monochrome

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Soliders, Moscow metro

The Moscow metro is one of the most beautiful underground transportation systems I've seen. Some stations are adorned with sculpture, some with tiles—many are lined with marble. One night Teresa took me on a tour of the metro system. We paid our fare and descended into one station and then hopped from one to another. She showed me her favorite stations, including one with beautiful mosaics adorning the ceilings. She said they had recently renovated that station which is why the tiles all sparkled in the dim light. I admired the lettering on the station walls. I took photos.

Interestingly, the Moscow metro is the world's second most heavily used rapid-transit (Tokyo is first, New York second). Some of stations have been thrust deep in the ground and were planned as shelters in the event of a nuclear war. Rapid escalators rush people into and out of them. At the base of each, a babushka sits in an enclosure, cleaning up any litter that had been dropped and watching over the safety of the line. The stations are immaculate.

For more photos of Moscow and Russia (and Mongolia and China) see below:

Part one: The Trans-Siberian: Beautiful Monotony
Part two: The Trans-Mongolian: Contrasts