Another busy day. Before we left on our adventures, David’s mom made us omelets, which were unlike American omelets in that they also contained flour — they were a bit like a very thick crepe. She also restocked on bread, since we ate most of it yesterday, and by we I mean Dan. Among the various breads that she bought, she picked up a package of sweet bread called Dan Cake. Perfect!
Our first stop was at the Summer Palace. I managed to get a few pictures inside before being admonished by one of the museum people to put my camera away. (Usually that sort of thing would mortify me, but I have to say, it was totally worth it.) Much of it had been restored, and a lot of the pieces of furniture and artwork were of a really astonishing level of workmanship. There was one particularly impressive dresser or desk — not sure exactly what it was, but it had many small drawers on top and a few larger compartments on the bottom — on which every door and drawer-front was inlaid an intricate picture of animals or a country scene, made from semiprecious stones, with the rest of it overall made of or inlaid with tortoiseshell and brass. The craftsmanship involved in making that single piece of furniture is just mind-boggling.
Next, we visited the Museum of Industry inside the Palace of Culture and Science, which were established / built during the Communist era. Apparently the Palace of Culture and Science is one of the prime examples of social realist architecture — lots of Greco-Roman inspired statues of people wielding jackhammers and such.
Then we ran a somewhat silly mission to the mall to look for sunglasses for one of our party (who didn’t want to spend more than $30, so the mall isn’t really the place to go, at least not in a major city). The trip was not in vain, however, because at least we got dinner — then it was off to purchase subway tickets to get across town in time to see The Magic Flute, which was playing as part of Warsaw’s Mozart festival. It’s the first time that I’d seen any opera performed live, and I thought they really did a great job. And since we didn’t get our tickets until we got there, we ended up lucking out with 7th row seats that someone else had cancelled — not quite close enough to see the spit flying out of the singers’ mouths, but still pretty darn close.
We met up with Raymond, David’s mom’s partner, for a ride back to the house, and he offered to let Dan drive. Dan is a car man (an automotive engineer), and the vehicle is a natural-gas-powered 4×4 with some significant maintenance issues — so between it’s quirks and Dan’s driving, that was quite an experience all in itself.
David’s mom made us an amazingly delicious late meal of breaded chicken, mashed potatoes, and mashed beets. I didn’t think I was all that hungry, but I devoured everything on my plate. Then Raymond favored us with a few tunes on the guitar — he’s pretty amazing, and it was really inspiring to watch him play.
Pictures are here.