Teeming With Life

My first weekend in Moscow was deceptively quiet. I arrived in the middle of a long weekend to a calm, quiet city. Everyone had gone to their dachya for the long weekend, or were otherwise enjoying their free time in their apartments. The streets of Moscow were deserted. As we travelled with Alexei (a family friend) along the wide, empty roads I felt that we were the only tourists in Moscow, zooming around at an alarming rate.

As I stepped outside the metro station on Monday, I realized how inaccurate my initial impression of Moscow was. Moscow was not the quiet, relaxing city that I thought it was.

Moscow doesn’t have the world’s worst traffic jams (according to Time magazine, this accolade belongs to Sao Paolo), but the endless stream of cars is overwhelming at times. From the old and busted Volgas to the shiny new BMWs that many of Russia’s noviye ruskiyi have, everyone stands virtually still on Moscow’s roads, trying to push their way through to the next block, the next road that might offer relief from the traffic jam. The trucks are the worst, though. Russian trucks spew out a dark, disgusting exhaust that makes you want to cough your lungs out should you be unlucky enough to inhale its fumes. It is often faster to take the metro and walk than to drive in Moscow.

Everybody in Moscow walks fast. You can’t stop in the metro to admire the beautiful halls without getting swept away by the crowd. If you walk slowly, you will soon be enveloped in people pushing past you so it’s best just to hurry like everybody else is. It feels as if everybody in Moscow is always late for something—everyone of these 10 million + residents had something they were doing.

It’s hard to relax in such a bustling city. I felt that in order to fit in with these busy 10 million that I also needed to hurry up and get on relaxing before my vacation ended. But then, hurrying to relax isn’t very relaxing, is it?