Russia / Poland July 29, 1998, Wednesday

The bus took us back to the Red Square, where we went inside the walls of the Kremlin and armory. Many of the churches have gold onion domes. Our guide said it was gold leaf, probably on copper roofing.

On the grounds was a huge 20 ton bell that had never been rung. Catherine the Great had ordered it made but a large piece had broken out of it either through a flaw in the casting or in a fire. The broken bell and the broken piece had been mounted permanently for all to see. There was also the largest cannon in the world that had never been fired. By the time it was completed more modern armament made it obsolete.

We took time to eat our box lunch and then went to an art gallery where our guide took us from room to room explaining the pictures. She was versed in the names and history of the authors and of Russian history. She also had much knowledge of painting techniques. She was dedicated to her job and seemed anxious that we be exposed as much of the artwork as possible in our time frame.

We went through the museum where much that the Russian royalty wore was displayed. Much of the clothing was encrusted in precious and semi-precious stones. The thrones were decorated with ivory or jewel encrusted. The carriages were ornately carved and some of them huge. One needed sixteen horses to pull it.

For the military there were suits of armor for the man and horse and chain link vests for the man. The jeweled swords were used for dress up, not for battle.

Before dinner we had the Captain’s Champagne Party with a three piece colorfully dressed musical group. They played the peppy Russian and Ukrainian numbers with mandolin, guitar, accordion, and a strange triangular stringed instrument. The hostess and I danced across the floor and then each grabbed another for a partner. After dinner the dance floor was still crowded but the group was gone. We danced until bedtime to canned music.