Day 3: Moscow State University Botanical Garden and Pioneer Palace Botanical Garden

Today we got to experience the Moscow public transit system. It is a very efficient and high capacity system (it has to be; Moscow is a huge city!). Julia, who we have decided is like our wonderful adopted Russian aunt, guided us along as we navigated this unfamiliar territory. Here is a photo of art featuring famous historicaxl figures in one of the metro stations we were in:

We took the metro to Moscow State University where we toured parts of the University Botanical Garden, established in 1951, with Katarina, a researcher at the University. The Garden at the University covers approximately 30 hectares. The University was founded in 1755.

Moscow State University, from the rear

Brian with the only large Taxodium distichum surviving in Moscow. Taxodium is native to the southern coastal plains of the US, Brian's home. This one in the photo was one of many planted in this area, but all the rest quickly succumbed to Moscow's cold. It is not known why this one has survived. Perhaps it is due to genetics?

Igor educated us on the difference between the leaves of Nymphaea and Nuphar. Can you spot the differences in the photo above?

We met Tatiana, an expert in the Apiaceae family. 

After lunch we walked toward the Pioneers Palace to visit the small garden there. Along the way we visited a touristy overlook nearby to the University. Here you could see for miles!

At Pioneers Palace, we visited a very small educational garden, typically only for children at the Pioneers Palace. Don't let the size deceive you though; this garden packs lots of diversity and education into a small space! It was really interesting to see how they managed to cultivate so many things in such a small area. Another cool thing to note is that they have managed to cultivate a few things that you normally would not see anywhere near this climate zone, as if there is a really special little microclimate here. One example is Arucaria aurucana (monkey puzzle tree), a tropical tree, which was a few inches tall and was approximately four years old. Unfortunately the picture I took of it turned out quite blurry. There were also several Magnolia species that are typically only able to grow in more temperate zones. Here is an example of the high density of plants in the small space:

After this, we went to dinner at a local authentic Georgian restaurant, where two of Travis's friends who recently moved to Moscow joined us. Many of the foods at this restaurant are also common in Russia.

We will be heading to Apatity tomorrow. We are not sure how the internet connection will be there, as it is north of the Arctic Circle and not very populous. We will be there for approximately one week.