После долгой поездки подруги обнимались у метро и смеялись, как дети.

После requires the genitive case, so долгая поездка becomes долгой поездки.

• долгая поездка = a long trip/journey
• after после → после долгой поездки = after a long trip

Both words change because the adjective must agree with the noun:

• долгая → долгой
• поездка → поездки

So this is a very standard preposition + genitive pattern.

Подруга means female friend. Its plural is подруги, so here подруги means (the) female friends.

This form can be confusing because подруги can also be:

• nominative plural = female friends
• genitive singular = of a female friend

In this sentence, it must be nominative plural, because it is the subject of the verbs:

• подруги обнимались
• подруги смеялись

So the sentence is talking about more than one female friend.

Not quite. Обнимались comes from обниматься, which often means to hug each other or to be hugging.

That -ся ending is important. It often gives a reflexive or reciprocal meaning. In this sentence, подруги обнимались suggests a mutual action:

• they were hugging each other
• they hugged each other

So this is more natural than simply thinking of it as one-directional hugged.

Because the subject is plural: подруги.

In Russian past tense:

• singular masculine: different ending
• singular feminine: different ending
• singular neuter: different ending
• plural: usually -ли

So:

• обнимались
• смеялись

are both past tense plural forms, matching подруги.

Notice that in the plural, Russian past tense does not show gender. Even though подруги are female, the verbs are simply plural.

У метро means by the metro / near the metro station.

The preposition у usually means by, near, next to and takes the genitive case.

So:

• у метро = near the metro
• в метро = in the metro / inside the subway system

Those mean different things. In this sentence, the friends were hugging and laughing near the metro, not inside it.

Because метро is an indeclinable noun in Russian. That means its form stays the same in all cases.

So you get:

• метро
• у метро
• в метро
• около метро

The case is still determined by the preposition, but the noun itself does not change in form.

Here как means like, introducing a comparison:

• смеялись, как дети = laughed like children

In this kind of comparison, Russian often uses the noun in the nominative:

• как дети
• как взрослые
• как герой

So дети is just the normal nominative plural form of дети = children.

This phrase describes how they were laughing: in a carefree, childlike way.

The comma separates the main action from the comparative phrase:

• смеялись, как дети

This is very common in Russian when как introduces a comparison meaning like/as.

So the comma helps mark the added descriptive comparison: they laughed, like children.

Yes. Russian word order is flexible, and putting После долгой поездки first sets the scene or time frame:

• After a long trip, the friends were hugging...

This is a very natural way to organize information in Russian. The sentence begins with the background circumstance, then gives the main actions.

A more neutral English-like order is possible in Russian too, but this version sounds smooth and natural.

The imperfective aspect is used here because the sentence presents the actions as an ongoing scene or process, not as single completed events.

• обнимались = were hugging / hugged each other
• смеялись = were laughing / laughed

This gives the sentence a vivid, descriptive feel: we imagine the friends standing there, hugging and laughing.

If perfective forms were used, the focus would shift more toward completed actions rather than the scene itself.

Russian usually does not need an extra subject pronoun when the noun subject is already present.

So:

• Подруги обнимались...

is completely normal and natural.

Adding они would usually be unnecessary unless you wanted special emphasis, contrast, or a particular style. Russian often avoids repeating information that is already clear from the noun and verb.