Our permanent guide was Nicolai. He was twenty five and came from the Caucasus (as did one of the receptionists) Nicolai had a Gengis Khan hairdo; his hair was short around the back and sides but long on the top and he wore in it a topknot. He was quite shy with us and often his voice was not loud enough. I noticed that when he was talking to his compatriots he was quite assertive. He could have done to be a little assertive with the "guests." After all if someone sounds as if they know what they are doing it makes the "guests" feel safer. He had beautiful blue eyes and was young enough to be my grandson.
I can't remember the name of the guide who took us on the evening boat ride along the waterways of St Petersburg, but the one on the next day to the Hermitage was Oleg and he became cross with the Chinese tourists who disobeyed all the rules and went where they pleased willy nilly.
The guide who impressed me the most was the one who led us around Yaroslavl. He was an older man and very knowledgeable. There was something impressive about him and I was not surprised when he told us he was a professor of philosophy and just worked as a guide to keep his skill in the English language honed.
In Moscow we had a guide called Kate. She told us many things but I was quite worried that she did not seem at all well. On the Metro Sergei was our guide and he whizzed us along at top speed. It was quite an experience jumping on to fast escalators and leaping into trains. His instructions were clear so no one got left on the platform or failed to get off the train at the right station. In fact that was the most exciting bit of the holiday. Other days were more meditative or contemplative.
Nicolai was there to see us off at Domodedovo airport.
I can't remember the name of the guide who took us on the evening boat ride along the waterways of St Petersburg, but the one on the next day to the Hermitage was Oleg and he became cross with the Chinese tourists who disobeyed all the rules and went where they pleased willy nilly.
The guide who impressed me the most was the one who led us around Yaroslavl. He was an older man and very knowledgeable. There was something impressive about him and I was not surprised when he told us he was a professor of philosophy and just worked as a guide to keep his skill in the English language honed.
In Moscow we had a guide called Kate. She told us many things but I was quite worried that she did not seem at all well. On the Metro Sergei was our guide and he whizzed us along at top speed. It was quite an experience jumping on to fast escalators and leaping into trains. His instructions were clear so no one got left on the platform or failed to get off the train at the right station. In fact that was the most exciting bit of the holiday. Other days were more meditative or contemplative.
Nicolai was there to see us off at Domodedovo airport.
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