Holiday season

This post in response to a friend who accused me of being lazy....I suppose it's true.

However, it seems that we were meant to be lazy in August. I can't think of a lazier month of the year, when everyone in Europe is on holiday, and all of the shops are closed in Italy, France, among others. Even in Moscow life seems to be a little calmer than normal, and the metro at times seems to be emptier (although someone still bumped into me the other day so hard that the book I was reading went flying and it was a miracle that it didn't get trampled on). Everyone seems much happier now, too, now that the heatwave has temporarily lifted, and the cool breeze and flighty rain showers make it pleasant to walk around the city again.

I've had many travelers visit me these past few weeks, and they all seem to think that Moscow is "so nice" and "so pretty" and has "wonderful weather." It makes me laugh when I tell them about the "wonderful weather" in winter, when it was well below "comfortable temperatures." Nevertheless, despite the insane increase in tourist groups, and the large percentage of Moscovites on holiday, Moscow still feels relatively the same. The metro still gets crowded at rush hour, people are still running from one place to another, the homeless still beg in the underground passages, including that poor young soldier in a wheelchair who wanders from metro car to metro car, begging with his forlorn gaze.

I guess the tourists miss out on that, since he only 'works' on my line, which doesn't pass by the Red Square. Outside of that massive Red Square and Kremlin area, tourists seem to be a rarity. They prefer hiding away in a place that seems comfortably 'touristy,' with plenty of tourguides, maps, and other foreigners willing to take your photo. Even many of the people I have hosted at my flat are afraid to go exploring far from the Kremlin alone.

It's no surprise that many Moscovites seem rather surprised to meet a foreigner in this city, even though the Red Square is swarming with them. You would have to be rather brave to face the metro alone, right? No, it's just the same as the subway in New York, all you have to do is fight for your way around, and eventually you will get where you want to go.