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We rode Moscow's grand metro into the city center. Muscovites built a deep metro system, used it as a bomb shelter during WWII, and afterwards decorated the interior. Each station has a different motif, some decorated with murals, others with stained glass windows, bronze statues, marble pillars - public transport at its finest, needed in a country where most people don't own a car. We watch people as we sit in the metro or walk around. The fashion for women is a transparent shirt and bra, short skirt. Men dress in anything comfortable. We shop for clothes at a row of underground kiosks, a different experience because shoppers wait in line for a chance to pick out clothes at an open window while everyone waits behind in line. It's like a fast food drive thru. The selection at these kiosks is sparse but affordable - a Russian made shirt costs under 200 roubles or $10 dollars (29 roubles = 1 US dollar).
Moscow's grand metro - public transport with style.
A church that survived Communism. We're still amazed that the Communists tried to eradicate religion - they tore down thousands of churches all over Russia or converted them into museums.
Russian Orthodox churches have no pews inside. Instead they are decorated with ornate icons.
The famous GUM department store where visiting foreigners shopped during the Communist Regime. The Communists planned on tearing down this structure that they considered too bourgeois, however, they had no money to replace it with anything better so they kept it, practical Communism.