As this is my first cache created on Geocaching.com I am experiencing certain emotions. Not that I am so much overwhelmed by the enormousness of the geocaching Universe I am entering now with my humble undertaking as a cache owner and author. Not that I feel intimidated by the strict and sophisticated rules and principles regulating this fantastic part of the world and its population. Not at all. Anyway - with awe and anticipation (and in a somewhat adventurous mood) I am opening this massive door as if stepping on the threshold of an infinite theatre hall with millions of adept viewers turning their heads in my direction as well as ca(t)ching attention of squads of unforgiving critics and conscientious moderators armed with their examination instruments.
Having said the above and allowing me a privilege to take advantage of my enjoyable 13 years experience at Geocaching.su I hereby submit this simple piece of cache-craft – to those of you who may find it of interest.
Actually I am not (and will never be) a fan of these tiny micro-magnetic beans sown and harvested within the labyrinths of stone and metal megacity jungle. Instead, my preference will be with a full-sized heavily loaded cache placed somewhere in the wild nature open to winds, rains and sunshine. Alas. Looking through the window of my office I have to admit that wild nature is hiding somewhere not in my reach. With this sad but common realization I take myself out into the noisy and busy streets of the non-sleeping Moscow. If you are with me – grasp at the opportunity to spend some of your time at a couple of nice and calm spots within the city maze.
The Faces.
The coordinates as in the header.
You start at a very small and tidy square adjacent to Novokuznetskaya street. This is a regular, geometrically perfect and scrupulously designed piece of new Moscow city land architecture representing the current style which is popular with the authorities. Moreover, this place is unequivocally dominated by the monument in its center. The monument is dedicated to the memory of the city militia which were defending Moscow against the Nazi armies in 1941. Most of these people died in the severe fighting for their home and the country. Official view insists that they were volunteers though this might not be entirely true. Be it so or not the memory of their sacrificial journey out of Moscow into the empty fields and damp forests in that tragic autumn stays here. The monument is just one the many built in 2015 in order to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory over Germany in May 1945. It was designed by Salavat Shcherbakov, a well known and prominent sculptor and architect enjoying a very favorable liaison with the city and state authorities. As his works are politically and esthetically coherent with the specific patriotic mainstream initiated and promoted by the people at power he is the champion of various tenders and bids for state (or city) financed projects. Worth mentioning that the notorious statue of one of the ‘little green men’ (or ‘polite people’) in the Crimea is also a piece of his art.
Back to Novokuznetskaya. Here you can see the Faces on the monument.
Go round and behind the monument and look at its rear. Please count and remember the numbers of the windows (separately on each house, windows seen only on the rear (and forget the Kremlin tower!)) – you will need this to find the cache.
A is the number of the windows on the upper house.
B is the number of the windows on the house in the middle.
C is … yes, exactly, you know what I mean.
All in all this little park is a nice accurate place – good to stop by, relax on the bench, enjoy the flowers, yellow leaves (or snow heaps if in the middle of the winter..).
After that - we need to move to another location – to see
The Figures
Coordinates:
N 55 44.085 E 37 38.200
((Important note: on your way to the Figures you can choose any route you wish.
But in case you manage to find a strange narrow pass (from Novokuznetskaya st. to Bakhrushina st.) between the iron fences of an administration building ground and the school yard you may spot an interesting item – a small anti-tank 45mm gun. This type of a gun, originated from 1937, was broadly used in 1941-1942 by the Soviet troops. Substituted though with an improved model later – due to insufficient artillery power and inability to produce the required damage to heavy German tanks. Update: unfortunately, the fence around the school has been modified becoming not transparent, so the gun can be hardly seen now.
Coordinates of the gun: N 55 44.011 E 37 38.187
Another point of interest is pretty close. Here, on the edge of the sidewalk you can see an electric car charging point. There is nothing dramatically fascinating or technically sophisticated about this device – but for the remarkable fact that this is the very first car charging point ever built in Moscow!
Park and charge at: N 55 44.042 E 37 38.165 ))
At last, interested in the Figures, you find yourself in the middle of a wonderful public garden called Mikhailovsky park. Obviously, if we start thinking of any place close to the centre of the big old city we realize there should be a long history behind this location. If we just try to imagine how many and what kind of people have been here – right on this place!- during past hundreds of years – we feel ourselves lost in the eternal flow of time. Never mind.
This area became a private garden in 18th century and there were many similar gardens around at that time. In 1812, during the war with Napoleon, most of wooden houses in the surroundings were burned down in the great Moscow fire so that the owners had to start reconstruction. This actually created the appearance of the area which can be seen today only as glimpses of the past – though the streets still show the old style here.
There used to be various houses and structures on the territory of the park – a bathhouse, stables, garage, greenhouse – and playgrounds (tennis, croquet), a fountain. The last private owner of the land was Mitrofan Mikhailov – who also owned a wool fabric factory located not far away. And, of course, the main building built in 1899 – you can see it now as 17 Bakhrushina, inside the park territory. Today this building accommodates the center of various children activities – groups of dancing, creative arts, language learning etc.
The park is rather small so it is easy to find the Three Wooden Figures guarding the territory from all directions. - an update: the wooden figures described above did not succeed in surviving various refurbishment and reconstructions going on in Moscow - they have been replaced with just one small figure of a Wooden Dwarf...- During the warmer seasons the area is very popular with parents and small children, students, old people sitting on the benches – actually it is perhaps the only public garden of this kind in the district – and quite different from the one with the monument. During winter a huge Christmas tree is standing there – right in the place where the fountain used to be for several decades many years ago. When walking around the park you may also notice a peculiar long building in the corner, behind a plastic fence. This was a very old greenhouse and some strange flowers and plants could still be seen through the dusty broken windows before - assume it might be demolished or reconstructed soon.
Your attention will be certainly attracted by the nice graffiti depicting a kind of imaginary Moscow cityscape. Please count the number of typical onion-shaped church domes – this will be the number D.
Coordinates of the cache: N 55 44.(B*D+C) E 37 38.(A*D+B*C)
Just pull the ring!
Bring your own pen.
P.S. Please note – this park might be closed at late night.