Rostov

[Lily]

  Flying into Moscow SVO then have to go to terminal D to Rostov. When I bought the flight it was pre volcano days. I am taking the Delta flight 30 that arrives at 10 AM but now arrives at about 11:15. My flight to Rostov leaves at 1:10PM I have been to SVO befre but never had to change terminals. Had to go to Domendevo(spelling!) once from SVO. That was easy and I am sure I can handle switching terminals.
  What do you guys think? Is there enough time to get through passport control. Get my luggage and change terminals in 2 hours. I am leaning on changing to the 3PM flight to Rostov.
    

facetrock, did I get you correctly that you arrive in SVO 2 but merely change terminals? or are you going to change SVO 2 to SVO 1?

 

[Markus]

Seeker this is for you. If facetrock left this part out of his original post I would not have responded. Whats this got to do with anything? Except he knows this is questionable. He actually says it.

I do hope things go good.

SMS, it has to do with FR's situation. Were you able to read these words yet not understand that FR described his situation to the extent that he wrote? Oh yes, it has to do with his situation. How is it so easy for me to understand yet you get hung up on these words? If his situation doesn't fit into your mental box then start a thread on the subject so I can entertain myself with you. But don't come here asking rhetorical questions about a guy who knows what hes' doing according to "his mental box." And where's your advice on SVO?

FR,

There is a way to change terminals in SVO by train but trying to figure out the process may be a chore. Years ago the cab drivers wanted $50. I'm sure that's higher now. I'll send you a PM of a guy I know in Moscow who can give you advice and help you change terminals via their service.

[BillyB]

Do you guys mind if I cut in and say something related to being on topic?   Facetrock, do you have a plan if you arrive in Russia and the volcano acts up again which prevents you from leaving the country indefinitely? I read some Europeans are sleeping in our airports at this moment with no way home.

 
Flying into Moscow SVO then have to go to terminal D to Rostov. When I bought the flight it was pre volcano days. I am taking the Delta flight 30 that arrives at 10 AM but now arrives at about 11:15. My flight to Rostov leaves at 1:10PM I have been to SVO befre but never had to change terminals. Had to go to Domendevo(spelling!) once from SVO. That was easy and I am sure I can handle switching terminals.
   

You weren't clear but I suspect you are not going to Domendevo for this trip but staying at the same airport in Moscow. There is SVO 1 and SVO 2. They are across the runway from each other. One airport handles international flighst and one airport handles domestic. There is a bus so take it otherwise you have to use mafia taxi. You will probably fly a Russian made airplane within Russia and the airline may not be partnered with Delta. Find out from Delta if you have to pick up your luggage after you land in Moscow or if they will transfer it for you to your next flight to Rostov. Lock your bags with TSA approved locks. I've had things stolen in the past. Use other locks and TSA will cut them and your bags will be unsecured by the time it gets to Russia.

[wiz]

Face

Delta arrives at Terminal 2 at SVO and terminal D is on the same side of the airport but you will need to get a bus to get there or a Taxi. Taxis are expensive... so a cheap bus ride is preferable..... but taking into consideration of everything going on at the moment I would advice you to change to the later time for the internal flight to Rostov.

When you get out from the luggage area, pass through the taxi drivers wall........and right opposite on the right hand side there are the desks for information or go outside and look for the bus going to Terminal D. The ride is around 18 Rubles and you may have to buy the ticket inside the terminal.

Before I forget just make sure all your documents, accommodation voucher etc are in order as the Police/immigration at Rostov are well known for looking to find something wrong to scam innocent foreigners. In another board somebody who has visited Rostov over 25 times has told us about these scams.

Enjoy your time in Rostov and take no notice from the inexperienced trolls. You are obviously looking to find a woman to create a family and not an Arm Candy or a Trophy wife to show off around and if you are happy with her having 2 children.... then of course women in her situation are more stable than young smokinghotkovas.

Good luck old boy and have a good trip.

[Maniac999]

  You are a brave man, Facetrock.
To deal with a woman with 2 kids - not everybody will have so much courage to do it.
Keep us posted , we are waiting for developement!

[I/O]

This is bloody pathetic!! Delete everything (Including this) after Billy's post (Reply number 1) and start again. A TR f****d up before it starts. Ridiculous.

[facetrock]

  Lets see if I can salvage this report. Maybe inspire some intelligent debate from guys who have actually been to the FSU.

Thanks for the help guys. I am going to switch my flight to Rostov to the 3PM flight. Been watching the Delta flight 30 arrival times and they have been arriving at least one to two hours late. As far as getting out of Moscow I can always go back through Istanbul then to the USA. As far as I can see those flights havent been affected yet. Or I can just hunker down in Moscow for awhile.
 
