The Wrigley office is so far outside of Moscow that no one has been able to show it to me on a map. I think we’re northwest of the city. I take the metro to a pickup stop and catch the Wrigley shuttle to work. It takes about 1 ½ hours each way (assuming no unusual traffic or accidents). Grrr..
The metro is actually awesome. It puts the L to shame. It covers more of the city, the trains run every couple of minutes (no more racing to catch the train), and it’s warm because it’s all underground. The subway stations are very elaborately decorated and each one is unique. I’m talking marble, stain glass windows, statues, etc. Very cool. I wish I could show you pics, but I left my stupid camera cord in Chicago. Later, I promise.
Moscow has more millionaires and billionaires than anywhere else in the world., and the office is located where the richest people in the country live, including Putin. This is reflected in the surroundings. No billboards for something as dull as mobile service or McDonalds. Nope, we’ve got billboards for castles in France, yachts (not boats- yachts), fur coats for children, etc. And in case you need to buy a car, there’s a Rolls Royce/Bentley/Lamborghini dealership conveniently located nearby.
One of the most coveted items for the super rich is a blue light. For $20,000 a year (maybe more, who knows) you can buy a blue flashing light to put on top of your car (it also comes with a siren and sometimes a police escort). This light allows you to disregard all public safety and traffic laws. I hate and fear the blue light cars. Most blue light cars drive down the middle of the road, weaving in and out of traffic, in order to get to their very important destination faster. The scary thing is that the other two lanes of traffic don’t really slow down, they just kind of move over a tad. So now a narrow two lane highway has three lanes of traffic all driving very fast. It’s ripe for a head on collision. I haven’t discovered what happens if two very important people are traveling down the middle of the road in the opposite direction. Who wins? I hope to never find out.
One Girl's Wanderlust Adventures 