Market Friday: How about a ride on the metro?

How about buying a metro ticket today and taking a short trip? I need to get from Lesnaya metro station to Spasskaya metro station. The distance in a straight line between these stations is not long, about 8 kilometers. But if you go on the surface, the road can be long: you have to cross the bridge over the Neva River and then go through the narrow streets of the historic city center with heavy traffic. Therefore, a trip on the subway is the best choice.

The only inconvenience of traveling by metro between Lesnaya and Spasskaya stations is that these stations are located on different metro lines, and you will need to use the interchange in the middle of the road. But I found a significant advantage in this circumstance, the transfer stations were built at different times and are very different in design.

I entered the metro at Lesnaya station. You can buy a special transport card at the metro station, but it is not necessary: you can use a regular bank card at the turnstile. Most passengers prefer transport cards, if you choose the right card, you can save up to 30%.

Lesnaya station (Forest station) was built in 1975. The name of the station comes from the educational institution located nearby (not because the station stands in the woods, as one might think). The buildings of the Forestry Academy are located in a huge park, but the park is still not a forest:) The Lesnaya metro station was built at a time when the urban architecture was struggling with rich and varied décor, and the design of the station looks quite simple. The track walls of the station are lined with green ceramic tiles, and the end wall is decorated with a decorative "Sun" composition with internal lighting. I went closer to take a picture of the "rays" of this "sun". After that I took the train to the Vladimirskaya station.

Vladimirskaya station was opened in 1955, it is one of the first stations of the St. Petersburg metro. This station is decorated much more luxurious. The walls are lined with marble, and the floors are paved with granite. Massive chandeliers and wall lamps, decorative grilles... You could easily guess the time the station was built by these interior elements, even if I didn't tell you.

Vladimirskaya station is a transfer station, and there are considerably more passengers than at the previous station. The light corridor allows you to transfer from Vladimirskaya station to Dostoyevskaya station. I waited until the flow of passengers who came on the same train with me had subsided, to take a few photos.

Dostoevskaya station was constructed in 1991. By the time the station was built the struggle against architectural excesses had ended, and the cold, detached architectural style of the 1980s was also a thing of the past. Retrospectivism began to gain popularity. Beautiful lanterns and graceful grilles reappeared in station decorations.

From Dostoevskaya station I arrived at Spasskaya station. This station is a transfer hub, too, and it was very crowded here, too. I went to the far end of the hall to find an empty bench for a photo. This station was built in 2009. The main decoration of the underground hall are mosaic panels on the topic of architecture of St. Petersburg.

The entrance hall of the station is also decorated with mosaics, the themes of these mosaics remind of the nearby Sennoi market - or rather, of the times when the Sennoi market was located right on the square, and there was a brisk trade from the low wooden counters and directly from the carts. These mosaics are worthy of the closest attention, but you can only admire them for a short period of time when you go up or down the escalator.

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Smartphone	Google Pixel 3a
Location	Saint Petersburg, Russia

This is my entry for the #marketfriday challenge by @dswigle.