Same morning routine as usual on the boat today. While I t was to be our last day of sailing we would have one more night aboard. Shortly before heading to breakfast we passed through the sixth and final lock on the Moscow canal and would be arriving into port shortly before 1pm. After breakfast I took care of packing as it was to be a late return to the boat and we are heading to a hotel tomorrow for our last two nights.

We arrived into port right on time and were on the bus and ready to go at 1pm. It took about an hour to make the drive into central Moscow and our destination of the Kremlin. On arrival we had to get through the massive line through security. It took about thirty minutes so all in all was not that bad.

We strolled into the Kremlin and passed through cathedral square which contains four different cathedrals. One was used for baptisms, another for marriage and a third for funerals while the last was simply the personal chapel of the Tsar’s family.

From there it was on to the Armory museum which contained a bit of armor and a lot of royal clothing, thrones, carriages, etc. I know that most if not all of the royal families of Europe had such lavish tastes, but looking at all of the excess here it’s becoming easier to see why there was a revolution…

After the museum we returned back to Cathedral square and went inside one of the cathedrals. This one was so gaudily decorated in my opinion that I was not impressed with all the artwork.

Finally Inside the Kremlin we passed the Tsar Bell, a 200 ton bronze bell, which was never installed as it cracked at some point during production. We also passed the Tsar Cannon, a forty ton cannon that was produced only to show the size capable of Russia but it was never actually fired.

We then headed to dinner at the National Hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Had a nice dinner of a salad and salmon and then a chocolate dessert.

As compensation for the day at anchor and missed excursion during the river cruise the boat and tour agencies arranged a special musical experience. A local art gallery was opened and a special performance by the Zlatoust Moscow Ensemble of Soloists was arranged. Not knowing anything about them I was not necessarily enthused about this, but in the end it was very entertaining. It did make for a long day as we then had to return to the boat where we arrived a about 11 o’clock.

Finally got some sleep last night, I think, as I woke about about 6:30 feeling fairly well rested. Caught a few YouTube videos, then showered and was down for breakfast at 8. After breakfast headed down for the last day of Russian history session. Covered the period from Stalin up to present day. The session started with a clip of Trevor Noah’s stand-up routine about Russian accents.

The scheduled Russian language class was apparently cancelled for some reason which was both a relief and disappointment. We docked in the town of Uglich at about noon. We made a visit to a local couple’s house where they shared with us a traditional Russian visitors snack of pickles, potatoes and bread to accompany a few shots of home brew vodka followed by tea and apple cake.

From there we were dropped off in the town square where we free to wander around before heading back to the boat. I found a couple of war memorials that I snapped a few pictures.

Then it was back to the boat where we had an afternoon tea lesson with snacks. We then met with Ivan to discuss plans for the next few days in Moscow. Then it was on to dinner, I skipped the captains fairwell cocktail, and back to the room. As I’m writing this we are passing through the last lock on the Volga river as we prepare to enter the Moscow canal for the homestretch so to say.