There was a storm on Lake Lagoda last night, and the boat rocked quite bit. The morning dawned bright and clear and cooler (high 40’s). We were in the narrow Svir River with birch trees lining the shores and occasional small fishing settlements. We heard that the slightly smaller ship we began in St. Petersburg with had to anchor last night because of the storm and had to miss Mandrogi.
We went through the first of several locks that morning, rising 15-20.
Mandrogi is a small village on the north shore of Svir River that was settled in the 18th century but completely destroyed in WW II. After the fall of the Soviet Union, a group of Russian businessmen bought the land and invited local woodworkers to restore the town using traditional methods. Between 1996 and 1999 the traditional buildings were rebuilt.
Many of the buildings were moved from other northern villages.
There are several dozen buildings that house wonderful artifacts .
Today the village houses traditional craftsmen.
At lunch we were entertained with Russian folk music.
The architecture varies from authentic to fanciful.
There are a dozen private houses that can be rented, and Putin has his own house that he has used only twice.
A horse drawn carriage will take you around the island if you don’t feel like walking.
The vodka museum has two thousand kinds of vodka, and for 150 rubles, you can sample two different kinds. We had lovely weather. Mandrogi is an artists’ paradise.