This post is for Wk 104 of Tara's Gallery; click here to see all the other entries.
The prompt for this week's gallery is 'The Everyday'. I toyed with showing you photos of exercise books and musical instruments (I'm attempting to impose some kind of structure on our long summer holidays by ensure that 5 days in 7 the Boys do some kind of school work, boring mum that I am), or even just showing you a bowl of Weetabix but really, there is no question what a photograph of every day life in Moscow should show you.
It's not pretty, I warn you.
Even in the relatively quieter summer holidays, this is what you will probably encounter on any trip, anywhere, on wheels in Moscow.
You develop coping skills, obviously. If you're lucky, you have a driver to take the pain (we don't). You choose your music carefully; there's no point listening to heavy rock or nerve-jangling jazz when you can only inch along at 5 kilometers per hour. You always make sure to have a bottle of fresh water with you, and that everyone has used the loo before you leave the house. You build in a hefty margin of extra time; if you get there early, great. Essentially, you prepare for the worst, so things can only be as bad as you expected or better.
Then, you climb in the car, do everything possible to maintain your cool, and you set off. In Moscow's defence, being stuck in traffic is for some reason nowhere near as stressful here as it is back home. People allow you to change lanes, for starters. More often than not, those you let into traffic in front of you acknowledge that fact with a flash of their hazard lights. Everyone is in the same boat, after all - no point getting aggressive about it (a fact that for some reason seems to escape many drivers caught in jams back in Western Europe, who take things all far too personally).
But however you handle it, this - sadly - is 'the everyday' for anyone who needs to get anywhere by road* in Moscow.
*Since Moscow is huge and the metro - whilst fantastic - has long distances between stops and doesn't serve large sections of the outskirts of the city, that's pretty much everyone...
The prompt for this week's gallery is 'The Everyday'. I toyed with showing you photos of exercise books and musical instruments (I'm attempting to impose some kind of structure on our long summer holidays by ensure that 5 days in 7 the Boys do some kind of school work, boring mum that I am), or even just showing you a bowl of Weetabix but really, there is no question what a photograph of every day life in Moscow should show you.
It's not pretty, I warn you.
Even in the relatively quieter summer holidays, this is what you will probably encounter on any trip, anywhere, on wheels in Moscow.
You develop coping skills, obviously. If you're lucky, you have a driver to take the pain (we don't). You choose your music carefully; there's no point listening to heavy rock or nerve-jangling jazz when you can only inch along at 5 kilometers per hour. You always make sure to have a bottle of fresh water with you, and that everyone has used the loo before you leave the house. You build in a hefty margin of extra time; if you get there early, great. Essentially, you prepare for the worst, so things can only be as bad as you expected or better.
Then, you climb in the car, do everything possible to maintain your cool, and you set off. In Moscow's defence, being stuck in traffic is for some reason nowhere near as stressful here as it is back home. People allow you to change lanes, for starters. More often than not, those you let into traffic in front of you acknowledge that fact with a flash of their hazard lights. Everyone is in the same boat, after all - no point getting aggressive about it (a fact that for some reason seems to escape many drivers caught in jams back in Western Europe, who take things all far too personally).
But however you handle it, this - sadly - is 'the everyday' for anyone who needs to get anywhere by road* in Moscow.
*Since Moscow is huge and the metro - whilst fantastic - has long distances between stops and doesn't serve large sections of the outskirts of the city, that's pretty much everyone...
Oh man! That traffic. I would not cope well with that :)
ReplyDeleteI think you're very brave Lx
ReplyDeleteI have a fab friend living in Moscow! I wonder if you know each other? I'm seeing her this weekend and will ask her if she knows about the fabulous Potty Diaries. :)
ReplyDeleteSteph, seriously, once you go through the pain barrier, it's not that bad...
ReplyDeleteFA, so do I. Now, can you tell my OH?
A&U, if she doesn't, perhaps you should put us in touch? (I also blog at The Moscow Times Online as 'Diaries of a Moscow Mum' - perhaps she knows that one). My contact details are on the 'contact me' page, in any case...