Monday, April 27, 2009

Moscow, Day 1 and 2

We made it to Moscow, after a 10 hour flight from ATL. We arrived around 10:30am local time, which was around 2:30am Cincinnati time. I slept quite a bit on the plane, however, Steve did not sleep at all. We enjoyed some fine Delta food, and watched a man get detained in Moscow for removing his seat belt and leaving his seat prior to the plane stopping at the gate...they mean business. We waited a while in customs to have our passports checked, but then made our way to find our translator/driver. He was wearing an Indianapolis Colts hat...made us chuckle.

Driving in this city is at your own risk, as is crossing the street. Think NYC, but much worse. Since we came over a few days early, I used my accumulated hotel points to stay at the Hilton in Moscow. Interesting bit, it was actually one of 7 skyscrapers built by Lenin. It's newly renovated, and fabulous. By far the best Hilton I've stayed in.

Most of Sunday was spent sleeping. After checking in, we both checked out for a few hours...just like our typical Sunday afternoon nap. We got up in time to have the free drinks and appetizers (one of the perks I also get at Hiltons), and then right back to bed. Surprisingly, we've adjusted to the 8 hour time difference quite well.

Monday (today) brought big adventure. We navigated the metro (subway) system by ourselves. All the signs are only in the Russian Cyrillic spelling, so we needed to identify the station by the spelling, and the number of stops from start to finish. Fortunately, there was a stop across the street from the hotel, and across the street from Red Square.

I wish I could upload pictures to show the real beauty of the square, but that will have to wait for another time. Most people around the Kremlin and in the square spoke enough English that we could manage. 30% on the signs were in both Russian and English around the Kremlin, so we were able to understand a bit of what we were looking at...the rest we nodded and smiled.

Overall, Moscow is pretty awesome, very Eastern European, and with a mix of old Russia and modern style. Tomorrow (Tuesday) we leave for Novokuznetsk. Our flight leaves at 10:30pm, and we arrive early Wednesday morning. Novokuznetsk is 4 hours ahead of Moscow, and 12 hours ahead of Cincinnati. Our internet access will be much less once we get there.

Love to all!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Monday Night Shoutouts!

We are down to t-minus 5 days until we leave for Russia. Everything has been arranged, paid for, and planned, but not yet packed (that's what Friday night is for). In preparation, some shoutouts.

First - to all of you readers. Thanks for stopping by and giving the page a read. I hope that in the coming weeks there will be much more to share.

Second - to all the folks who donated. THANK YOU!!!!! This would not be possible without your generosity and kind hearts.

Third - to those who have prayed, are praying and will be praying. Prayers are being answered, and it is awesome! There are 4 things we have really been asking for prayer for...continued financial support, continued smooth sailing until the boys come home, safe travels, and strength to be able to leave the boys behind until be return. Of course, feel free to add your own prayers too.

So...to all of you...SHOUTOUT!

Saturday, April 11, 2009

visas

Our passports returned from the Russian Embassy today, complete with the official stamp from that allows us to get in and out of the country. The best part is that is have the Russian spelling of our names is on the visa. Did you know Myers in Russian is spelled MAQN(backwards)ES?

Two weeks from now we will be somewhere over the Atlantic.