THE MASTER AND ANDREATA

One of Andrea's all-time favorite books written by Mikhail Bulgakov is The Master and Margarita.

So after our separate Russian language classes today, Andrea and I jumped on the metro and headed up to the neighborhood where poor ol' Bulgakov lived and wrote. We found his apartment, which is now a small museum.

We ate a late lunch and began wondering the neighborhood, which was lovely. It is now an upscale neighborhood with fancy cafes and boutiques. There are also embassies and consulates sprinkled up and down the streets.

We discovered the Lubavitcher synagogue. Andrea wanted me to go in and see it, but it's the high holidays, and I didn't want to interfere. Had it been a non-holiday, I would have attempted to see the schul. Interestingly, the entire structure is shielded by what I assume is bullet-proof glass.

The schul is not far from the Patriarch's Pond, also an important place in Bulgakov's book, and Debbie from Russian class had told me her husband gets his hair cut at an expat salon along the park.

So I killed two swans, so to speak, with one stone.

Here are a few photos from today's little escapade, plus two from Saturday.

IN THE OKHOTNY RYAD METRO STATION. THE MOSCOW (AND SPB) METRO STATIONS ARE WORKS OF ART THEMSELVES. HOWEVER, WHEN THEY ARE FULL, THERE IS PUSHING AND SHOVING; IT GETS UGLY.

MOSAIC CEILING INSET AT OKHOTNY RYAD STATION.

SOVIET-ERA BUILDING OUTSIDE THE MAYAKOVSKY METRO STATION.

STATUE OF VLADIMIR MAYAKOVSKY FROM AFAR IN TRIUMPHAL PLAZA.

OUTSIDE THE DOM OF BULGAKOV.

THE APARTMENT HOUSE WHERE BULGAKOV LIVED AND WORKED INSIDE THE DOM THROUGHOUT STALIN'S REIGN AND UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 1940, WHEN HE WAS 49 YEARS OLD..

ANDREA PERUSING THE EXHIBITS AT BULGAKOV'S HOUSE.

CLOSE UP OF ITEMS FROM A YOUNG BULGAKOV'S LIFE.

PIANO, CLOCK, BOOKSHELVES...IN BULGAKOV'S HOUSE. THE MASTER AND MARGARITA HAS BEEN TRANSLATED INTO MANY MODERN LANGUAGES.

WE GOT A LAUGH AND THOUGHT OF DR. BILL WHEN WE SAW THIS SIGN.

BOOBS ON THE APARTMENT. WHO KNOWS HOW MANY ARE LIVING INSIDE.THIS NEIGHBORHOOD OF TVERSKAYA IS LOVELY. LOTS OF OLD BUILDINGS BEING RESTORED, AS WELL AS SOME VERY GAUDY NEW ONES, SUCH AS THIS. THIS AREA MAY BE LIKENED TO EMBASSY ROW IN D.C.

STATUE OF SHALOM ALEICHEM IN A LITTLE PARK AT THE END OF THE STREET UPON WHICH SITS THE  LUBAVITCHER SYNAGOGUE.

THE SYNAGOGUE. SEE? I WENT TO SCHUL ON THE SECOND DAY OF ROSH HASHANA! (I JUST DIDN'T GO IN).

THE SYNAGOGUE IS A LARGE COMPLEX. YOU CAN BARELY SEE HOW THE GLASS SHIELDS THE OLD YELLOW SCHUL.

PATRIARCH'S POND.

THE PATRIARCH.

SWANS.

SUNRISE FROM OUR APARTMENT ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15.

PARK IM BAUMANA. THIS PARK IS BEING RENOVATED, AS IS THE UNKNOWN CHURCH ACROSS THE WAY. THE CHURCH HAS TREES GROWING OUT OF ITS CUPOLA.