Through the turnstiles at Smolenskaya Station we go, me, the lone photojournalist invited by Insight Vacations to sample its Easy Pace Russia journey, and 22 traveling mates for an hour of underground time-travel back to the days of the old Soviet Union.

“Opened in 1935 as just a single, 11 kilometers-long line with 13 stations,” comments Vera, our local art-history guide in the easy-to-spot, bright-red jacket and matching red-and-white umbrella, “Moscow’s metro system of today has grown to 12 lines, 346.2 kilometers of track and 206 stations, with more expansion planned for the very near future.”

Sure, we’re here to share a ride with anonymous Muscovites, but, more importantly, we’re 50m below the surface to get a sense of what life was like in the U.S.S.R. via the thematic, hammer-and-sickle public art displays that are showcased in the many spotless stations, the so-called “palaces for the people,” that Joseph Stalin commissioned.

“Locals and foreigners alike claim that the Moscow Metro system, with its abundance of Socialist Realism art and architecture, is the most beautiful in the world,” comments Vera through our earbuds as we walk around the station, one of the 44 that are listed on the Russian Cultural Heritage Register. “It’s also the fifth largest system in the world,” she adds, “and its daily ridership of about nine-million surpasses both the New York City and London subway systems combined.” I’m impressed.

Cost of a single ticket is 55 rubles (approximately $.90 USD) which entitles the passenger to ride to any number of stations and make transfers within the system freely. Riding on Insight’s ruble, I’d say we’re a pretty inexpensive date.

With a train coming and going about every 90-seconds during rush hour, three to five minutes during off-peak, our time on the platform is brief as we hop on and head to Kievskaya Station on the Blue Line.

Inaugurated in 1953, Kievskaya is noted for its high white arches atop square pylons wrapped in red marble. Along each arch are detailed mosaics surrounded by a yellow-gold, baroque-style frame. The station’s theme depicts the 300th anniversary of the reunification of Ukraine and Russia.

When asked about the importance of the Moscow Metro, Vera replies: “It was touted as THE symbol of the new social order under Stalin, as these metro stations, with their reflective marble walls, high ceilings, artwork and grandiose chandeliers, became the focus of modern Communist engineering and architecture that eventually traveled above ground, too, in the form of the ‘Seven Sisters.’

No other station speaks more directly to Socialist Realism in public art than the Ploshchad Revolyutsii (Revolution Square) station, constructed right underneath the square and our last stop on this underground, cultural museum primer.

In service since 1938, this “palace” features red and yellow marble arches resting on low pylons faced with black Armenian marble. Each arch is flanked and supported by a pair of bronze sculptures depicting the common man doing his/her part for the Soviet Union: soldiers, farmers, athletes, writers, aviators, industrial workers, and schoolchildren.

A total of 76 sculptures are on display at the Revolution Square Station, all created by Matvey Manizer, including the crowd pleasing frontier guard and his dog. It’s believed to bring good luck if one rubs man’s best friend’s nose. From the look of its snout, this canine has been petted quite a lot.

Returning above ground, we make our way through Revolution Square, past the statue of Karl Marx, the Prussian-born philosopher considered to be the “Father of Communism,” and onto the waiting Insight motor coach, parked right in front of the world-famous house of ballet and opera: Bolshoi Theatre.

Tourist: “Uh, excuse me sir, but how do you get to the Bolshoi Theatre?”

Muscovite: “Practice.”

Go here for detailed information on Insight’s six journeys to Russia, as well as more than 100 other premium and luxury-escorted itineraries around Europe, or call toll free (888) 680-1241, or contact your travel agent.

Our second day in Moscow is just getting started. As soon as “Alexander the Great,” our Insight pilot, maneuvers the coach through traffic, we’ll have another look around Red Square and go window shopping at the grand, elegant and opulent Main Universal Store: GUM.

The post Easy Pace Russia: Moscow’s Underground Art Museums (Dispatch #12) appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Last Wednesday was Valentine’s Day. Miraculously, I was able to pull it off again. My wife felt special and said she really enjoys Valentine’s Day because every year I manage to “hit it out of the ballpark.” She said that she can’t wait for next year’s surprise.

I don’t know if I should be glad or worried. You see, every year I try to come up with something unusual. Last year, I organized the men in our “Couples Group” to sing “Unforgettable” and read our Love Cards. The wives loved it and the men scored high that day. I don’t remember what I did the year prior to that but I do remember some of the others:

• One year I arranged for a traveling choir of women to sing her Love Songs at her place of work where she was the envy of her office mates
• Another year, when the kids were little, I woke her up in the middle of a chilly night, arranged for a babysitter and we had a warm breakfast of baked potato at a new all-night Wendy’s Hamburger chain
• Many years in a row before Pandora and Spotify, I would prepare audio CDs of her favorite music
• One of our very first Valentine’s evenings, we watched a movie dressed in the same shocking red and white collared T-shirts. Everyone was staring so we were so self conscious we ran to the parking lot to escape their chuckles.

Valentine’s Day Painting

Last Wednesday I posted a painting I had done that hangs in our bedroom. The painting was no surprise to her but it was a surprise for everyone else. She got so many likes and teasing from her Facebook (about 100) friends that she came home in very high spirits.

So here I am, post Valentine’s Day, and already fearing the next year. I should be so lucky, huh? I know she will appreciate whatever I give her … at least that’s what she says … but you know women — what they say and what they really mean can be entirely different. It’s “Clint Eastwood (aka Dirty Harry) time”— “Go ahead … make my day!” We all know she really wants me to do something even more special. That bar keeps getting more and more unreachable.

I’m a dead man walking.

So, how was your Valentine’s Day? Did YOU (men) “make her day?” Did YOUR MAN (women) make YOUR day?”

“The one thing we can never get enough of is LOVE. And the one thing we can never give enough of is LOVE.”
—  Henry Miller (Thanks to Nancy of Pasadena who sent this quote)

TGIF people!

February 16, 2018

Two Times

Contributed by Charlie of New Jersey

TGIF Videos

Illegal Immigrant Proposal in Subway
Sent by Charrie of Virginia

Someone tell me this guy’s just kidding. You single women out there, he’s a good catch! A proper slave!

WATCH VIDEO

Police Scared of Mouse
Sent by Art of Sierra Madre, CA

Here’s a quick video. Just gives you that confidence in our government issued protectors, doesn’t it?

WATCH VIDEO

Parting Shot

Thanks to Don of Kelowna, B.C. who shared this photo

Parting Shot 2

Thanks to Scott of Deerfield, New Hampshire who shared this photo

The footsteps that a child follows are usually the ones the parent thought they covered up.
— Anonymous

The post There Are Two Times Men Do Not Understand Women appeared first on Traveling Archive.