Well, it’s been a long day and it’s only the first 24 hours of the journey. I left Newark International Airport yesterday at 5:30 PM and here I am 8 PM Moscow time one day later.
A final glimpse of the United States shoreline and a nice view of Cape Cod.
The flight over was very interesting. I sat next to an Indiana born woman who has been working and living in Munich for 12 years. She was great to talk to and had a lot of information to share.
Munich is made up of many small villages. Most of the homes there have red clay tile roofs. Different parts of Germany have different color roofs depending on the region.
Once in Munich, I had a few hours to spend just looking around the airport and relaxing before the next jaunt, a three-hour flight to Moscow. There were some obvious differences from being in the US but, I think it was most interesting that if you wanted to get to the plane, everybody was expected to walk up three flights of stairs and then down three flights of stairs, ride a bus and walk up the steps to the plane. They also hand out complimentary newspapers on overseas flights. I spent a bit of time deciphering the news in German.
Keeping up on Russian spy news and World Cup Soccer results with the complimentary newspaper.
After a short hike and bus ride we arrive at the plane. The airport is huge, but there are so many flights that some planes board away from the airport gates.
Once in Moscow, I realized that those hours of practicing Russian were not going to go to waste. I spent a fairly long time going from employee to employee asking if they spoke English. Finally, I pieced together “Please with whom can I speak English?” There was one woman who with a lot of animation could answer my questions and get me on my way.
Taxi’s here are about as nerve wracking as in New York and that’s all I’ll say about that. I was very happy to see my hotel entrance.
Once I was helped with all of my belongings to the eighteenth floor room over looking the city, I was instantly curious about a set of beautiful blue domes I could see not too far away. I got myself together and set out for a bit of a walk.
The eighteenth floor is a nice place to see the city.
The blue domes piqued my curiosity and were my first destination once in Moscow.
Along with a beautiful church, I walked to the river to see groups of people lying on the grass, playing football and swimming in the river on a lovely Sunday afternoon.
The beautiful blue domes and gold trim were absolutely stunning in the late day sun.
The church is surrounded by colorful flowers and gardens.
The Church has a chapel nearby that had pretty roses blooming along side.
Local Muskovites park along the highway and spend time relaxing in and near the river.
On the way back to the hotel, I saw a sign at a shopping center nearby that just struck me as funny. Can you pick out anything you recognize?
You can't go anywhere without those golden arches and the Colonel.
Well, enough investigating for now. I plan to organize myself for tomorrow when I meet Greg and Dustin, two key people on the science team, and we head into center city.