tasty enough. Then we went home.