Из России/From Russia: There (And not back again for awhile) Part II

Just like my my first day of school pics...

Okay, so I left you last time in Rhinebeck, NY, a sleeping town in the Catskills. A lot has happened since. I am going to skip a few days (August 14th-15th) because there wasn't too much excitement there. We had a pre-departure orientation which answered a lot of my questions about traveling to Russia, but it also made me super impatient and I couldn't wait to actually be on my way. Here are some pics of that time!

My home for two nights.

Yes, that says H. Potter....hmmmm....

Great! Now that you're up to speed...

Wednesday, August 16th.

7:15 AM: Alarm goes off. I was disgruntled at first, but then I suddenly remembered what today was (Thankfully! That would've been THE worst time to sleep in!). I'm going to Russia today! :)

7:17 AM: I actually got up, realizing that going to Russia involved more than just being awake and remembering to go to Russia, though those are crucial first steps.

7:52 AM: Headed to breakfast, singing the 1st verse of the Russian National anthem and the old Russian song, Katyusha. And while we have time, you should listen to them as well!

Wonderful songs! Ok. For breakfast, I had coldish pancakes and eggs. Not so wonderful, but hey, its food.

10:07 AM: After doing some packing and milling about, I made my last FB status in the U.S. I weighed my luggage: 40lbs. On Friday, it was 50lbs. Oh yeah.

The evidence. Discovering I could take on a
personal bag was equivalent to the discovery
of fire.

10:25 AM: I'm ready to go. Гатов. The bus leaves arrives at 11:15 AM.

11:15 AM: Got my passport back (it had been with Bard-Smolny since June) with a visa in it! Also got some other things to enjoy (insurance info, photocopies, etc.) Ура!

11:37 AM: The bus departs. Пока Бард! Bye Bard, it was a nice stay. We were passed out lunch. I was hungry! This is my last meal in the U.S. Observe:

A good meal to leave the country on.

Everyone else is enjoying the lunch. The bus is cold and everyone is quiet; "In their zones." It's fitting, as we prepare to begin our adventure in earnest.

Lunch was good, now, we wait for New York City.

12:04 PM: Okay, we're 90 miles from NYC. I say we get there in 1 hour and 35 minutes. Place your bets!

1:35 PM: NYC! Darn, 4 minutes off....It's okay. I'm going to Russia.

1:41 PM: Probably the 2nd most exciting thing of the day (besides going to Russia). Our bus is cruising along (mind you, this is a charter bus) and is approaching a toll booth. Not a problem. Except when you take the bus into the cash lane that is meant for cars and when we were planning on using the "Fast Pass" lane in the first place. So yeah, we're stuck. The sign next to us reads, "Do not back-up." Not that we can with all the traffic behind us. So our driver faces a choice: 1. Call for help. 2. Back-up and hope they get outta the way. 3. Jump the curb.

We jumped the curb. On the way, we scraped the side of the bus (I did't see it afterwards, but it sounded really bad!) and got the bus on the curb and over the curb. Very freaky. Had the image that the bus would flip over. Thankfully it didn't. That would've put us behind...Awesome. Where were we? Oh yeah, going to JFK.

1:50 PM: We are on the Van Wyck expressway. This is insignificant besides the fact that when I saw we were on this road, I immediately thought of the Seinfeld episode when Elaine comes in Jerry's apartment after attempting to get a guy she was dating and really hated back to Seattle. The audio for the clip is at right.

1:56 PM: In traffic. There is someone reading a newspaper while driving (well, rather they are reading newspaper while looking up when the car in front of them as moved ahead 5 feet). Famous New York traffic.

We arrived at the airport. I don't remember when, but we got through security quickly and had about an hour before boarding began.

This airport as a matter of fact.

4:55 PM: We are on the plane (FinnAir flight). There is no turning back now. We're going to Russia (well, eventually, so maybe there is a bit of chance to turn back. But I'm not).

A bit of the inside of our plane.

5:45 PM: We have left NYC!

We flew high (Yes, obvious) and eventually entered Canadian airspace. Cheers USA! Our route is northeast across New Foundland to the southern tip of Greenland, then east to Iceland and across Norway and Sweden to Helsinki.

Some point on the plane: I have no idea what time it is. But we just had dinner and it was delicious! BBQ chicken with green beans, a dinner roll, cheese, and desert bar. Yum!

Some other point on the plane: Had been reading for a bit. Time to sleep.

I would like to thank this pillow. Without which, I wouldn't
have slept as well or as long.

11 something New York time, maybe 6:00 AM my time: Woke up. Lots of other people are up. The sun is also up and is rather bright. I feel pretty good. Happy for sleep. We eventually got breakfast. I had orange juice and a ham and swiss sandwich. Wonderful to have in the morning.

They then handed us a hot/moist toilette. At first I looked and it and wondered what they wanted me to do with it. My hands weren't sticky or anything and the plane was rather warm. Those crazy Finns. I almost through it away. Then I realized that the man to my left was using it to wipe his face. I did the same and I immediately retracted all the previous thoughts I had about this toilette. It was wonderful.

12:35 AM New York time/7:35 AM Helsinki time: We are currently over Sweden. We have 54 minutes until touchdown.

8:15 AM Helsinki time: We are in Helsinki! First time in Finland/overseas! Technically, you could argue that we weren't in Finland because we didn't not pass through security and the Finns did not welcome us into their country. But I'm not being technical. Here's the airport:

A small airport and very quiet.

I enjoyed our brief stay in Helsinki. It was a nice breather before the final leg of our journey to St. Petersburg. I had 2nd breakfast: A Finish pastry and a bottle of a carbonated orange beverage. Very delicious. Had a small panic attack while I was paying for breakfast. I realized that I was no longer in place where I could use American money. I also realized that even if they did miraculously accept American bills, I was in the Eurozone, which meant my five dollars wasn't going to cover my 6 Euro breakfast...thank goodness for debit cards. Except that didn't work for the first couple of swipes, giving me another panic that my bank did not want me to use my card in Finland. Third time is a charm. Got my breakfast.

Around 9:30, we set off for St. Petersburg. It's getting real. As we boarded the plane, we were handed our migration card; a small piece/flimsy piece of paper without which you don't exist in the Russian Federation. No pressure.

Here it is. The theme of Russian documents: Small = important.

We set off from Helsinki and made our way to Russia. There is officially no turning back now. And that thought doesn't even cross my mind.

The flight is about an hours so we'll be in Russia really...Wow! What is that?!