(more about St.Pete's soon).
Coming back to Moscow from St. Petersburg was too memorable for comfort.
We took the overnight train there and back (very nice!!!). These trains between Moscow and St.Petersburg arrive at their destination in time for the morning rush hour in their respective cities. So yesterday we arrived in Moscow at 7:55am after our wonderful weekend and were in the metro (on the redline) at about 8:15. Without knowing it, we were in the metro about 20 minutes after the first bombing. Although we missed the bombing, (thank god) the chaos of a failing public transit line was ever present (the communications over the loudspeakers warned of "delays due to technical difficulties"). The Moscow metro is quite full most of the time as public transit is the only way to reliably get around the city ~ but it was even more so now. Moving up and down stairs or through the tunnels we were in a sea of people rippling along. Every now and then a stronger, bigger wave when people pushed quite violently against each other to move into and out of trains. One train came and went then the next. Authorities came around forcing commuters off trains and redirecting us to the other, more peripheral lines.
Russians will run when they have the opportunity to get somewhere first. So following the advice of the authorities, the platform, to my amazement cleared out quickly. Us not being as quick on the response, stood in one spot for another minute to consider our options. During which time another train arrived ~ empty. We looked at it as if in a stare-down, it opened its doors and we dropped our jaws. We got in with some other stragglers. All of us got seats. We were waiting for the announcer to kick us out but eventually, the doors closed and we started moving. Weird. The next stop, however, was different. Seeing the mob waiting for our train, I stood-up knowing I'd need to be close to the door because the next stop was ours. People rushed and packed into the train like crazy only to have the train stand there for a long time. People kept jamming in, then impatiently pushing out. Evgueni and I were carrying our luggage so we were really annoying people (bags bulging everywhere etc.). People simply kept shuffling around until the dents of other peoples bodies settled in.
We waited.
Eventually we departed the station but not before the last minute people jumped back into the already bursting train. We were slowly pulling into the next stop when I suddenly realized that we were actually passing through. I was still heavily leaning against people to indicate my need to exit when we were back in the tunnel headed away from our stop. Although I was nearly at the door, I didn't see anything in our station because the crowd of people in the train was so thick. But I was rather indifferent to it other than missing our stop. Evgueni on the other hand, was against the door and saw commotion on the platform; stretchers, medical personal, blood and debris. He didn't tell me until we were making our way out of the Metro at the next stop. He told me he thought there must have been a gun fight or something far more serious and not the "technical difficulties" the Metro had warned us about.
Only when we got to the hotel did we find out what was happening. We turned the news on and realized that we'd just missed the first bombing and the second one happened while we were stuck in the train. Too close. The first one had happened in the opposite direction that we were going and that's why we were still able to pass through the station. The second one had happened 2 stops after the station we got off. Freaky. Victims had been airlifted out and the response was fast. Fortunately there were no fires to worsen the situation.
What a stupid stupid thing. What in the world they can actually do to prevent something like this from happening again is limited.
Evgueni's Dad is also in Moscow on business (at our hotel!!), but we couldn't reach him right away as the cellular network lines were down and the remaining lines were at capacity. We started getting worried. Fortunately, he was safe and sound asleep in his cozy hotel bed. We saw him for breakfast and a dose of comfort.
All this before 9 am... Yesterday was a long day.
Evgueni and I were a bit stunned and lay on the bed for about 2 hours watching news coverage and holding each other tightly. I'm glad I'm here if for no other reason but for those few hours. What a day.
Later, I had to go out as I forgot my brush in St.Petersburg. I didn't want to. I went to the underground mall in front of the Kremlin and the streets were empty. The Red Square was empty. The mall was empty. I've been to this area enough times over the last week to know that this was not normal. Everything was sombre and quiet. My touristy mood has disappeared.
At these times, I really realize what is actually important. I don't ever like forgetting the important things, but inevitably, routine sets in and the concerns of daily life consume me.
I suppose like everything, there are two sides to this though: sometimes too much knowing of what is important can be overwhelming too.
No comments:
Post a Comment