See Russian icons, go to New Jersey, find Vikings

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While out of work, I’ve been walking most places. That has its pros and cons. Pros, more exercise, less money, good for the environment. Cons, sometimes my battery dies and I don’t notice, sometimes my car gets covered with tree remains and I don’t notice.


The sticks came off when we took the first turn.

Near our practice grounds for the troupe is the Museum of Russian Icons. We drive by it at least twice a week, but had never been in. So, on the way to pick up things for this weekend, we stopped by.

But, sadly, they weren’t open yet. So, we went to the park across the street.


I find their sign very funny. “A passive park for the enjoyment of all”. Now, here’s a list of all the fun things we don’t allow. I do understand the feeling behind the scrawled note on the sign even if I don’t really approve of that form of protest.


It is a nice little park. They have monuments to the civil war and Spanish American war.


They have a fountain that is a recreation of the original that was destroyed in a hurricane in the 30’s.


Each of the women at the base are different. They use left or right hands, some have necklaces and some don’t. We couldn’t figure out if there was some symbolism to it or not.


But, by then the museum was open, so off we went.


Other than a very annoying volunteer who just doesn’t seem to believe you don’t want a tour or the audio tour, it’s a nice place that doesn’t cost too much to get in.

They even give magnifying glasses at many of the works so you can get a better look at the detail, which is most impressive.


(This one had a paint brush next to it, and that confused me. If you see a problem with the magnifying glass, are you expected to fix it? I didn’t use the glass just in case.)

There were several of Saint George and the Dragon.


Apparently it is one of the most popular tales in Russia. But, they haven’t seen the Phoenix version or they might pick another.

Some of them have a metal “gate” over them as well. It is all very impressive.


My wife insists she was not doing kung fu with them.


And, that two didn’t team up against her when she defeated the first one.


It isn’t a very big museum. It does cover 3 floors, but it is only the size of a small house.


But, they do have an interesting mix of icons.
I found this one of Saint Nicolas interesting.


I guess the sword is because he is seen as the “defender of the church”. But a sword wielding, Russia defending St Nick gives a very different spin to what presents Santa might be bringing over the pole at Christmas.

There was a couple that went in and started touching some of the icons. While this horrified me, we did manage to scrape off the annoyingly insistent tour guide on them. (He didn’t notice or stop them from touching the things, but did start talking with them about where his family was from.)
We escaped to the practice grounds, picked up the stuff for the shows this weekend, and headed south.

Now, I know that it is almost impossible to get from where we live to New Jersey without going near New York City. Any way that doesn’t go near the city is at least 50 miles out of the way.
But, thinking that traffic wouldn’t be too bad on a rainy Friday at 2 in the afternoon, I dove into the city on a route I haven’t tried before.


We lost about 2 hours to traffic. There was a section near route 95 where I could have walked faster then we drove for at least an hour.

But, we got through the city and into NJ.
There was plenty of traffic there too because now it was rush hour and we were still in the NYC area. But, we did manage to escape without too much trouble.

Then, in southern NJ, we found an amazing thing. Better than a lost Fiore manuscript.


Yes! The lost Viking colony of Vineland!
Everyone is looking in Maine or eastern Canada. They didn’t think to look in Southern NJ.
It does make sense. Russia was created with a mix of Vikings and local people. The icons probably helped us find them.

Although tempting to look in on the lost colony, we instead went to our hotel. Although it costs a bit more, it is right at the faire site. And, I mean right at it. This is the sign in front.


So, we got here. Now, we’re waiting for the others to arrive. Hopefully they missed NYC rush hour.