June 6 – Uglich, Russia. I've been looking forward to visiting this town again. The sail in was spectacular. We docked right across from the kremlin of Uglich where the churches are located. We were treated to a wonderful view of The Church of Demetri on the Spilled Blood. When we were finally at the pier it was right across a small inlet. The water was not quite calm so the reflection looked like a Dali rendering. Pretty cool.
Like last time we had a home visit. This time we went to the home of Vladimir. He's got that mad Russian artistic look, long, bushy grey hair and moustache. His wife, Margaret appears to be about 15 years younger and they have a shy 14-year-old daughter, Elizabeth. Like Misha, Vladimir worked at the watch factory and if fact still does, as does his wife. He says that 80% of the employees lost their jobs but he and his Margaret kept theirs. They are jewelers and the factory now specializes in very expensive, jeweled watches. I'm not sure if they still make the works or if they just make the cases. In any event he still has a job.
His house is cozy and spacious, not by US standards but to someone living in an apartment in town it would be huge. It's a two story building and his workshop is upstairs. He and his wife have part time jobs making robes for icons. The employer supplies him with silver which he draws into thin wire. This fine wire is then bent into fancy shapes to make the ornate coverings that protect valuable icons. In order for the icon to be used liturgically the face and hands of the people pictured must be visible. Vladimir brought one of their completed works down for us to see. It was fantastic. Filigree on a very grand scale. It was about 10 inches across at the base and almost a foot tall. The base was straight but the work was obviously made for a Mary Mother of God of Tenderness icon. In that type Mary is shown holding Jesus up to her cheek and he's kissing her. His hand is reaching out as far as it can to give a little hug as well. To fit the icon the robe follows the contures of Mary and Jesus' shoulders and curves on one side to cover Mary's hair. The Russian Orthodox Church has several hundred styles of Madonna, the tenderness type is pretty common and that's the only reason I recognized the type of icon for which the robe was made. We saw one in the Russian Museum here in Saint Petersburg.
Vladimir's wife brought down a coil of the silver wire they use. She cut off some small pieces and quickly made several small shapes of the type they use in constructing the robes. She was very fast and seemed to work just about haphazardly. There was nothing haphazard about the little shapes. I had two of the simpler ones in my hand so I had to take a photo. In it the shapes are a little larger than life sized.
We had the same meal that Misha provided, some bread, pickles, raspberry cake and of course Vodka, Vladimir style. He didn't have two grades and the one he served was about inbetween Misha's. Pretty smooth with a straw yellow color. It was nice.
The group before us had a nice modern bus. We had the same type that we had last visit. An obviously Soviet designed, old box. It added to the authenticity of the experience. None of the cover panels would close, the seats were worn and it rattled to beat the band. It's small, only held about 14 passengers. I loved the little thing.
The rest of the visit was the same as last time. We visited the kremlin and saw the churches. We did get to hear the same male a capela choir with the fantastic bass. They were great again.
As we sailed out and passed through the Uglich lock we entered the Moscow Canal. Right where it starts there's a giant statue of Lenin, reputed to be the tallest in the world and, at 83 feet, it might just be true. It was just at sunset and I caught a picture I call, 'The Sun Sets on Another of Man's Worst Ideas." Perfect end to a great day.
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