On the banks of this quiet river: why go to the Tver region for a weekend
The eternally busy residents of the metropolis are willing to use the weekend to change the situation for a while and reboot. The priority is places that can be reached quickly enough by car or by train. The Vladimir, Tula, Ivanovo and Yaroslavl regions are most often chosen. Another promising, though less sought—after area within easy reach is the Tver Region. Izvestia, together with the Mediarazvedka project, found out how to spend time with maximum benefit in the upper reaches of the Volga and the surroundings of Seliger.
Walk out the door
It's quite easy to get to the Tver region. You can take a high-speed autobahn by car or a Swallow by rail. In either case, the journey time will be only one and a half to two hours. The first major stop on the route is Tver. This city, of course, deserves an independent visit, and it's definitely not a pity to spend a couple of days on it. But there are also many places worthy of attention in the region.
On a side note. Before heading on, it's worth having a bite to eat, as there are many noteworthy establishments in Tver. For example, the Artel cafe serves rye crumpet with smoked duck breast and smoked cheese cream, beef tartare with baked pepper, soaked cranberries and sea buckthorn gel, and stewed beef brisket with mushrooms. For a salad with chicken and soaked plums, moose dumplings and a burger with rabbit, it's worth stopping by the Levels restaurant. And in the coffee shop "One second" you can not only drink a cup of excellent espresso with the right croissant, but also taste shakshuka with torn pork, baked pepper and yogurt sauce, benedict with roast beef and poppy cheesecakes with sea buckthorn curry.
Upward movement
You can spend one day exploring the source of the Volga River, a true place of power that has attracted people for centuries. It is located in the village of Volgoverkhovye in the Ostashkovsky district. The way there runs through Torzhok, where it makes sense to stay for a couple of hours — to look into the Borisoglebsky Monastery, one of the oldest in the country, admire the merchant mansions on the Tweretskaya embankment, get acquainted with the small but very informative exposition of the Helicopter Museum, see the famous Pozharsky hotel, where Pushkin repeatedly stayed, and taste the signature Pozharsky cutlet in in the Onyx restaurant, and if you're lucky, you can cook it yourself under the careful guidance of chef Sergey Vinogradov.
It takes about three hours to get from Torzhok to Volgoverkhovye, sometimes on a not very comfortable primer, but it's worth it. In fact, not every river has a starting point. The Volga River is believed to originate from an ordinary spring on the outskirts of the Volgoverkhov region and initially flows as a modest stream. There is a small wooden chapel above the spring, and the very first bridge over the Volga River is built a little further away.
But the width of the great Russian river here is such that even a child can stand quietly on two of its banks at once. Actually, all tourists do just that, happily taking pictures and washing their faces with red-brown water from a brisk stream. Three hundred meters downstream is the Olginsky Convent. It is just over a century old, but the first monastery appeared here back in 1649. So the place is kind of salty. There is a small market in front of the monastery, where, to the great joy of tourists, there is honey, kvass, and all kinds of handicrafts by local craftsmen.
On a side note. You can spend the night in Ostashkov. But it is better to stay at Wild Sheep glamping on the shores of Lake Vselug near the village of Orlinka. It offers spacious tents and cabins by the water, a wonderful Russian sauna, a shared lounge area with a kitchen and private barbecue areas. In the evening, you can sit by the campfire, watching the huge stars in the sky, and in the morning admire the beautiful sunrise on the lake. If desired, you can go boating and hiking and fishing, and the local chef will be happy to prepare a fresh catch for lunch for a small fee. Glamping has its own farm, so in any case there will be fresh vegetables, milk, meat, and honey on the table.
The Time Machine
It makes sense to make an Old Man another important point on the weekend route. This small but incredibly picturesque town on the Volga, captivating with its mild provincial beauty, was once one of the most important political and cultural centers of the Russian lands. The Staritsky princes were in no way inferior to the powerful Moscow sovereigns. The first patriarch of All Russia, Job, served here, and Ivan the Terrible begged God's forgiveness for the horrors of the oprichnina for a long time. Many buildings were built from Staritsky white stone in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Smolensk, Yaroslavl, and Arkhangelsk. During the Great Patriotic War, local residents hid in the quarries in the vicinity of the city, now tourists are willing to look there.
