Learn Hardcore Russian: Вместо автобуса я иногда решаю погулять до метро, особенно если мне хочется движения. - Instead of the bus I sometimes decide to walk to the metro, especially if I feel like moving.

вместо автобуса – literally “instead of the bus” (a noun).
вместо того, чтобы ехать на автобусе – literally “instead of going by bus” (a whole action).

Both are natural here:

Вместо автобуса я иногда решаю погулять до метро.
Вместо того, чтобы ехать на автобусе, я иногда решаю погулять до метро.

The second version sounds a bit more explicit and “textbook-like,” because it names the action (ехать на автобусе), not just the vehicle. In everyday speech, the shorter вместо автобуса is very common when the context is clear.

Why is it решаю погулять, not решаю гулять?

The verb решать / решить (“to decide”) normally takes a perfective infinitive when you decide to do one concrete action:

решаю погулять – I (sometimes) decide to take a walk (on a particular occasion).
решил прочитать книгу – decided to read the book (from start to finish).

If you use an imperfective infinitive after решать/решить, it tends to mean a more long-term, repeated, or ongoing activity:

решил гулять по утрам – decided (from now on) to walk in the mornings (as a habit).

So решаю погулять describes the moment you choose, this time, to go for a walk; решаю гулять would sound more like “I decide to (make it a rule to) walk (regularly).”

What nuance does погулять have compared to гулять?

Both come from the same verb “to walk / to stroll,” but aspect changes the nuance:

гулять – imperfective: the process, with no focus on completion
- Я люблю гулять. – I like walking (in general).
погулять – perfective: to walk for a while, a single episode, with the idea of some result or limit
- Я хочу погулять. – I want to take a (some) walk.

In the sentence:

решаю погулять до метро – “I decide to walk to the metro (as my walk this time),”
it suggests one concrete walk “for a while,” whose natural endpoint is reaching the metro.

Could I say идти пешком до метро instead of погулять до метро? Is there a difference?

You can say it, but the nuance changes:

погулять до метро – walk in a somewhat relaxed, “strolling” way, and your route goes as far as the metro. There’s a slight shade of enjoying the walk.
идти пешком до метро – go on foot to the metro. This is neutral, more about the mode of transport (not by bus, but on foot), not about “taking a stroll.”

Given если мне хочется движения (“if I feel like some movement/exercise”), погулять fits nicely because it implies “take a bit of a walk” rather than just “not take transport.”

Why is it до метро? What’s the difference between до метро, к метро, and в метро?

Different prepositions describe different relationships in space:

до метро (+ genitive) – up to / as far as the metro (reaching the point)
- пойти до метро – go (until you reach) the metro.
к метро (+ dative) – towards the metro (direction, but not necessarily reaching it)
- идти к метро – walk towards the metro.
в метро (+ accusative or prepositional) – into/inside the metro (the space itself)
- зайти в метро – go into the metro.
- я в метро – I am in the metro.

In погулять до метро, до is used because the metro is the end point/limit of the walk.

If до normally takes the genitive, why doesn’t метро change? Why isn’t it something like метра?

Метро is one of those Russian nouns that are indeclinable: its form does not change in any case.

So you get:

в метро, из метро, до метро, около метро, возле метро – always метро.

Grammatically it is a neuter noun, but you only know the case from the preposition and context, not from an ending.

What exactly is going on grammatically in мне хочется движения?

This is a typical impersonal construction in Russian:

хотеться – an impersonal verb “to be wanted / to feel like”
мне – dative case (“to me”) → the experiencer
движения – genitive case (“some movement”) → what is desired

Literally: “To me, there is a wanting of some movement.”

Patterns:

Мне хочется чая. – I feel like (some) tea.
Ему хочется отдыха. – He feels like (some) rest.
Нам хочется движения. – We feel like (some) movement.

English uses “I want / I feel like…,” but Russian often uses this impersonal мне хочется + Genitive to sound more natural and slightly softer than я хочу.

Why is движения in the genitive case here?

With хотеться and similar verbs (e.g., ждать, ожидать, искать in some uses), the thing you want can appear in the genitive to mean “some amount of” that thing, often with a partitive feel:

мне хочется чаю – I feel like (some) tea.
мне хочется тишины – I feel like (some) quiet.
мне хочется движения – I feel like (some) movement.

So движения here is genitive singular, expressing an indefinite amount: “some movement / some physical activity,” not a specific, countable instance.

What is the difference between мне хочется движения and я хочу движения / я хочу двигаться?

All three are understandable, but they sound different:

Мне хочется движения.
- Very natural, idiomatic, slightly softer/neutral.
- Focuses on a spontaneous feeling: “I feel like some movement / I’m in the mood for some activity.”
Я хочу движения.
- Grammatically ok, but sounds more direct, a bit stronger.
- Could sound stylistically marked, like: “I want action!” (depending on context).
Я хочу двигаться.
- Focus is on the process “to move,” rather than “some movement” as a substance.
- More literal: “I want to move (my body), I don’t want to sit still.”

In the given sentence, мне хочется движения sounds the most natural and idiomatic.

Why does the sentence use если in особенно если мне хочется движения? Could we use когда instead?

Both если and когда are possible, but they differ slightly:

если – “if / when” as a condition. In habitual contexts it often matches English “when(ever)”:
- особенно если мне хочется движения – especially if/when I feel like some movement.
когда – straightforward “when,” more temporal than conditional:
- особенно когда мне хочется движения – especially when I feel like movement.

Here:

если sounds like: “particularly in those cases when I happen to feel like moving.”
когда would sound a bit more like a simple time reference: “especially at the times when I feel like moving.”

Both are acceptable; если emphasizes the condition-like nature a bit more.

How flexible is the word order? Could I move иногда or вместо автобуса to other positions?

Russian word order is relatively flexible, but it affects emphasis and naturalness.

Possible variants:

Иногда вместо автобуса я решаю погулять до метро…
– Emphasizes “sometimes, instead of the bus” as one block.
Я иногда вместо автобуса решаю погулять до метро…
– Neutral, but a bit heavier in the middle.
Я иногда решаю вместо автобуса погулять до метро…
– Also possible; вместо автобуса closely tied to решаю.
Я иногда решаю погулять до метро вместо автобуса…
– Understandable, but вместо автобуса sounds a bit “stranded” at the end and is less natural here.

The original:

Вместо автобуса я иногда решаю погулять до метро…

nicely highlights the contrast (“instead of the bus”) right at the start.

Is the comma before особенно если necessary? How is this part structured?

Yes, the comma is required.

The structure is:

Main clause: Вместо автобуса я иногда решаю погулять до метро
Subordinate clause introduced by если: если мне хочется движения
особенно modifies the whole если-clause: “especially if…”

Russian rules:

A clause introduced by если is a subordinate clause and is normally separated by a comma from the main clause.
An adverb like особенно placed before если does not remove the comma; it simply modifies that subordinate clause.

So the correct punctuation is:

…я иногда решаю погулять до метро, особенно если мне хочется движения.