Curriculum:

  • have lessons in Russian history, taught in English, in the places it happened.
  • learn the basics of folk painting and birch bark basket weaving.
  • sample Russian cuisine (it's not just potatoes).
  • enjoy Russian hospitality (and a trip to the steam bath/banya if you're brave).
  • shop at the Arbat and elsewhere or amber jewelry, fur hats, lacquer boxes, nesting dolls, chess sets, etc.

    Excursions: There will be excursions to sites of interest in and around Novgorod The Great, including:

  • Museum of Iconography, Art, and History.
  • Novgorod Kremlin (which dates from the 15th century.
  • Treasury Museum.
  • St. Sophia Cathedral (est. 1150).
  • Yuriev Monastery (12th century).
  • Museum of Wooden Architecture.
  • Festival of Sadko and the Merchant Prince.
  • Staraya Russia and more.

    There will also be an excursion to St. Petersbury for four days and three nights, with a city tour and visits to:

  • Hermitage Musuem.
  • Peterhof Summer Palace.
  • Peter and Paul Fortress.
  • St. Isaac's Cathedral (third highest interior dome in the world).
  • Nevsky Prospect.
  • Alexander Nevsky Monastery.