Saturday, October 23, 2010

2010 10 23 - Kievskaya

The next stop is our apartment in Kievskaya - actually the Metro stop is Kievskaya - I know this because it is one on the need to know list of words and places that Billie Jo has been quizzing me on for the past few months.

We take a largely vacant train from the airport to the metro - an older woman asks Billie Jo to watch her bags while she uses the bathroom - Billie Jo handles the conversation seamlessly. I am proud of and happy for her.

Once on the metro we take a maze of trains, stops, transfers, escalators, passageways, and stairs (many, yes, many stairs) that finally lead to our destination - the Kievskaya station. While on our journey I occasionally recognize letters and signs - a twinge of giddiness runs through me.

Kievskaya station emerges at one of Moscow's busiest malls "The Eurocenter". The mall's emblem is a semi-script lower case "e" - there are four foot tall ones at the corners of the mall rotating inside a globe that has a ring like Saturn. On one corner of the mall is an automoblie ad that features an what looks to be a near full scale replica of a Kia hatchback climbing the wall to "kick" a giant futbol into a net.

We exit the metro pass the Kia and cross a busy street and make a Left - Billie Jo explains to me the walking portion of our trip it is easy pretty much all Left-Right-Left-Right-Left till we get o the apartment.

On the way we pass a great Russian Icon. A Moscow MacDonalds. Yes there is an extra 'a' in "Mac" for pronunciations reasons I suppose. I have been told I have to have the Russian Mickey D's experience, but even in my exhausted jet lag stupor I can tell this Muscovite MacDonald's has the same expired grease stench of it's American predecessor.

the Perry-Hood

Once past the golden arches we take a few more L-R-Ls and I have my first experience with a "Perry-Hood" . PerryHood is the Russian term for an underpass used to cross a busy street. They are common in Moscow where Jay-Walking is frowned upon and uhm monitored much more closely than in the states.

The Perry-Hood is the last landmark as we approach are building. We have arrived at our apartment in one piece including baggage all the way from the United States/DC in - I don't know - maybe just little over 11 hours.

Well when I say arrived at the apartment - I should say sort of arrive...

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