Moscow State University and Sparrow Hills

Today, while most of the group went to buy chocolate across Moscow, I had an itch to see MGU and Sparrow Hills. Moscow State University was even more beautiful than I had imagined. Of the 7 Stalinist gothic buildings in Moscow, MGU is the tallest, reaching 36 floors high. MGU is the tallest educational building in the world. Here you can see the beauty of the tiered neoclassical tower, and the tallest spire of Stalin's buildings.

Not sure what happened to the smile here... But it is a beautiful background!

What would Russia be without its birch trees?

MGU is located in an area of Moscow called Sparrow Hills, which is a wooded ridge that has unsurpassed views of the city. The hills are dominated by MGU, and there is an observation point, as well as... a place to buy souvenirs! I was able to pick up a few goodies for my loved ones. And no, I will not bring everyone home a Matroshka, rest assured. (Matroshkas are the Russian nesting dolls, pictured below).

This is the Church of the Trinity, built in 1811. The small, green domed church was not open to the public. There was a small garden, with a particularly happy cat- he had a mouse in his mouth. Unfortunately, no photos were taken of this event!

Here is the observation point and main look-out area of Sparrow Hills. There is a beautiful view of the city. The Olympic Stadium is below, this was built for the 1980 Olympics. We were told there is a total of 3 swimming pools, which can be used for 50 rubles.

Rickety ski jump, anyone? There are many of these on the hill and they are extremely long. Only for the very, very brave- in my opinion.

BUT! I was brave enough to take the ski lift! Veronika and I rode down to the bottom of the hills to where the Moscow River is.

There really are bears in Russia...

Hungry ones.

Here is Moscow River. I look forward to my cruise on Friday evening. The metro station which we walked to in the blue bridge in the photo.

Alas, back to the dorm to do homework and write my 10 pager in Russian. Good thing I bought a bag of Cheburahkas. Aren't they cute? Cheburashka is a favorite cartoon character in Russian children's literature. Cheburashka became a famous animated film/series in 1969. I also watched it when I was little. My mother can vouch for me.

Here is Cheburashka's tale:

According to the story, Cheburashka is a funny little monkey, unknown to science, who lives in the tropical forest. He accidentally gets into a crate of oranges, eats his fill, and falls asleep. Cheburashka is not a personal name; it is a species name invented by the puzzled director of the shop where he is found. The salesman takes the animal out and sits him on the table, but his paws are numb after the long time spent in the crate, and he tumbles down ("cheburakhnulsya" (чебурахнулся), a Russian colloquialism, "tumbled" in English) from the table onto the chair and then from the chair, where he could not sit, for the same reason, onto the floor. The director of the shop, who witnesses the scene, called him Cheburashka.

The Moscow book has been amazing, thank you again Dave and Renee. I looked through it yesterday and was amazed at how much I had already done in Moscow. This coming weekend is my last weekend in Moscow, sadly. But I am ready for home and also very excited for Paris. I had to pick up this book in Moscow to read up on all the things I can do in 3 days :)