Thursday, September 22, 2011

"Don't talk to strangers . . ."

As many of you may know, perhaps my favorite work of Russian literature is Mikhail Bulgakov's masterpiece satirizing life in 1930s Moscow, The Master and Margarita. It turns out that the actual location of the novel's first scene, Patriarch's Ponds, is located about five minutes' walk from my new apartment. On my way out today to take care of some errands, I stopped to snap a couple of pictures.

This is especially fun since my favorite book people are in the process of reading the novel. This one's for you!













Malaia Bronnaia street, which is one of the four that ring the park.










One side of the pond. Also, a puzzle: in Russian it is "Ponds," but there is only one pond. My guess is that there used to be more, but as the Patriarch's estate became incorporated into the growing city, they were filled in.










And finally, a bench, close to the entrance, with it's back to Malaia Bronnaia. Perhaps the one that Bezdomnyi, Berlioz, and Woland occupied?

2 comments:

Kathleen said...

True story: on my way there in 2006, I almost got hit by a tram. I tried to find Annushka, but she was nowhere to be seen!

Aaron said...

Apparently you were lucky that she had not yet spilled the sunflower oil.