To Moscow by Train

The TEE-hee Don (that is, the Quiet Don) is an express train that runs between Rostov-on-Don and Moscow. It leaves Rostov 1:30 p.m. most days and arrives Moscow 7:30 the next morning. Several times now I've taken that train from Rostov to Moscow to catch a flight from Sheremetevo-2, the international airport, back to the US. Most recently was early April. Care to come aboard?

Advantages to taking the train include catching up sleep. And playing UNO. And gazing at the vast country side as it whizzes past. The train is like an inexpensive hotel. And considerably less expensive then flying. Disadvantages include needing to leave home 18-some hours earlier than if catching the early flight from Rostov to Moscow at 6:35 a.m.

Here's a quick shot of the PLOKS-kart wagon just before we pulled into Moscow. Plokskart is open like this. You can walk along and see everybody in the wagon: There's no privacy. Plokskart can be a bit of a shock at first to a foreigner because it's so cozy. But it's significantly less expensive than the kype (Koo-PAY) wagons. And I have come to prefer ploxkart because there you get to meet more people -- potentional UNO partners, it's less stuffy and, best of all, there's more luggage space. And luggage space is something that I cherish.


This lady was my neighbor on the train. She was assigned the lower berth opposite me. There are four sleeping births: two upper and two lower. The upper berth has advantages because you can just hop up there and have your own quiet little world and sleep or read. The disadvantage to the lower berth is that you need to share it if the top berth person wants to sit for a while. But the plus to the bottom berth is having easy access to the little table. Because eventually I find myself wanting to drag out the laptop and edit photos. Photos for You, dear blog readers. =)


The koo-PAY is a higher class of train travel. And you know what that means - fork over more rubles. But look at the nice corridor with curtains. These shot was from a trip to Moscow, March 2006.


Well, here are two nice ladies enjoying tea in their koo-pay, March 2006. Notice the nice tablecloth. That's part of the deal in that class of train travel. Nice table cloths and such. Koopay compartments have sliding doors on them, so there's a bit of privacy.

Boiling water is available in each train car. Perfect for a cuppa tea and the train provides these glasses and glass holders. Surely Czar Nicholas II sipped tea from something this elegant. Of course after he got booted out of power, his tea time ritual likely changed.


Being an express train, the Teehee Don makes few stops. But at each stop are entrepreneurial folks selling food. The choices range from dried fish to alcohol to chips, candy and boiled potatoes. This lady was selling homemade pastries filled with fruit or maybe cabbage and potatoes. She kindly allowed herself to be photographed, although she did say with a laugh, it's better to buy than to photograph.


Here we are, early morning at Moscow station, Kozanski Vogzal, March 2006. There's something romantic, something poetic about this station. Reminds me of being in a movie from the 1940's. Not that I've actually done that, of course.

Say, have you done the train bit in Eastern Europe? Was it dramatic? Please share where you went and what you did. And how you liked the bathrooms. =)

The Joys of Packing: Eagle Creek Helps

Packing is not my idea of fun. Nor is living out of a suitcase for six weeks. But over the years, I've picked up tip or two from the pros, from people such as you, dear blog readers.

Eagle Creek: Eagle Creek is a brand I love. Not inexpensive mind you, but their stuff is technically in a league of its own. Dear friends and globetrotters, Craig and Lisa introduced me to the Eagle Creek packing envelopes, meaning that they bought me a couple of sets. Use these and clothing arrives organized and unwrinkled. See, you fold the items around the plastic template that comes with it. So all uniform shapes and sizes. Slick.

Then close the envelope and the four sections velcro together.

There's the template.

So I travel with three envelopes - one for tops, one for bottoms, one for whatever. Then besides the envelopes are packing cubes. These are my favorite for unders. One for tops, the others for bottoms, the whole works including thermals, tights, socks and the usual ho-hum stuff. So just grab the cube and the whatever is in there. Somewhere.

Eagle Creek products I get at The Container Store. That's one very dangerous place to go. Second only to Half-Price Books in terms of dangerous-ness. But I digress. Another place to access Eagle Creek is from their website. The envelopes run $20-something per and they weigh about one pound each. Those are the disadvantages but I figure it's worth it. Otherwise my suitcase ends up looking like a tossed salad in no time flat. Well of course Zip-Lock bags work great for the unders because they're light, transparent and cheap. But nothing beats the Eagle Creek envelopes for clothes.

This packing system makes airport security check a breeze. At Moscow's Sheremetevo-2 airport, just prior to check-in, Delta has each suitcase opened and checked by white-gloved checker people while the passenger is standing there. They dig around and poke through most everything. This packing system makes that process easily in lots of ways.


