Vladimir

I went with the ACTR program to Vladimir en route to Moscow one of my last weeks in Russia. We went by night train, which I hear can be quite nice, but in my experience was rough since the train was really run down and my bunk was the one right by the bathroom door. Anyways, we arrived in Vladimir half dead but extremely impressed by the hundreds (thousands?) of beautiful churches and cathedrals in and around the city. Vladimir is one of the oldest cities in Russia and was a medieval capital. It was a thriving religious center until the 1200's, when it was attacked by Mongol hordes and went into decline. Today its a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of many beautiful cities on the Golden Ring around Moscow. Our time there was really good, though I saw so many churches that I had absolutely no desire to see more for my remaining 2 weeks in Russia! : ) Our hotel was decent, had a nice view of a nuclear power plant (oh, the smog), and had bbc world news on tv, which was both so good and so depresssing (on the situation in the Middle East) that I cried after watching it the first night. In any event, here are the pictures.


Assumption Cathedral

Multicolor churches in Suzdal', a small town not far from Vladimir with over 30 13th century churches.

Detail of a painting that covered the walls and high ceiling of a Suzdal' church.