TR to Moscow

[Sculpto]

I will be leaving San Francisco for Moscow on the 25th of October so I thought I would start writing now regarding preperations as some may find usefull information in what I have been doing to prepare.

The first thing I needed to do was get my tickets and visa.  I started off by searching all the typical internet sites and seemed to get the same results everywhere with Delta coming in with the best price.  However, even using the Delta site directly I could not seem to get a good itinerary.. I would either have to do the red eye out of SF or have a long layover in New York on the way there with the same on the return.  I would lose almost 40 hours on the ground and since I will only be there from the 26th of Oct-Nov 3 I decided to try and find a local travel agency in Sf that specializes in Russia.  After a bit of searching I found http://russart4you.com/  The agency has provided excellent service procuring the best price ticket, again on Delta for the same best price I found on the web, and correcting the itinerary problems so my layovers are the right amount of time to make my transfers without having to sit around and lose precious time in Moscow.  They were also able to take care of the visa and vouchers and I will be able to register once I am in Moscow directly through their office there without having accomodations already reserved. 

The apartment has been a big challenge so far.  Google turned up a lot of agencies for apartments but they are all pretty expensive.  $200 a night just bugs me because I do not need all the luxury amenities these apartments come with like dvd players and wifi and so on.  All I need is a clean comfortable place in a relatively central location that will be warm!  It is pretty clear to me these apartment agency sites are geared to business people on expense accounts.  So, my search is ongoing.  I found some listings on CraigsList and wrote to them, but, so far all that has come back are Nigerian 419s.  Some of them have actually been hilarious, like the luxury flat 300 meters from Red Square for 450 euro a month.. yeah right I believe that and i really believe it when the "owner" claims to be a Russian named Sara Welsh who is a widower/ school teacher sent by the Russian government to teach Russian in west Africa.  LOL!  So, CraigsList will not work.  I have also used cheap-moscow and found a lot of listings for hostels and room rentals which if I was going just to see Moscow would be perfect, dorm room style beds as low as $22 a night.. but.. I do want to have the option for privacy so that will not work for me either.

For my hobby here in the States I race electric slot cars so I am hoping I will find a "Scaletrics" or similiar club in Moscow like I did in France and Spain.  So, I did a google search and found nothing so far, but, it did lead me to "hands to hands" and some other Moscow centric bulletin boards.  This evening I will spend some time with the google translate and see if I can find any apartment leads that way. 

Living in San Francisco I am almost completely unprepared for very cold weather.  I did manage to procure a nice winter coat so that part is covered, but, I feel I need some other clothes suitable for the weather and upon inspection my one and only hat is not going ot do the job nor will my gloves.  I only own one sweater and it is cotton!  So, I have been spending some time at Macy's hunting for bargains.  Shoes also presented an issue.  I have one pair of very good shoes that sholud be all purpose for dealing with slippery snow covered street but still look good to go to a nice dinner or club, but, they have been sitting on the shelf for quite a while becuase the heal is worn out and the souls are right on the verge.  So, I went into the mens shoe department at Macy's and asked the manager what he could do for me since I bought the shoes there several years ago.  He took very good care of me.. in exchange for signing up for a Macy's CC he is sending my shoes out for repair for no charge.  I win twice on that one.    So now I just neeed to stay persistent and keep checking the sales because I do not want to come across too casual.. later on if the lady ever comes to live here I can "break her in" to the SF style slowly, but, I don't want to look like a freak when I am in Moscow.  I have travelled enough to know it is usually best to try and blend in when visiting another country, but, given how style conscious it appears Muscovites to be, I am sure it will be a good idea to try and play along the best I can on my limited budget.

Gifts.. well to be honest I could use some suggestions from the ladies on this one.  If I get something too expensive I know my girl will get mad.  I asked if she desired anything specific and she answered "I only want you are coming".  Thanks a lot!  LOL.  So, I want to bring her something that is simple but unique.  I thought about making some earrings or a charm but I am not sure it is appropriate to give jewellry to someone you have just met.  Now, I was thinking about making an amber heart to give to her at the end of the trip should things go well.. I have a lot of beautiful raw Mexican amber, but, I am clueless how amber is percieved in Russia.  I know it is very available.  In Mexico it is highly valued and considered almost mystical.  Does it have any of the same "value" in Russia or would it be considered cheap?  I personally prefer silver to gold for appearence, but, I have heard that silver can be considered as being "cheap" also.  So, if amber is a good choice should I make a point of getting a gold chain for it or will silver be ok.  I have asked her if she likes silver or gold better and she didn't really express a preference.

Along with Chivos list of budget entertainment options I have been reading a lot about Moscow.  But, I am still open for more suggestions, especially anything to do with contemporary visual or performing art.  I would love to see the Bolshoi, but, I would like even more to see somethign new and original.  Any thoughts on this would be appreciated also.

OK, so as I have more to report I will post.  I am really excited though, I don't know if I have ever been as excited for an international trip.

[groovlstk]

I stayed at this apt. three years ago, it's just within the Garden Ring near the Belaruskaya metro station:
http://arendakvart.narod.ru/photobkondratevskaya23.html

I paid $70 per night but I see the price has more than doubled for what is a comfortable but far from luxurious 1BR apt.

Sculpto, aren't you meeting your gf there? If so, I'd advise you to ask her to find you a place to stay. She'll have a much easier time and will be less likely to get rooked. Even if you find a reputable real estate agent they will likely have two sets of prices, one for foreigners and one for locals.

[Sculpto]

Groov..

thanks for the link..

My girls is not in Moscow now.. and she is not from Moscow.. she will be taking the train back there to meet me (because she wont take my money and fly).  I think the only "favor" I can ask is for her to ask her friends there if they know anything or to verify something I find.  Beyond that I am somewhat on my own.

