Moscow......

I arrived in Moscow yesterday around 1:40 pm local time (Moscow is 8 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time in the U.S).  The flight was pretty uneventful.  I will say the Singapore Airlines is a fantastic airline.  It was strange arriving in Moscow, as everything was covered in a dense cloud of smoky ash.  There are massive peat fires burning in the countryside outside of Moscow and the smoke has descended on the city, making breathing and even seeing difficult.  I amazed at how bad the air quality was.  As we landed, the visibility was horrible.  You couldn't even see the plane next to ours when we arrived at the gate.  It's also unbearingly and historically hot in Moscow right now.  Here's a quick link to both the fires and the weather.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10762921

After deplaning, we started the nightmarish process of queing up in the non-Russian citizen passport control line.  It was a madhouse.  As the only former resident of Moscow among our group of travelers, I took it upon myself to make sure we weren't pushed around in lines, instructing two sets of line cutters to get behind us in Russian.  To my surprise, they meekly did.  After waiting in line for about an hour (which included a brief interlude next to a pile of vomit -- ahh, good to be back in Moscow), we made it through passport control, picked up our bags, and got to our hotel.  I treated my travel companions to a shot of Russian Standard vodka.  After dinner, I managed to stay up until about 10:00 pm local time.

Today, I put in a full day of work at our local office.  But the jet lag is really starting to catch up with me.  I'm supposed to meet one of my former colleauges from the ABA here in Russia for a drink tonight.  Not sure I will be able to stay awake for that, but I'm going to give it a shot.  Tomorrow is a short work day in the office, and my travel companions have asked me to take them down to Red Square.  Not my favorite place in Moscow, but it should be fun.  We'll definately be taking a taxi, however, as I can't imagine walking from our hotel to the city center with the heat and smoke.

Moscow seems relatively the same to me -- sprawling, crowded, and traffic everywhere.  It seems kind of strange to be back.

Comments

[Connie Spalding]

Jeff, hope you're doing OK in the heat and smog...hopefully, your next flight won't be canceled. I posted yesterday, but it apparently did not go through. I'm glad you're still up on your Russian language. Vladomir must be a good guy (since he's up on Bruce's songs). Love you and miss you. Love, Mom

[Dizzle]

are there any outbacks in russia? ...sounds pretty sweet, nonetheless.

[Kelly Hall]

Incredible. Sorry about the heat and the smog. Have fun w/ Vladimir (I think that's his name???). Love ya!/Kelly