Tender Mercies from our Mission in Moscow: How Moscow Moves

This city of 15 million people or so would could not function without this fabulous metro system. We spend a lot of time, along with most people here, finding our way on the train. Occasionally, we are driven someplace in a car and we are always amazed that this is the same city we only see from below. Those who navigate the crazy, traffic-clogged streets are subjected to jarring horns, lanes that are formed at the moment and, I would think, jangled nerves. I'm not sure they get anywhere any faster than we do.

Last week we attended a weekly meeting of missionary couples in central Moscow. We rode on the metro with the office couple who are our nearest neighbors. After the meeting, a couple who have a car offered us a ride I needed to stay to teach a yoga class but the Meilstrups took them up on the offer. We got on the metro about 90 minutes later and still got home faster than the car riders.
Lots of advantages to not owning a car. We see so many interesting people! Lots of variety in Nationalities, income level, age, mobility-some of everything. We often see tottering ancient babushkas shuffling unsteadily with their canes. I used to fear for them but I have noticed that space is reverently made for them. Somehow, with this sea of jostling humanity, no one ever seems to run into each other. I don't know how.

The metro stations are mini-museums. They are all different and most are equally stunning. We thought we would fill you in on some of the beauty we see daily.

The Moscow metro system is the second busiest in the world (second to Seoul, Korea). It carries about 9 million people daily. When conceived and constructed, beginning in 1935, it was with the intention if not just moving people, but showing visitors what the Soviet Union was capable of creating. Stalin put his best architects to work and the results are wondrous. Each line is identified by a number and a color. Thankfully, most signs are in Russian and English. A male voice announce the next stop if you are moving toward the city center and a female voice is heard if you are moving away. The one at the bottom is honoring the revolution. Tons of bronzed soldiers. The one with the dog is special. As people pass, most will rub the dog's nose for good luck. We feel blessed to be part of this ever-moving city.