Tag: graffiti

Reflections: Subway and Transportation

SDSpivey

I purchased a 5-day pass for Saint Petersburg, but really most of what I was going to see was near enough to walk. For simplicity, it is better to have the card, otherwise you will have to buy a ticket every time you go in.

The subway stations were originally designed to be emergency shelters, especially against bomb attacks, especially nukes.

The escalators have lamps on poles, every 8-10 feet. Each has a numbered decal, starting at 1 at the bottom. I presume that the numbers are there to have set places to measure radioactivity, to determine rising or falling levels.

I did notice that the handrails move just slightly faster. Over 150+ feet, this would be a lot and could throw you off balance.

At the bottom of each, an old woman watches monitors, to make sure no one is breaking the rules. I saw several that were on the verge of passing out, it has to be a super dull routine. Also, there is graffiti in some, so they are not really doing their jobs.

The signs are generally clear, and all include Latin transliterations.

Some platforms have modern clear doors, to prevent falling into the tracks. Others have solid metal doors (bomb resistance?). Most are just open, not falling is totally your responsibility.

If you discover you’re going the wrong way or passed your stop, just get off, walk across the platform, and get on the train going the other direction.

The trains themselves are comfortable, for public transport. But I could see a regular user getting hearing damage from the noise of the wheels on the tracks.

Trains come about every 2 minutes apart.

One train had a display showing the next station upcoming, and the temperature, time, and speed. We got up to 78km/h (48mph). They seem to spend about 75% of the time accelerating, then decelerating only as they enter the next station. They might not make it into Formula 1, but they do have some G forces.

Saint Petersburg only has 5 lines, so far, so knowing how to get from here to there is easy.

Moscow has 15, right now, including 3 rings and a monorail. Plus there are regular rail stations attached to the metro stations, so you could go almost anywhere in Russia or nearby countries without needing a car or plane.

My room is on Line #3, but I noticed one day, I was at the #6/#7 station, but neither of them connected to #3. That means I had to do at least two transfers. That’s a pain.

The stations are reasonably clean, despite not seeing any trash cans. Graffiti was very minor, markers on escalators, mostly.

All the stations have temp barricades everywhere to funnel you in one direction. But some are in the way of access, like one had the first 3 openings to the track closed off. You might miss your train because you had to go further.

Some stations have many entrances/exits, allowing you to tunnel under many roads and avoid rain or snow.

It seems that every block has a bus stop. I like this as most have area maps with a “5 minute walk” circle around your location. They have some highlights to see, statues, restaurants, shops, etc.

I see now I should not have used the AeroExpress train. It would have been faster and cheaper to take bus from airport to metro station. So much for “express.”

Nuns and monks

SDSpivey

Novodevichy Cemetery is the final resting place of some of Russia’s most famous, much like Père Lachaise in Paris.

The problem is, they might be Russia famous, but they’re not US famous. Plus all the names are in Russian.

Tomb of Boris Yeltsin

I found Boris Yeltsin’s (it really stands out), I saw Khrushchev’s but did not transliterate the name, at the time.

Author Anton Chekhov and Mikhail Gorbachev are also are buried there.

Next door is a convent. I was uncertain whether I could enter, but after seeing a couple of men exiting, I decided to go ahead.

It was very lovely, the buildings were painted nicely. The lawn was not mown, but it looked “kept up.” There were workers laying down a new stone walkway.

I felt wrong taking photos, but I saw others doing it too, so I suppose it was okay.

I’m uncertain if it was a working convent or not, so many churches were closed during the revolution. Being Sunday morning, I suppose any nuns would have been in service while I was there.

Next I headed to the art district.

There is a small plaza with a bunch of galleries, all were closed, being Sunday. The buildings are designed and made up to look unique. Not only do they allow graffiti, but they probably encourage it, if it is artistic.

I had nothing else planned in this area, so I see a small park on the map. It shows a toilet, not that I need it, but always good to be near.

I cross a small river, yellow from pollen, and climb a steep hill. I followed the googled directions, but it led me to a construction tunnel. They have these 2×4 and corrugated steel protective walkways around all sorts of construction sites, meant to be a safe passage. Problem is, this one doesn’t go anywhere but to a locked gate.

Being daring, I push open the construction wall a bit and pass through. It should be okay, there is a gap between the fence and storage containers.

Oh crap, I stepped in it. I will presume it was an animal’s.

Then the only way out was to climb a very thin, hand made ladder, over a concrete barrier, onto the road. I don’t mean onto a space next to the road, but into one of the lanes.

It had rained last night, so there were some puddles that I could walk through, hoping to remove some of the mess off my shoe.

Climbing another hill, I reached the small park. Then I see the sign for the building next to it. It was a monastery.

I went in and browsed around.The convent was way better looking, but this had a fat, lazy cat.

They had a display of “pieces” of tombstones. I guess they were damaged in the revolution or perhaps some war.

People were going into one of the chapels, but I was not going in with dirty shoes. I was hoping that the crushed granite walkways were working it clean.

OK, I didn’t actually see any nuns or monks, but I did see a priest walking outside the convent.

I walked to the next station to head back for lunch.

I went to the supermarket and had a fairly hefty bag of food. But I can’t cross the road because there is a freakin bike race going down the street between me and my room.

I’ve been crossing roads with really fast cars for decades, I think a few bikes is no danger at all.

Normally I would just walk through, but there are police all along the road. I don’t think there is a tunnel cross walk anywhere close, so I just go for it. As I reach the other side, I’m facing 3 officers, they don’t say anything, so I just go around.

I cook and eat then head to my room to charge the pad. Alright, my roommates have both left, I’m solo. Maybe I can get sleep tonight without the snoring.