The city of Moscow is pushing "sexy advertising" to encourage people to ride the Metro more often. (Much better than the MTA info boards for sure!)
|
On the subway platform, a group of passersby pause...
|
...before an incredible ensemble of classical performance!
|
Emerging from the undergound, I encounter this absurd depiction of Marx. (Really, how cool would it be if the NYC subway had stone engravings of, say, Chomsky or even of Adam Smith?!?!?)
|
Military tributes abound in the style of Socialist Realism.
|
The neo-Hellenic style is opulent and simply breathtaking.
|
This subway platform has a variety of vaulted domes...
|
...depicting the success of the Soviet Space Program...
|
...and, of course, Lenin.
|
Patriarch's Pond was made famous in Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita. The beginning of the novel presents the Devil's emergence in Moscow... where he "plots" the murder of a Communist literary figure for not believing the Devil exists (because, of course, he's an atheist).
|
Across the street is a trendy cafe dedicated to the novel. (Bulgakov fans: note the invisible devil and the black cat!)
|
Later, I pass through a cool subway station that stops above the river!
|
On the way to the famous Sparrow Hills (formerly Lenin Hills, of course), I encounter what would have been an excellent view of Moscow River... except for this stupid non-sense wall!!!
|
After figuring out which direction to go, I discover this ski jump from the Moscow Olympics still standing!
|
At the height of Sparrow Hills emerges one of Stalin's "Seven Sisters," which are spread throughout the city.
|
It is a meeting place for all the locals...
|
...and affords great views.
|
An evening view of the Vorobyovy Metro.
|
A typical Russian experience awaits me upon return to the Metro...
|
It's closed!!! (Though it is still well before official closing time.) Onward to the "let's rip the tourist off" Russian taxi service then!
|
I make my way to the train stations.
|
The time is 10:27 pm, according to this crazy clock.
|
The inevitable Lenin statue makes its appearance in Lenin Station.
|
A typical scene...
|
...before my overnight trip to St. Petersburg.
|
The next morning, I awake to the train station in St. Petersburg. How disappointing a Peter statue has replaced Lenin!
|
My friend Carolyn arrives to visit for a few days.
|
The canals of Peter make the city feel similar to Venice or Amsterdam...
|
...except with the onslaught of weddings everywhere!
|
A minor annoyance in a city of such beauty.
|
We both prepare...
|
...for the intensely sweet Russian champagne.
|
We enjoy a nice evening stroll...
|
...with beautifully lit buildings everywhere in the night.
|
This is the only black person I will see in all of Russia. Ironically or unironically, he works for the Chocolate Museum.
|
Inside, I find chocolate busts of... guess who?
|
Walking down the famous Nevsky Prospect.
|
The impressive Kazan Cathedral was built by Czar Paul and reflects his desire to combine Catholicism and Russian Orthodoxy.
|
An Orthodox service takes place before the tremendous altar.
|
The women respectfully wear headscarves and dresses.
|