The two things I wanted to buy here were a "Faberge" egg charm and a nice chunk of amber for a necklace. These photos are about double their size in real life. The amber has no bugs, which Mike really wanted, but interesting plant bits and bubbles.
Up to 300 tons of amber per year are "mined." A certificate was displayed in the store assuring the amber was genuine and not some fake plastic substitute.
This was the lady who made my charm and lots of other metalwork as well, like hair decor and jewelry.
Probably the most popular items here were the Matryoshka or Russian nesting dolls. Although not a set, this was the largest one I saw, like a logo outside the store. Much simpler than most but I love it. Such a sweet expression.
They were first made in Japan in 1890 and the largest known number of dolls in a set is 73, if you can imagine. We saw so many themes--holiday, political, animal, family, peasant, religious, dragons, fairy tales, unlimited.
I had signed up for a Matryoshka doll painting class, but cancelled at the last minute. Decided wandering the village would be more fun as I'm not really that artsy to start with. It turned out to be the better choice.
And another.
Here was the way to the blacksmith shed.
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If you have visited any of these places, we would love to hear your comments. Or send us recommendations of places we should not miss.