Today, the ramparts of the Staritsky Kremlin, the majestic cathedrals of the Holy Dormition Monastery, the tops of ancient churches and the spires of bell towers, merchant houses of the XVIII-XIX centuries on deserted winding streets remind of the glorious past of the city. If you look at the archival photographs of Prokudin-Gorsky, who shot a lot in Staritsa at the beginning of the last century, you are surprised to notice how little it has changed since then. Time seemed to freeze here.
In recent years, the city has been actively restored. The monastery was put in order, the embankment was equipped. New hotels, cafes and restaurants are being prepared for opening in the historical center. But this is not enough to increase the tourist attractiveness of Staritsa and attract travelers to the city. Therefore, local authorities intend to pay special attention to the organization of landmark mass events.
So, at the very beginning of August, the first festival of street circuses and clowning theaters "Pencil-fest" took place in Staritsa. More than 10,000 people gathered to watch the bright performances of the stars of the theaters "Litsedei", "Estrada", "Mykonos", Tinto Brass Band, Cirque du Soleil and Slava Polunin's "Snow Show", an exorbitant figure by local standards. Many of the guests themselves willingly tried on a clown outfit — wigs, funny noses, picturesque jackets out of size. It is planned to make the festival an annual event. If it succeeds, it will surely become an important point of attraction for tourists.
On a side note. In Staritsa, you should definitely try a popular local delicacy — Wolf's apple puff. According to legend, she was once admired by Pushkin, who often visited the Wolfs at the Bernovo estate, so much so that he sometimes signed his love letters to Anna Kern, who lived next door in Georgia, as "All Your apple pie." Unfortunately, the exact recipe of the dish has not been preserved. It is only known that the Woolf puff pastry was made from puff pastry and stuffed with apples, seasoning them with cinnamon and honey. It is believed that the recipe of the current puff pastry is as close as possible to the original. In any case, it tastes surprisingly good, although it doesn't make much impression on the outside.
Unfortunately, the hotel stock in Staritsa is very limited. But in some places in the vicinity of the city you can get quite decent and even comfortable. Just a few days ago, the museum-hotel "Andryushino" opened its doors to guests near the village of Ulitino. It is located on the high bank of the Volga River and is something like a small village, where each hut reproduces the characteristic architectural features of rural houses in a particular district of the Tver region. The huts are furnished with antique furniture and feature authentic Russian stoves. So if you want, you can cook some delicious food in them - on your own or with the help of local chef Alexey Tafintsev, a great master of traditional Russian cuisine.
Walking on the water and more
In the vicinity of the village of Apukhlitsy, 40 km northeast of Staritsa, there are riding marshes. In fact, it is a multi-meter layer of moss floating on the surface of the water. It is absolutely safe to walk on such a cover — it can easily withstand even a moose. A lot of people come to the marshes, mostly berry hunters, and there is unprecedented abundance during the season. Blueberries, cranberries, and lingonberries ripen within a few weeks of each other.
Game hunters are also found, but much less often. And there are no fishermen here at all. Because of the moss, the water in the small lakes is distilled and not suitable for life at all. However, you can swim in it. And this, admittedly, is a special pleasure. As well as long barefoot walks on gently vibrating moss, such a promenade relieves stress better than any massage.
The village itself is also worth a look. At least for the sake of visiting the family apiary, which is run by spouses Dmitry Sharapenko and Veronika Daletskaya. They once lived and worked in Moscow, were well-known journalists, and about ten years ago they moved to a remote Tver village and, as they say, caught zen. Now they have a huge house with a garden, two dogs and more than two hundred beehives. They are passionate people and they talk about their business with genuine passion.
Apiary tours are held on Saturdays and last three and a half hours. During this time, guests have time to immerse themselves in all the subtleties of beekeeping and taste a wide range of honey. You don't need to bring any special clothes with you — everything you need is provided on the spot. But you go back with a positive charge in your soul and a jar of sticky fragrant honey in your hands.
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