Subways of the World!

I enjoy watching trains, and love riding in them. I have a special fondness for Metro systems or subways, and I suppose this dates back to my childhood when a ride on the Toronto subway was a special treat. Legend has it that a three-year old Mooncattie was intercepted at Toronto's Davisville subway station, having wandered off from home with notions of heading downtown! Well, many years passed before I got a chance to visit another city's subway (1975 - London). Now I make a point of taking a journey on the Metro of whatever city I visit.

2010 was a banner year for Me and Metros! This year I managed to board trains in Toronto, Montreal, Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, Berlin, Munich, Nürnberg, Hamburg, and Warsaw. Below are a few highlights from past travels.

Here's a station in Nürnberg, Germany. The newest line features automatic "driverless" trains, which means you get to sit up front if you like and enjoy the driver's point of view.



Below is a scene from a much older system (with much older stations!), in Chicago. The Windy City is famous for its downtown elevated Loop trains, but this particular line reaches out into the western suburbs.



Another long-established American subway can be found in Philadelphia. This is the Market Street line, which features a nice outdoor stretch to the west of the downtown. Stations here are, well, pretty old looking!



Many of Europe's major cities are very well-served by Metro systems. Vienna is an excellent example, and here a U-Bahn enters the outdoor Stadtpark station.



Berlin has a huge railway system, integrating the regional S-Bahn lines with underground U-Bahns. Below is the recently-opened U55 line stop at Brandenburger Tor. It currently shuttles back and forth between this station under the Brandenburg Gate and Berlin's main railway station. One day, it'll be extended eastwards to Alexanderplatz.

I enjoyed riding the subway in Warsaw, Poland. Here is an entrance at Centrum station, with the gigantic Palace of Culture and Science looming above.

Having finally been bitten by the camcorder bug, I've joined the hordes of nerdy folk who post YouTube clips of whatever they are interested in. For me, that meant videos of subways and Metros, and you can see my work posted under the name of "murrener". Or just click on www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvDRwFMUesM if you're REALLY bored and go from there! I'm looking forward to 2011, when I hope to add more Metros to my collection.

UPDATE:

Yes, it's true! I've now lost 25 pounds, and I've got the Weight Watchers ribbon to prove it! I've hit the 27 lb. mark as of November 22nd, and hope to whittle away another few pounds if possible by Christmas. I've got more energy, and I'm fitting into clothes that I haven't worn in many years (in some cases, NEVER!). I'll keep you posted!

NEXT: Going away in 2011!