Oh the Places You Will Go...: We made it to Moscow

Wow, sorry it has been a couple of days. Not a lot else went on in Arkhangelk except a good bit of cabin fever. With only four hours of daylight, and most of that while Anna Beth was down for her nap, there wasn’t much of a chance to get outside and play. Oh, and it was 10 degrees and snowing, so not very much fun in that anyway. We were able to complete all of our required paperwork and get ABC’s Russian Passport. Leigh was the one that had to go and pick that up, and since she got back Anna Beth has been a little testy with Bryan. Seems that since mamma left her for an hour, papa is to blame. It really only comes out when she is tired, or stressed. This too shall pass.

We had a rather uneventful flight from Ark to Moscow. A little late getting off of the ground, and that extra 30 minutes of having to sit strapped into our seats was almost more than she wanted, but we made it. She got a little fussy about an hour into the flight. She was fighting sleep, and fighting Leigh for not letting her down on the ground to stay awake. After 5 or so minutes of pouting, crying,and mild screaming, she was asleep. Another hurry up and wait in the Moscow airport for forty five minutes because our driver was stuck in traffic (a very common excuse) and we made it to the hotel. The Moscow Hilton has proven, so far, to be well worth all of our points to stay here. English is the primary language, a very helpful and accommodating staff, (well, for a regular price of $350 to 400 a night, what do you expect) and good food. Leigh has decided that civilization is much better than the best the north of Russia had to offer.

One of the main things we have had here is comfort food. For Leigh it was a rack of lamb on the night we arrived. For Bryan it was the first good cup (whole pot)of coffee since we left home, and for Anna Beth it was what might have been her first waffle. (With medical care in close reach, Leigh is feeling out the boundaries of Anna Beth’s diagnosis of food allergies.) We haven’t quite caught up on missing our nap yesterday, or waking up at 6:30 for the Dr.’s appointment this morning, but we all feel much better today. Even in a city a far from home as Moscow is, the 17th floor of a hotel where people speak your language, and u can see out makes things a lot better.

Speaking of the 17th floor. We have a neat view of the northern end of the city. We have a corner room, so we can see about 130 degrees of the city. We are much higher than most of the other buildings, so other than the smog, the view is unobstructed. The hotel is built in one of the seven Lenin towers, so it is in a historic building. Anna Beth enjoys looking around out of the window here too. After her nap, we plan to let her get out and experience the city a bit.

I mentioned the Dr.’s appointment. We were given the clean bill of health required by the US embassy for her visa. Our paperwork has been filed at the embassy, and we have an appointment at 2:00 PM on Thursday for our interview, and to get her visa. After that, either Thursday or Friday, we go to the Russian Consulate and register her to leave. Mixed in there will be her trip to Red Square, Arbat Street, and anywhere else we can stand. A good friend of ours pointed out that it was warmer at the south pole today then it is in Moscow. Thanks to global warming, Moscow is having its coldest January in 20 years. At least we have daylight here longer than we did in Ark, so that should help all of our feelings.

Thanks for stopping by, we hope to see you all soon, and here are a few more pictures.

Cousins