Woody Called Them "Gyp Joints"

At the risk of using vernacular that offends, my late father (Woodrow "Woody" Mace) called places like we went today (Mandrogi, Russia) "gyp joints" . .  . meaning, your money for things purchased was wasted on junk.  And such was the case with a lot of what we saw here today.

The entrance to the Mandrogi "Vodka Museum"

At first glance, Mandrogi looked like Frontier Town at any amusement park in the United States.  Supposedly made to look like a traditional Russian village (I think not), its location was once a small village on the banks of the Svir River between Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega.   Wiped from the map in World War II by the advancing and retreating Nazis, it was rebuilt in 1996 by a Russian entrepreneur who thought an open air museum would benefit travelers taking river cruises (just like us), and/or get them to spend money that would inevitably benefit him.


Ray makes a friend at the Vodka Museum

 Consisting of a lot of small shops, there were, indeed, craftsmen creating items out of birch, iron, amber, and other traditional Russian things.  And, there was lots of plain old junk with high sticker prices made for people to waste their money.  

And certainly one of the main attractions - the Vodka Museum - fit somewhere in between.  That was the starting point for our entry into Mandrogi and a tasting included with the $7 entry fee (200 rubles) created the right mood for spending money.   Who knew there was a bazillion types of vodka . . . no Stolichnaya present, though, as that appears to be largely an American marketing creation.

I sampled three vodkas - one with no taste, a second that tasted like cough medicine, and a third like cognac.   That was more than enough for me to start searching out the craftsmen, and we did find some small Christmas gifts (and no telling what those are as the recipients might be reading this).  And, we did find a lovely watercolor to illustrate a typical Russian scene of a Kremlin (a citadel in a city) in the winter with children playing.  We purchase some piece of art from every place traveled to remind us of our adventure, and already have a spot picked out for it.

Matrioshka nesting dolls

Every shop at Madrogi featured "Matrioshka", nesting dolls.  They are seemingly everywhere in Russia and range from very inexpensive to fabulously costly.   Their introduction to Russia was from Japan, and were first made here in 1890.  I think they're interesting but creepy.

So, a quick 2 hour stop at the "open air museum" and we were back on the Svir River by 4 p.m.  A letter greeted us in our room and said that unforeseen weather conditions on Lake Onega did not allow safe passage (i.e., it is partly covered with ice - yes, in May).   So, we'll not call on the furthest northern point, Kizhi, and will instead continue straight to Kuzino in an all day cruise through the rest of today and tomorrow.  I'll be back to you when I have something to report.