Transit

In Moscow, you can get a taxi anywhere — because every car is a taxi. Sure, there may be a few misguided fools who have ponied up the fees for a taxi license, but they are far too hard to find. All you need to do is stand by the street corner and hold out your arm. The price? $5 to 10, until the Metro closes, then much much more.

And there is a reason for this — Moscow has one of the best subway systems in the world. The Metro is comprehensive, clean, quick and can protect you from hostile bombing raids. Built at least 200 meters below the surface, the marble halls of the underground stood in sharp contrast to the rather dreary streets above.

And the price is right — less than 20 cents for cross town travel. And stuffed animals can travel free. This deal was too good to pass up, not just for me, but for the nine million Muscovites who use it every day.

Despite the low price, the Muscovites are serious about getting paid — and have a built in punisher for scofflaws. Unlike the western payment system, where you put in a coin and the gate opens, the Metro left the gate open, and it would shut if you did not put in a coin.

Shut rather quickly actually. Two steel gates would snap closed, right about groin level, and ensure that only the fare paying population could reproduce. Trouble is, sometimes it wouldn't recognize your token...

I stayed near the Elektrozavodskaya station — meaning Electric Factory, though I didn't see any power plants nearby. A relatively minor station, as they go — just a bit of marble and a few communist symbols. But several stations are true works of art. Mayakovskaya was the grand prize winner in the 1938 International Exposition. If you get a chance, be sure to spend some quality time in Ploschad Revoyutsii, with life-size statues illustrating the means and ends of Socialism.

Vodka

Doom

Toilet

Lodging

Index

Tourism