  There is nothing brave about me going to see a woman with two kids. I cant remember the last time I went out with a woman that didnt have kids here. At my age its common and to be expected. I am fully aware she is a package deal. The last two trips I went to see women that had one kid each. I also wont try to blow smoke up everyones ass and say Russian children are better behaved. One girl I went to see a few years ago had an eleven year old daughter that was a total spoiled brat from hell. Far worse than most kids here.
  One thing I have noticed is that most of these kids are starving for male attention. In both cases the kids liked me, probably to much. Neither had seen their father since the divorce and one didnt even remember the father at all.

  These kids are boys, 7 and 9 and neither remembers their father. The lady and I have agreed I will not meet the kids until we feel the relationship can grow. She is very afraid the children will get attached. She understands that young boys who have never had a man in their life can get their hopes up very high and she doesnt want them to get hurt. I dont want to hurt them either. She is very protective and has told me how her boys have said they want a father like other kids have.

  This lady does not live in Rostov. She works there but lives in Azov. Small town of about 80k just down the road. When we both think something can happen between us we will go to Azov and then I will be allowed to meet friends and family.
 
  Her English ability is about 7. She was taking English lessons when we started communicating 2 times a week and I can tell its improved in the last 45 days.
  From what I can tell her life is very structured. Kids to school in the morning. Then she works from 11am til 11pm. Then she gets her kids and goes home. On weekends its doing stuff with the kids and English lessons. She doesnt have much time for anything else.

  She is a nature nut. Loves the outdoors and prefers a smaller city. I think she has seen every picture on the internet of LaCrosse, Wi.
Last time I talked to her she told me she researched fishing in Wisconsin and says she used to fish years ago and loved it. Good girl.
 So thats a little bit about the girl.
One thing is for sure. If this does work out that computer of hers will have high speed internet with a cam and mic before I leave
 

[Boethius]

  One girl I went to see a few years ago had an eleven year old daughter that was a total spoiled brat from hell. Far worse than most kids here.
 

Children almost always reflect the attitude of the adults around them.

Good luck.  I think if your visit's successful, you will make a great father for those boys.

[GQBlues]

What do you guys think? Is there enough time to get through passport control. Get my luggage and change terminals in 2 hours. I am leaning on changing to the 3PM flight to Rostov.

My opinion is you have enough time, but may well hinder on being too little. +/- 30 minutes to go from SVO 1 to 2 on average. If it isn't a big deal to make the change now, I personally would resign into doing it.

Of course, it would have been nice if you had the same carrier for both flights (AF). Then whatever happens with the first (delays) can help out on the connector.

Anyway, good luck and have fun!

2 kids, WOW! Do the father have custodial rights? Ka-ching 

[XMan]

Have not been to Rostov, but have switched between SVO2 and SVO1.  It's a bit longer trip than one might guess (in traffic 30 minutes or more).  Plus getting your bags, customs, etc.  The taxi mafia may try to get as much as $200 for a $15 cab ride.  If you can locate the bus/shuttle, great.  If not, see if you can negotiate a taxi that isn't run by pointy boot gentlemen. 

2.5 hours between flights is the bare minimum I would allow.  It's boring in the airport, but better to have a bigger window than to try to get a alternate flight after missing one.

Good luck.
Have fun.

[dogspot]

I typically give myself 4 or 5 hours between flights at SVO. 2 hours is cutting it close but your chances are still about 50/50. I know that taxis are not advised but I will advise you to use one in this situation as they will get you to the other terminal much quicker than a bus.

On my last trip I had 1 hour 50 minutes to make my connection on a return flight. I was on day 30 of my tourist visa and had little time to spare. When I was unable to find a shuttle right away I simply asked a young taxi driver if he would drive me for 20 bucks. He agreed and had me there in just a few minutes.

Granted, this was leaving the country, but passport control and check in lines were horrendous and I still made my flight with about 20 minutes to spare.

Still...I will never put that kind of stress on myself again. Have a great trip!

[Daveman]

 
...
Last time I talked to her she told me she researched fishing in Wisconsin and says she used to fish years ago and loved it. Good girl...
 

Yes indeed! She have a sister??  :evil:

[JR]

Yes indeed! She have a sister??  :evil:

What happened to "The Maiden, TM?????"

Best of everything to you Face, hope all works out wonderfully)))

[Avis]

Hey facet

I'd be a little concerned about changing the terminals, i couldn't find in your messages what terminal are you flying in?
SVO has recently changed their naming, and opened quite a new terminal, it's quite a mess there, disaster  jees i hate SVO. But it's not gonna be as far as Domodedovo anyway.
Let me know your terminals, pls, I'll try and see if 2 hours time is enough.


