Notes On Moscow

Subways—As with the subway in New York, and I’m sure subways everywhere, you can’t dawdle when you get on an off in the crush of people. I was reminded of that when I was following others trying to squeeze onto a car. Those just in front of me were not moving quickly enough toward the center of the car. Someone from behind gave me a big push, so that they could clear the door before it closed. After that I accelerated my boarding and unboarding.

One time when I was in front of Gayle, (this was a pre-kids trip), I rushed off and away from the car so as to make room for others exiting behind me. Then, I heard a commotion and turned around to see people rushing to the car door from both inside and outside.

Gayle had been walking with her shoulder purse projected behind her, and the purse had gotten caught in the closing door. Before I could react, others had pried from both sides to force the door back open enough for the purse to slip through. Close call!

The subway stations are remarkably beautiful–referred to as "underground palaces"–and are a main tourist attraction. Each with a unique theme, many very elaborate with mosaics, sculptures, chandeliers, stained glass, marble columns and stunning stuccoed ceilings. All very clean. And, the longest escalators I have ever seen.

The funny thing about the escalators, is their steep angle. When you look over at the people on the escalator going the opposite direction, they appear as if they are standing at a forty-five degree angle (Monty Pythonesque); either exaggeratedly leaning forward or backward. And, when two people are facing in opposite direction, having a conversation, it looks even more bizarre.

Traffic—Perhaps the traffic is not much different from other major cities, but for us, being chauffeured about in Moscow by car, it was a bit of a thrill ride. Especially when the driver is a type “A” personality. There are few large or even mid-size cars; most are compact. This, apparently, imparts a perceived nimbleness to their operators. No space is too small to squeeze pass another, especially with the skilled use of the horn. No long blasts, just short single and double chirps.

I’m sure there are lane marking on the road, but you wouldn’t think so when you experience the free-for-all around some intersections. It’s kind of like the tabletop football game that I played with as a kid where the playing surface vibrated and the player/pieces moved about in all directions, wiggling past the other players without much organized flow.

With a type “A” driver, every little encounter with another vehicle is a critique of the other driver’s behavior.

Pedestrians do not have the right-of-way. Let me say that again. Pedestrians do not have the right-of-way! Officially they do in a designated crosswalk…but they don’t. A driver seeing a pedestrian down the road, who looked as if thinking about crossing, gave a double-beep warning and maintained full speed ahead.

To avoid crossing the streets, there are underground walkways; many as part of subway entrances. Down there on those walkways you can buy most anything–sort of a mini department store–clothes, food, electronics, music, movies, books, etc. Not walk-in stores, but just a series of glassed-in booths. Don’t know how those clerks can stand to be cooped up inside that tiny space all day.

How much?—Buying items was fairly easy when there was a cash register that displayed the total amount. Otherwise, it could become very confusing. We knew the numbers one thru ten, but if the price was say, $245 rubles (approx $10) and the vendor did not have pen and paper, she would tell us "two hundred forty five" in Russian, which stepped beyond our studies. We usually knew approximately the value of what we were buying, so sometimes we just ended up showing the bills and letting the seller pick.

One time we got confused trying to buy flowers. We thought we were giving the right amount, but after she took the money, she began pulling flowers from the bouquet. We ended up with only six.

Paper towels—We missed having paper towels. Neither apartment (second or third trip) had any. They just use cloth towels. But to clean up spills etc., we are used to our quicker-picker-uppers. Did not make a great effort to find them in the market, but didn't notice any when browsing the aisles.

I believe that we are correct in assuming that they are not commonly used, but they do however have them. We found this out when Gayle purchased a package of toilet paper to restock Sasha's apartment, only to find too late that we had inadvertently purchased a package of our beloved paper towels instead.