I awaken the next morning, ready to take the city on. Looking at my saved places, it seems none open until 10 or 11.
I decide if I am going to try the metro today, I might as well go to the farthest place, then I can work my way back.
Lakhta Tower is a spire skyscraper on the edge of the Sea of Finland, and it is at the last station, Begovaya, on the green line.
I enter the metro, scan my card, and proceed. I was worried that the card I bought, still needed to be “charged up”.
It was rush hour, so quite busy. I’m in no rush, so I walk along the walls to keep out of other’s way.
The London Underground has a station with a very long escalator, one I fell on. Nevsky Prospekt had an even longer one, we must be 400 ft below the surface.
I find the correct platform and get on the next train. The stops are quite far apart, I think mostly due to traveling under an island.
As I exit, I see a building with large lettering, “Atlantic City.” Uh oh, I ended up in New Jersey.
It is surprising how many western company names there are, all seem to be in Latin characters. KFC, Coke, McDonalds, Bulgari, John Frieda, Spar, etc.
I pull out the map, but Google is saying I’m at Rybatskoye, which is at the other end of the line. Weird that a random GPS fix would have been that specifically wrong. I definitely knew I wasn’t there, but I could imagine someone freaking out that they’d gone the wrong way.
The tower is a 22 minute walk away.
I see a section of road with a very skimpy fence across it, with razor wire. There is another fence about 30 yards beyond. There is nothing to stop anyone from just walking around the fence, nor an evidence they are doing any work on that section. I do not think it would stop anyone determined to drive through it.
I do notice they love their razor wire. It is everywhere, just about every fence, across the rooftops between buildings, around road support pillars…
I’m hoping to go to the top and check out the view, maybe there is an observation deck. I don’t get to find out, there is a fence around the building. They are still working on it.
Strike #2. Not doing too good on my chosen locations.
A park lay on the way back to the station, so I browsed through. Many people out with dogs. I saw a kid on a swing, at 9:30. Why wasn’t he in school?
Each subway station has its own theme or design. I had the idea of stopping and seeing each. I only did a few before I realize that I’ll waste too much time doing that.
I exit the metro, and spot a Spar grocery. I need shampoo, so I browse. I picked up the smallest bottle they had, I hope I can get it through airport security to Moscow. I’d hate to have to buy another, even if it is cheap.
I also grabbed a bottle of grapefruit juice, payed, and exited.
As I open the bottle, nope, it is grapefruit soda. I drink it anyway.
The irony is, my hair is too short to bother with washing too often, but I can use it as body wash. As I left for Georgia, my hair started poking up in one area. I had thought about cutting it before, but it should be good for a few more weeks. Now, it is too short to comb, but long enough to look messy if I don’t.
