Tuesday July 21 – Moscow’s Metro

We had a free day today so we took our time in the morning and checked out by noon with our baggage and left it in lock-up in the hotel.

First on our agenda was a tour of the metro stations. Muscovites scurry pass beautiful artwork, sculptures, and chandeliers each day without the time to appreciate the immense “museum” their city has. We took a look at several stations. My favourite is the Ploshchad Revolyutsii where beautiful sculptures of people in action appear at the side of every archway onto the platform. We were really moved when we watched the locals stroke the nose of a brass dog statue, some lingering with emotion, as they walked past it to the train. Other items were stroked too such as the barrel of a gun of the soldiers. You could tell which ones by the shininess of the metal. I think this is done to bring good luck but nonetheless it was touching to see men, women, the old and the young patting the dog. And yes…of course we did too!! Another station, Novoslobodskaya, had beautiful stain glass panels and others had paintings, carvings, and beautiful chandeliers.

We continued on the metro to Park Pobedy and came out at the Triumphal Arch. We walked back up through Victory Park, took a quick moment in the beautiful Church of St. George, and reached the Great Patriotic War Museum. This was a huge, elaborate building built to commemorate the 1941-45 war in which Russia lost 27 million people, more than the rest of the allied countries combined. The displays were moving, tender, and artistic. The Hall of Memory and Sorrow was particularly moving. This was a darkened room with a highlighted statue of a woman holding a dying man. It represents all mothers, daughters, wives, etc. who suffered the loss of a man in the war. Hanging from the ceiling are 2.6 million crystals suspended from fine wire chains to represent 26 million tear drops. Are you crying yet? I was. Then there were the huge battle dioramas that take you right into the midst of the battle fields in the battles of Moscow, Leningrad, and other major cities. They are beautifully done and very effective. The second floor contained all sorts of war memorabilia and the third floorwas an art gallery of Russian war paintings. All very beautiful and tastefully displayed. Other interesting exhibits included one on the holocaust and also one on Hitler’s vengeance against the gypsies which wiped out many communities entirely.

On our way back to the metro, we sat in the sun in Victory Park drinking a coke and reflecting on the dreadful sadnesses caused by wars.

We got back to the hotel, checked e-mail, called Alanna, had dinner, and headed to the station to board our train to Moscow. Amazingly, we saw one of the men from the Intrepid trip that we met in the ger camp on the platform. He is also on the train!