Cityscapes and Skyline Photos: Moscow March 2006; part 2

part 1 http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=371810
part 2 http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=371812
part 3 http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=371813
part 4 http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=372813
part 5 http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=372814
part 6 http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=372816
part 7 http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=374474
part 8 http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=374475
part 9 http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=374476

This is the view from the window of the place where we actually stayed every night (four tram/trolley/bus stops from metro Shosse Entuziastov, also not far from metro station Perovo). We lived on the third floor of a typical 1960-s commieblock, a 9 story tower. The apartment would be called a studio apartment in States - one room plus a kitchen and bathroom... and a balcony. Big windows, and the kitchen is a separate room with its own big window.

The 5-story building seen in this shot is probably going to be demolished in the next few years and replaced with a 20-25 story tower. The large apartment building directly opposite of the window was built in 1950s at the end of Stalinst type of construction. This one is not going anywhere. In fact, it is quite good and sound building, and the picture does not do it much justice... You are seeing the back of it, ~10% of its size. It is not higher than you can see here (10 story), but it is a lot more spread out.

The interesting thing that you may perhaps note is that some window frames are dark (wooden, old) while some are white (new modern heat-saving). People replace old windows everywhere in Moscow now, so this is a very typical thing.

Another typical observation - trees in the backyards like this are not shaped, they grow mostly unchecked until they die and get cut or a big wind takes them down. Tree shaping is reduced to cutting off a dead branch... at best. There are actually a lot of trees in the commieblock neighborhoods in Moscow, and I feel that some more attention to tree shaping would be good for the city. There are, of course places in the city where they do shape trees (in parks mostly), but as a rule the concept of tree-shaping is still in incipient stage.

Our regular day started with taking route 30 trolley bus (or marshrutka) to Vykhino metro station (15-20 minutes), switching to one of the buses at the Vykhino station for anothe 10 min trip... and we end up at the Art School I desribed in Part 1, where my daugther would practice organ. Here we are.

We just got of the trolley bus at the Vykhino station and see a bunch of parked "marshrutkas" or routed taxy minivans. They ride along practically all established bus/trolley bus/tram lines. They are faster than buses, tickets cost a little more than regular bus ticket (15 roubles vs. bus tickets ranging from 7 to 15 roubles, depending on how you buy them). I think they are great and I would take them anytome over a regular bus.

We have crossed the street.. a trolley bus stop, people waiting and loading.

We are in the back of a joint bus

Finally, we make it to the Art School. The sun comes out and I take a few pics of this commieblock neighborhood where people go about their business and do not mope about commieblocks being "drab".

The big building on the right is not an apartment - it is an engineering/scientific development building I beleive for the Ministry of Energy, or something like that.

I grew up like this... Every winter I suffer from snow deprivation.

The snow is ready to start melting.

A bus stop. One more "marshrutka".

These minivans are usually taxi-style dark-yellow, but not always, they can be colorful too.

Maria practicing playing with legs

and with hands of course too

After the practice we are at my mom's/sister place . Maria is at her cousin's (Sonia) desk.

Sonia takes acrobatic classes and can do some pretty amazing things, so she decides to brag about this a little.

But this simple thing Maria can do almost as well (she takes ballet, and it helps)

Another cousin - Sveta wants her picture taken too. She is no acrobat, she takes piano and choir lessons at the Art School.

Sonia and Maria listen to sea shells.

Some people on these boards were wondering how commieblock apartments look inside. I guess, you can see it here. They are quite livable. It all depends on you in fact, how well-kept yours is. One thing that I find almost invariably different from most American homes that I know - the amount of books in Russian apartments is way much larger. Of course, that depends on what kind of people you deal with, and with so many newcomers to Moscow from all different parts of the country and the world this may not be true anymore...

Sonia is having fun.

Another family member - Dusia. She does not like being hugged and runs away as soon as I let her go.

We take another trip around what many here would call "downtown". This is where the Garden Ring meets Cvetnoj Bulvar (blvd)/Samotechnaja Square.

A good old blue trolley bus coming. I grew up with this model.

A newer version. They come about every two minutes. There are several routs at this stop.

An rarity - a log house. And again - watch the dark and white window frames on the apartment building behind it.

This house on the Garden Ring around Triumfalnaja Square may be interesting to the people who have read Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita".

Bulgakov lived in this house a couple of years and some of the important action in the novel takes place in it (this is where Woland supposedly dwells). If you have not read "The Master and Margarita", you can go to amazon.com, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/067...Fencoding=UTF8, and at least check out the reviews. There are many people who rate it as one of the most interesting books ever written.

I have read it of course in Russian (and keep returning to it once every few years). I tried this black-and-red paper-back English edition (translated by Diana Burgin and Katherine O'Connor [ISBN: 0679760806]) - it is OK if you wish to give the book a try. The rythm, the timing, the humor and the poetic sound of Bulgakov's prose are very hard to translate... but IMO, this book is worth trying even if you get only 50% of it.

Lesnaja ulica (street). Something has just been knocked down in front of the church.

An old Tatra tram.

At Taganskaja metro station I was approached by these three guys in military uniforms and they requested that I do not take pictures in the subway. I told them that taking pictures was legal and asked to produce that piece of law/regulation that allows them to make such requests. We have had a 5 min discussion of what is legal and what is not and parted on good terms. In case you do not know - taking video in subway is illegal without a special permission from the subway authorities. Photographing is legal, if do not use tripods/extra light sources/obstruct the way of moving public, etc. That was the only incident in three weeks that I had having to discuss this with law enforcement.

We walk over to Marksistskaja station to meet our organ teacher.

We walk to a nearby school of music to play another organ, where a couple of days later Maria and her companion Mona will play in audition for the organ festival. Now they practice and set up registration.

We go to yet another school of music for a student concert. First, a choir warm up. Find Maria in these pictures. BWT this is not a girls choire, just the boys are outnumbered - you can see only a couple of them here.

And some pics from the concert.

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Friday, April 27, 2007

Moscow March 2006; part 2

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