UPD: i see i was a little late with advice nevermind that's a smart decision to depart for Rostov later good luck facet

[facetrock]

  Avis helped me out in chat on switching terminals. I also see the flights are back to normal for Delta. So I will keep my 1:10 departure. costs me 150.00 to change it anyway so the hell with it. If I miss it I go on the 3PM. Terminal 2 is now called Terminal F, thats where I fly into at 10:10am. I fly out of Terminal D which is on the same side of the airport. I remember back in 2007 I could see them building it. According to Avis the bus stops are also in English, that will help.
  So yesterday I went and bought a pair of those pointy toed dress shoes I was hoping would go out of style for the last five years. No luck there and I finally gave in and now am a proud owner of a pair of elf shoes.
   Stopped at Victorias Secret to pick up a few much needed and very important items and I think my shopping is done

[possum]

  Avis helped me out in chat on switching terminals. I also see the flights are back to normal for Delta. So I will keep my 1:10 departure. costs me 150.00 to change it anyway so the hell with it. If I miss it I go on the 3PM. Terminal 2 is now called Terminal F, thats where I fly into at 10:10am. I fly out of Terminal D which is on the same side of the airport. I remember back in 2007 I could see them building it. According to Avis the bus stops are also in English, that will help.
  So yesterday I went and bought a pair of those pointy toed dress shoes I was hoping would go out of style for the last five years. No luck there and I finally gave in and now am a proud owner of a pair of elf shoes.
   Stopped at Victorias Secret to pick up a few much needed and very important items and I think my shopping is done

I'm not quite sure what you're referring to as elf shoes here.. It is my understanding that regular pointy shoes are worn throughout Europe, having originated in Italy.. As for elf shoes, they have toes that point visibly upward and they have been out of style since 2005, although they can still be found in low-end Russian shoe stores.. Personally, I'm considering switching to pointy shoes for this season as I've never worn them before and am sick of the old rounded design..

[Daveman]

I'm not quite sure what you're referring to as elf shoes here.. It is my understanding that regular pointy shoes are worn throughout Europe, having originated in Italy.. As for elf shoes, they have toes that point visibly upward and they have been out of style since 2005, although they can still be found in low-end Russian shoe stores.. Personally, I'm considering switching to pointy shoes for this season as I've never worn them before and am sick of the old rounded design..

You're correct... Italy (and probably Sandro specifically) is responsible for that pointy shoe proliferation!

"Personally, I'm considering switching to pointy shoes for this season as I've never worn them before and am sick of the old rounded design.. "

Now just think, if you get creative with a little paint, you can make those pointy shoes into Pedi-Possums just like your avatar!  THOSE would be the coolest shoes in the world... but, should they have tails? 

[kievstar]

The ones in Ukraine are more pointy that most of Europe.  I like them since I do not have short fat feet. 

[Lily]

My pointy dress shoes retired this year. Rounded dress shoes are in

[SANDRO43]

You're correct... Italy (and probably Sandro specifically) is responsible for that pointy shoe proliferation!

I plead not guilty . I never liked that style, particularly the extra-long points that tend to curl up after a little use .

But I can understand our shoe industry, after a while they have to invent a new style otherwise people will keep on wearing their old shoes and won't buy new models .

[facetrock]

   I, Facetrock am now leaving my home to head to the airport. One good thing about living in a small town is that it only takes 20 minutes to get to the airport. Also it only costs 35 bucks a week to park my car right ouside the front door
   So, when I get back I promise to tell you all about it. Everyone play nice while I am gone.
 LaCrosse, Minneapolis, New York, Moscow, Rostov. Long day ahead.

Dont forget my passport. Dont forget my passport. Dont forget my passport. Dont forget my passport.

[Maniac999]

Good luck , Face! Hope, everything will work out fine for both of you !
We will be waiting impatiently your detailed report!

[Vaughn]

Some might say its silly at my age to take on a woman with two young children.

You're correct, facetrock - and some will agree it's perfectly fine to get engaged  2-dimensionally
via Skype. Only you know what you're capable of, what you desire, and I wish you all things good
upon meeting this woman, and her children.

The lady and I have agreed I will not meet the kids until we feel the relationship can grow. She is very afraid the children will get attached.

Let's be honest here - that is only half the story. She also wants to check you out personally before she brings you
home to meet any loved ones. It's a device that comes naturally to those ladies who practice hopeful yet cautious
optimism. We're on the same page ~ I consider it a welcoming flag of the brightest green. 

Dont forget my passport. Dont forget my passport.

I hope you remembered to bring along a few little Wisconsin gifts for the two young boys !

SMS60:   Lifejackets....  sometimes the drama here just slays me !!

[JR]

Face, best to you man!

[Faux Pas]

Don't forget your passport