International travel departing from Canada with an overnight flight via Europe to Moscow, Russia. Meals en-route as provided by airlines.

Arrive in Moscow, Russia at approximately 12:25 PM at the Domoded Airport. After customs and immigration we will transfer from the airport by bus to the hotel for registration and check-in. Dinner at hotel with briefing for next day. Hotel Vega.

Buffet breakfast at the hotel after which we will take the Metro to the city center and tour the Kremlin, Armory Museum, GUM, Bolshoi and other points of historical interest in the heart of Moscow. Hotel Vega. Group lunch; Dinner personal.

Buffet breakfast followed by another day of sight seeing with an overview city tour by bus. After the city tour we will visit Christ the Savior Church and Arbat Street for some shopping and a light snack. Tonight we will have group dinner before we leave for the Sheremt Airport for our 11:20 PM night flight to Omsk.

We will arrive in Omsk at 5:30 AM and transfer to the hotel for an early check-in and some rest. You will have the option of enjoying a buffet breakfast before getting some sleep. By mid afternoon we will meet as a group and exchange some money and do a quick orientation walk in Omsk. We will have a group dinner in the hotel. Hotel Ibis.

Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Today we will spend the day touring with a local guide/bus and become familiar with Omsk and some of the local sights and customs of Siberia. Group lunch at a local restaurant. Plans are to visit a cultural center where we will be introduced to some Russian cuisine, customs and music later in the afternoon. Hotel Ibis.

Buffet breakfast at the hotel. This morning we will travel by bus to a village east of Omsk called Neudatchino. A local Mennonite guide will accompany us for the day. We will have opportunity to meet some of the local low German speaking residents, visit the settlement and enjoy a home cooked meal prepared by the church ladies. Later in the afternoon we will return to Omsk. Dinner personal ; Hotel Ibis.

After our buffet breakfast we will do hotel check out and travel west of Omsk to visit numerous Mennonite settlements for the next three days. Today we will focus on an annual “Saengerfest” in the village of Mirolyubovka, formerly Alexanderkrone. This will be an all day event with Mennonites in attendance from across the area. You will again have opportunity to enjoy lunch with the local residents at this celebration. After the fest we will be escorted to Waldheim and billeted into private homes and served supper at the billet home.

After breakfast we will visit the Appolonovka area which is called Waldheim..Here we will see how 5 farmers have taken their land out of the collective and are farming independently. For lunch we will enjoy a picnic with musical entertainment from the local church. After lunch we will continue on to Sonsuvska ….formerly consisting of three villages … Rosenort, Tiegerweide, and Friedensruh. Dinner at local church in Isilkul. We will be billeted in homes in the Isilkul/Sonsuvska area. Peter Epp will be our guide.

After breakfast we will visit a few more villages in the area...Margenau, Putskova, Muskalenka and Mirolyubovka. We will again be hosted to a lovely home-cooked meal at a local church. We will retrace our steps back to Omsk in the early afternoon and spend the night at the hotel in Omsk. There will be time for relaxing. Dinner personal; Hotel Ibis.

Buffet breakfast at hotel followed by hotel check-out. Early this morning we will begin our journey to Slavgorod south east through picturesque country side dotted with birch groves slowly changing to the Kulundian steppe. This is an approximately 600Km drive. En-route we will make a stop at a small center called Kopina for lunch and other stops at places like Karasuk for breaks. Upon arrival in Slavgorod we will be hosted to dinner at the local church before check-in at Hotel Slavgorod.

Immediately after a personal breakfast we will return to the church for a brief overview of historical Slavgorod as it relates to the local Mennonites. One of the local Mennonites will be our guide. We will visit some of the local historical places like the “Gelbe Meuhle”, execution street, mass grave at the cemetery, local Mennonite businesses, open market, shops and other interesting sites in the small city of about 25,000. Lunch/ dinner pending. Hotel Slavgorod.

Personal breakfast at the hotel. Today we will travel to a large settlement east of Slavgorod (Barnaul Settlement) and visit some of the many villages. German influences will be obvious. We will also visit specific villages as requested by clients. We will enjoy a personal picnic lunch at noon and return to Slavgorod later in the afternoon and have dinner at a local Armenian restaurant accompanied by some of the local Mennonites. Hotel Slavgorod.

Personal breakfast at hotel. Today will be a day of touring where we will visit Mennonites Settlements of Glyaden and Pashnya to the southeast. This will be a long day so snack food will be required since access to food-outlets will be sparse. Clients not interested in these villages may want to spent the day at the mineral spas close to Slavgorod with some of the local residents. Hotel Slavgorod. Dinner details pending

Personal breakfast at the hotel. Today we will attend the large Baptist/Mennonite Church for the Sunday service. Hopefully this will give us an opportunity to visit with some more of the local Mennonites living in the city. Later in the afternoon we will visit another settlement called Sarotov just east of Slavgorod and attend their service. Lunch/Dinner details pending.

Early breakfast at the church after which we will retrace our steps back to Omsk. Hotel Ibis. Lunch en-route personal; Group dinner

Breakfast followed by hotel check out and transfer to the airport for our 6:50 AM flight to Moscow to Sheremt Airport. Transfer to Domoded Airport for 5:15 PM flight to Frankfurt for an overnight. Meals en-route personal. Hotel ????

Leisurely breakfast and check out and transfer to the airport for flights back to Canada. Early evening arrival at home. Meals en-route personal.