What to do and see in Leningrad Oblast, Northwestern District: The Best Shopping

Reviewed By Lexibelle - Phoenix, United States

This was our first stop on our Viking River Cruise. Mandrogy appears to be a traditional riverside Russian village. The town was destroyed during WWII and disappeared from maps for many years. It was rebuilt as an open air museum for travelers as they cruise between St Petersburg and Kizhi. It has brightly painted wooden houses, BANYA, bathhouse, windmills, vodka & bread museums, craft houses and a small zoo. My Boo & I opted for the Banya. Similar to a sauna, the key element of the banya is a steam room. Rocks are heated by a furnace, with water poured onto them using a long-handle ladle. Sometimes a few drops of eucalyptus or pine oils are added to the water. There were 18 of us, the guys went off in one direction and the ladies were separated in two groups. Six of us were in a small 4 room cabin. We changed from our street clothes, some had bathing suits, others only sheets. We also had these felt caps that made us look like Gnomes. We stepped into the sauna & were beaten by a cute young man with Birch leaves as he periodically added water to the rocks. We then went into the next room where he doused us from head to toe with COLD water. Then onto another room where we sat & had hot tea sweeten with local jam. Then we repeated the whole process again. The guys in cabins too far away to see anything of importance ran & jumped in the lake. We ladies were screaming with delight the whole time. It was an amazing & delightful experience! Afterwards we changed back into our street clothes and proceeded to the Vodka museum. The thinking is warm your outer bodies and then your insides with the vodka. Personally for me, I'm thinking why would I want to drink vodka or anything alcoholic after doing such a therapeutic cleanse. I felt so revitalized! I met up with my guy and we proceeded to the Vodka museum. It was a $6 admission & with that you got 4 vodka tastings. We opted to use the credit and bought a bottle of Love cream, a Baileys equivalent, which we used back on the ship during our cruise. We then made our way to the restaurant where they sold the Peroigis, filled dumplings made by wrapping unleavened dough around a savory or sweet filling and cooking in boiling water, or pan-frying. They were delicious! We had both and the cheese was my favorite!! There are several craft shops also in the Village where you can buy local art. This is a wonderful stop along the Svir river. I highly recommend this stop & the Banya for sure.