Wall adapters: I use these constantly. Actually I depend on them because most of my gear these days is European made: computer, blow dryer, curling iron, digital camera battery recharger, cell phone charger. So all have the round prongs used for European electricity. So nice, So Very Nice that such things are available dual voltage these days. But come back to the US and wall adapters - well, they're a must

It was David W. who tracked down adapters at Radio Shack. Dear David W, I refer to as my handler. He's a missions-oriented guy, an engineer, and he's good at solving problems. Even easy stuff such as this he's glad to help with. And that makes quite a difference. Thank you David!

How about you? Please share your favorite packing tips.

A Family for Natasha

Until Thursday at the airport, the last I had seen Natasha was in Rostov-on-Don at the orphanage. But now she has a wonderful family and -- lucky me -- I got to spend nearly 24 hours with them at their home near Atlanta between flights from Moscow to Dallas.

Think Natasha will be happy here? It's likely! ;) Now she has three older brothers and a mama and papa of her very own. Not to mention two cats. That's every orphan's wish, you know, to have a family of her very own. Cats are optional.


Natasha and her mama with gifts from an orphanage administrator. I got to courier things for Natasha - a stuffed toy that says I love you in Russian, some doo-dads for her hair and a bunch of jewelry that appears to be diamond-studded. To Natasha, the gifts are more precious than jewels - or, at least, the love they represent.


Natasha listening to a cassette of kind words from orphanage staff, including several of her former caretakers, a couple of whom had cared for Natasha from infancy.

With Natasha and her wonderful mama at an Atlanta restaurant enroute to the airport.

The Taxi's Waiting, He's Blowin' His Horn. . .

Hello from Moscow! I'm at Sheremetevo-2, the international airport here and prepping to catch flight to Atlanta after trip on the "Quiet Don," the overnight train from Rostov to Moscow. Like a nice, cheap hotel. Plusses and minusses, but a great way to catch up on naps for lik 18 hours.


This was the scene yesterday:

Taxi waiting for you-know-who.


What some folks would give to have one of these. Very blessed.


And what would I give to have my Russian visa renewed. Well, for starters about $350 to the consulate. Hoping and praying. . .


Last minute souvenir. Yumm, caviar. Some people think it's yummy anyway...have YOU ever tried?


Kids love rubles. They think they're getting a lot of money when I give them a 10-ruble note. Divide that by 23.5 rubles to the dollar and, yep, suddenly they're millionaires. ;)

Well, got a plane to catch, Delta Moscow to Atlanta. Overnighting with family of little Natasha there, remember the young lady just adopted by a family in Atlanta? Yea - a long layover, almost 24 hrs.

The taxi's waiting, he's blowing his horn. Already I'm so lonesome I could cry (well, maybe, maybe not. . . give me a few weeks. . .)

Condoleezza Rice for President?

(Photo courtesy of Reuters)

(Post in progress) I'm really busy packing for a visa trip, but walking past my television a minute ago, which is typically on but muted, I saw what appeared to be an announcement of Condoleezza Rice running for president. Oh my oh my, the dangers of understanding just enough Russian to be dangerous. And the temptations of being sensational-istic. That's one thing I certainly don't want to be.

Anyway, on the screen there in black and white would be translated Condoleezza Rice (mystery verb) for president there in the sub-text. What's critical there is the meaning of the verb баллотироваться, which surely my rendering there needs to be tweaked a bit. And the video was of her walking out somewhere, onto a stage, it appeared, with President and Mrs Bush, looking serious but smiling.

Okay, so quick, open up my Oxford Russian-English dictionary at that verb is defined as "to stand, to be a candidate".

Busy, busy, no time to waste time. But at the border, at passport control and the airport, they might just ask me about this. I need to be ready with my passport and my information about presidential candidates. Besides, I am totally in awe of Condoleezza Rice. She's an expert on things Russian, you know. And she speaks fluent Russian, they say.

I've done a quick Google search on this, a quick look at CNN news on this, nothing not even a morsel of information there. Quick, quick where's a photo of Secretary of State Rice. All you people in the US are asleep in bed, you should be anyway, it's like 1:30 a.m. Eastern Time. And it's my job to monitor the news while you sleep.

I know this is April Fool's Day and all . . .but surely on international news, nobody would be joking about this sort of thing. And that includes me. But there have been other occasions when something newsworthy has broken here a day or two before it was broadcast in the US. Hold on, hold on the 10:00 a.m. news will be on here in a minute. I have ironing I can do right in front of the television while I watch. Let me get my camera ready too. . . Okay, you people in the US, you just keep on sleeping. I'll be your correspondent over here. And your ironer.

Well, while the iron's firing up and the water turning to steam, let me say that the news channel is busy reporting live of President and Mrs Bush in Kiev. An opening ceremony in progress there. And just between you and me, I'm wondering if those dear folks managed to get a decent night's sleep, perhaps on Air Force One. They appear to be a wee bit jet lagged.

Okay, not much international news on the 10:00 news, except as relates directly to Russia and the Ukraine. . . Have any of you heard anything about this?