Posad

Usually called Posad in everyday life, Sergiev Posad is a provincial town of 100+K people. Apart from spirituality, there're some other aspects it boasts - chemicals, fireworks and agriculture.

But despite the Posadians' high educational and mental level, living standards here are worse among other sub-Moscow towns due to political pretences. Many locals work in Moscow, so Posad may impress as a residential area with a lot of garbage around. You'll inevitably see beer plastic bottles and cigarette butts thrown in the streets.

Behind the Orthodox Vatican facade and even in Posad City (a business area by the terminal stuffed with trade centers), many shabby houses stand spoiling the picture. If you really wanna see Posad, put up with its drunkards and beggars.

Souvenirs

Sergiev Posad is famous for its wooden craft and souvenirs. Antique stores offer old postcards, pictures, books, icons and balalayka (a traditional string instrument). A better option is checking out the Vernisage, a souvenir market down the Lavra gates. Starting as wooden counters by the restaurant area, after the underground passage there're salesmen's tables with souvenirs like matryoshka, painted eggs, chainlets, mini-icons, boxes and all sorts of folk trade.

Modern artists create many new styles of nesting dolls. Common themes include animal collections, portraits and caricatures of famous politicians, musicians and popular movie stars. Matryoshkas featuring communist leaders became very popular with Russians in the early 1990s. Today some Russian artists specialize in painting themed matryoshkas as to specific subjects, people or nature.

To bring cameras inside the Lavra, you must buy a pemission (an excursion CD is included though). Or you can pass free by just hiding your cam. Inside the Lavra there're some churchware stores as well. 

Transport

One can easily get from Moscow to Sergiev Posad. Sergiev Posad's transport hub is its busiest area.

Trains leave from the Yaroslavsky Terminal (the Komsomolskaya subway station) every  0.5-1 hour, rarer in lunch time. They take 1.5 hours and about €3 one way. This railroad line goes further through Alexandrov, Rostov the Great, Pereslavl-Zalesky to Yaroslavl. Through a window you can see great inside views of Russian countryside. But note that a commuter train is a mid- and low-class transport full of curious and drunk seatmates. If in a hurry, taxis are available behind the terminal.

A more comfortable transport is bus from the ВДНХ (VDNH) subway station departing every 10-15 min. For about the same price as train, it goes for 1 hour. The bus tickets are sold on board.  

Catering

In Sergiev Posad tourists can dine at various spots.

The terminal offers McDonald's and a Kroshka-Kartoshka (Potatoe Baby) chain restaurant nearby with local cuisine like baked potatoe, cucumber salads and garlic bread. Cafes here are the last option due to their poor hygiene and heavy cigarette smoke around.

By the Lavra you'll find decent summer open-air cafes with beer and shashlyk (grilled meat). Premium restaurants Rusky Dvorik, Nichego Lichnogo (Nothing Personal) and Dachnaya Zhizn (Cottage Life) opposite the Lavra provide the best view and English-speaking staff.

Even inside the Lavra (at the gateway) 2 cafes serve hungry tourists. Anyway at any time you can find take-away food for spontaneous street meals like most Russians do.

Chernigov-Gethsemane Skete

The Chernigov-Gethsemane Skete (1843-7) is the Lavra's hermitage 3km NE. A famous Moscow holy fool Philippushka after the Lavra moved to the place to dig an underground reclusory like that of the Kiev-Pechyory Lavra. The caves were dug till 1851 when they included a cave church as a wooden dugout and underpasses with mini-caves.

In 1852 the cave church was donated the Chernigov Icon of the Mother of God. By legend, in 1869 it healed a paralized peasant woman and later showed over 100 miracles and healings. The Skete's saint was Varnava visited in 1905 by Tsar Nicolas II for advice and blessing.

The architectural ensemble center is the Chernigov Temple (1886-9) with the cave church underneath.