The Intourist Coach/bus arrived eventually at the relatively quaint and attractive town (or large village!) and parked in back-streets along with a whole gaggle of coaches conveying people of a wide range of nationalities. We head for the walled Monastery grounds, but on arrival we hear, again, that photography even in the grounds, let alone in the sacred buildings inside, is banned. The good-news (oh, yes!) is that we can pay a fee on entry through the gates, and then it is OK!! Even from my diminutive five feet six inches in height, I could easily see the 'domes' of the many churches, cathedrals, etc inside the monastery walls. I chose 'freedom' at this point and decided to take photos from 'outside' at zero cost. That would also give me a far greater coverage of the town and I could meet ordinary people. On the 'town square', just outside the monastery gates, there was the market (I forget whether it was a daily one, weekly, monthly or what) but it looked interesting. The outside activities told me that it would be far more interesting from my point of view - and I made my bid for freedom from the Monastery crowds. I am not, normally, interested in shops or markets - but, there again, THIS one was much more interesting than most monastery grounds - and so I chose to have a walkabout in Zagorsk, its streets, its lakes, its parks etc.. We will, if we are not too careful, have an overcrowded "fortnight of monasteries" - so I won't be paying for this one!! The views of the Monastery from the town-square (site of the market) were VERY good anyway, so I took a number of photographs from this bustling town-square - whilst mixing with the attractive and interesting stalls in this 'posh' car-boot sale. I also took several of the market which had many stalls selling their particular versions of the 'Russian Dolls'.
Each stall-holder had each of his dolls in each set displayed (instead of inside each other!) and it was certainly a colourful sight many times over!! Some were the ordinary traditional dolls, some were 'specials' and sets seemed to vary from a '5-piece' up to '7 or 8 pieces' (somewhat more expensive!). On board my boat, I had noticed that sets had been on sale between 6 and 18 U.S. Dollars. This market had more competitive rates so I chose a 6- piece set for 3 dollars (the preferred Russian currency). Free enterprise is alive & kicking in Russia. Yes Sir!!!. One of many interesting 'sets' that I noticed and looked at carefully - was a set of 'dolls' (see picture above) based on political leaders in and around Russia. The largest 'doll' in this set was of Yeltsin, easily recognisable by his holding of a large beer mug. His International Reputation as a boozer is not discouraged when it means an income for ordinary Russians! The south side of the 'square' sloped down to a grassy park area to be walked later.The East side had a street flowing past outside a very low decorative barrier - and what looked like a cinema across on the other side. A decorative tower-shaped building was also on the East side - but within the 'square' itself. The Monastery occupied the whole of the West side, so after my few photographs, I headed out of the north-east corner, - and onto the street which would give good access to other parts of this town or village. I walked northwards along the west side of the street which was 'littered' with small private business shops, cabins, etc - retailing all sorts of items. In this area, I also had the advantage of being able 'to look at the goods in peace' rather than be pestered by the ever- present street-sellers on foot! So they have not only car-boot sellers but foot-boot sellers! Before leaving the north end of the town square, I took a close look at an attractive statue there - which I was to return to later. It was of Lenin - you must have heard of him!! The road northwards led, amongst other places, to Yaroslavl, which is a long way away. No matter, we'll be visiting it in a few days time, transported by our boat via the canals, reservoirs and 'mother' Volga. (They are passionate about THAT river) Should be good there! Anyhow, for now, after a fair walking distance northwards, I turned westwards into a 'park & lake area' for an improvement in scenery and surrounds. More photos followed within this delightful little park. I then headed south, hopefully to re-enter the town-square somewhere near its north-west corner - or at least somewhere on its northern edge. That worked out quite well because I re-emerged from the park at the northern edge of the 'square' right by Lenin's statue. I photographed this attractive edifice!
Moving onto the square, I rejoined the 'marketeers' and rested my weary feet by sitting on one of the many blue public seats. I was joined by four girls ( in the 16-22 age-bracket, I should guess) who were all non-English-speaking. I ate and drank throughout the (midday-ish) time on these seats. An old lady was wandering around the whole time - and she was clearly a beggar. Very few of them around here, really! Their freedoms in Russia now include the freedoms to be out of a job, homeless, poor and un-maintained by State. After this time in and around the market square (and areas to the north) I next thought it worthwhile and 'different' to explore to the south - but still in Zagorsk! As I mentionned earlier, the grass outside the square sloped away to the south, - so it was a relatively easy inviting 'wander'. At the bottom of the slope was a quite attractive church, though not in particularly good nick! A road lay beyond it, but a path passed in front of it, left and right, so I took the more interesting stroll to the right. It was more park-like that way and one of the main features that I investigated was the World-War Memorial just to the west of the church. I was back to the coach, just a few hundred metres north of the monastery, at 1.15pm, about three quarters of an hour early. Now I was ready for the return to Moscow. I had a chat with May whilst I was standing by her seat. She, too, had no interests in the vast numbers of monasteries! It has been hot ever since arriving in Zagorsk, so we all requested a 'boost' to the air- conditioning system. The driver obliged. On leaving for Moscow, the temperature dropped a bit so some people required the air-conditioning to be turned completely OFF. Unfortunately, the driver obliged again. Then it started pouring with rain for many tens of kilometres - but just before arrival back at our boat, it dried up completely. We arrived there at 3.45pm and went aboard. Having mislaid the empty packet of my third reel of film, I returned to the coach to try and find it. Too late!! It had already departed for its next trip.