This is the main reason why we booked this particular cruise, as we wanted to see the "Russian Capital of Alaska" and visit the Russian Orthodox Church.  It was beautiful.  Prior to Sitka, we had beautifully clear skies, but in Sitka, we were blessed with a little "liquid sunshine" as the Alaskans call it.  The drizzle wasn't bad at all.  We had on our jackets, and were neither soaking nor cold.  It was really quite beautiful since it was in such contrast  to what we had experienced in Ketchikan and Juneau.  The average temperatures throughout our trip was in the mid 40-50 range. We booked a tour here of "historical Sitka and the Raptor Center".  This is a good tour, and well worth the price.  Our only wish was to have had more time at the raptor center.  If any of you are looking for a non-profit  organization to donate a few dollars to, this is the center.  We saw many raptors (carnivorous birds with strong talons and sharp beaks) but the grandest of all, of course, was the American Bald Eagle.  We were introduced to Volta, the resident and traveling eagle.  He was quite beautiful.  He came to the raptor center after he ran into a power line (thus the name, Volta) and had to have a portion of his wing amputated.  He has lived at the center for 7 years, and is used extensively as an ambassador of good will and wonderful example of the things that the center accomplishes.  He has traveled all over Alaska, making presentations at schools, and even at some schools outside Alaska.  I guess you can tell that we really enjoyed this place. Another GREAT place was a little restaurant called The Mad Greek Bistro.  We decided to have one of the local gyros.  It was offered on either pita or "Greek bread", and we opted for the bread.  What a treat!  The sandwich was huge, and we really should have shared one!  The meat mixture was seasoned perfectly and was a little crisp on the outside. For all you Pepsi-holics like Don and me, you will be interested to know that Pepsi and not Coke is the drink of choice in most of the restaurants and vending machines in Alaska!