Russart Travel sent me three places today.. two of them in Arbot and one just off Tverskaya for about 175 a night.  They don't have photos yet but they are described as 4**** with recent renovation and modern everything.  It is more than I need so I asked them if they had anything more simple.  Will see what shakes loose tomorrow.

[groovlstk]

Groov..

thanks for the link..

My girls is not in Moscow now.. and she is not from Moscow.. she will be taking the train back there to meet me (because she wont take my money and fly).  I think the only "favor" I can ask is for her to ask her friends there if they know anything or to verify something I find.  Beyond that I am somewhat on my own.

Russart Travel sent me three places today.. two of them in Arbot and one just off Tverskaya for about 175 a night.  They don't have photos yet but they are described as 4**** with recent renovation and modern everything.  It is more than I need so I asked them if they had anything more simple.  Will see what shakes loose tomorrow.

I can sympathize. Moscow is a city of extremes, it's not easy to find much between two and five stars Proximity to Old Arbat and Tverskaya is ideal, however.

[Misha]

I can sympathize. Moscow is a city of extremes, it's not easy to find much between two and five stars Proximity to Old Arbat and Tverskaya is ideal, however.

Well, there used to be the Hotel Rossiya. Cheap rooms (3*), walking distance to Red Square. What did they do? Tore it down to build something else. Moscow certainly did it best to make sure that most people could not afford to visit the city Certainly one of the reasons why the number of tourists visiting Russia is going down.

[Sculpto]

I just translated the narod site you sent.  Their words do quote in the $60-80 a night range so I am wondering if they are showing elevated pricing on their site for the summer?  Anyway.. I sent them a letter stating specifically what i am looking for.  Again, we will see what happens tomorrow.

I also just got an email back from a posting I put on one of the expat sites about a week ago.  Someone has an apartment for a great price and actually lives here in Palo Alto.  Her adult son lives in Moscow and would meet me at the airport and take me to the place.  The woman says she will call tonight with more details.  Hope its not a hoax or someplace really inconvenient.  She is quoting $60 a night.  If she is in fact here I can set things up so she doesn't get her money until I check into the apartment.  Palo Alto is just 20 minutes from my office.

I have a feeling I am going to shake loose some good deals.  I will share whatever I find.  

[Sculpto]

Well, there used to be the Hotel Rossiya. Cheap rooms (3*), walking distance to Red Square. What did they do? Tore it down to build something else. Moscow certainly did it best to make sure that most people could not afford to visit the city Certainly one of the reasons why the number of tourists visiting Russia is going down.

LOL Misha.. but I do not think that is totally why tourism is down.. if it is actually down.. I have no idea one way or the other.. however.. given the current economic climate here in the USA international travel is probably not high on most peoples priority list.  If you are willing to go "backpacker" style Moscow appears way cheaper than New York.  Cheapest lodging in New York is the Venderbilt House YMCA International Youth Hostel.  There you can get a private room with no light and a dingy shower down the hall for $75 a night and a relatively inconvenient area.  Actually that is not the cheapest.. the Y in Chelsea is cheaper about $45 a night.. but.. it is more like a vagabond hotel and there will be winos and druggies sharing your floor and they won't let you in after 1 am.

What I think might be more accurate is easy access to information concerning budget lodgings may be hard to come by.  But, I am a persistent researcher so lets see what I can turn over.  I think you all might be surpised what I find. 

[dispozo]

This place lists.. apartments and hostels.... http://waytorussia.net/Travel/Apartments.html

I have not used them...

Good luck.

[Sculpto]

I just got an offer on an apartment and want to see what those with experience in Moscow think about the location...

The place is at the end of the "Green Metro" on the south side.  It is the last stop.  The photos of the place show a clean, simple, normal apartment with a very nice collection of books aparently from the grandparents of the owner.

The price is $550 US for 8 nights.  The owner is in SF right now and was able to put me in touch with an American woman who also lives here who used the place this summer.  She liked it because it is a quiet area with clean air and she always got a seat on the Metro when she went into the center.  It is about a 30 minute ride to the center.

I will run it past my girl also to see what she thinks.

Any thoughts?

[Misha]

LOL Misha.. but I do not think that is totally why tourism is down.. if it is actually down.. I have no idea one way or the other..

No, the numbers of international tourists going to Russia has declined in the last few years. I have to rush off, so I can't provide the stats at this moment, but will try to find my source later.

[chivo]

The first thing I needed to do was get my tickets and visa.  I started off by searching all the typical internet sites and seemed to get the same results everywhere with Delta coming in with the best price.  However, even using the Delta site directly I could not seem to get a good itinerary.. I would either have to do the red eye out of SF or have a long layover in New York on the way there with the same on the return.  I would lose almost 40 hours on the ground and since I will only be there from the 26th of Oct-Nov 3 I decided to try and find a local travel agency in Sf that specializes in Russia.  After a bit of searching I found http://russart4you.com/ 

Have you bought the ticket? If not, have you thought of flying out of LA? Delta is who I use and the connections are much better. About 18hrs total travel time including layovers either out of Atlanta or New York. SF to LA is another hour with possible layovers, so it's just a suggestion. 

The apartment has been a big challenge so far.

Yes, this will always be anyone's biggest concern, and one I don't have much influence on.  You can find some closer to the center for about $150 a night that are something like this.
http://www.apartmentres.com/en/apartments/moscow/panorama/

You can always offer a flat rate with these agencies just for the time you're there. $1000 for 8 days for instance

It is pretty clear to me these apartment agency sites are geared to business people on expense accounts.

Not really, this is the market in Moscow. The reason Moscow is often rated as the most expensive city in the world is more related to foreigners, not so much for the locals, even though it's not exactly cheap either.

Most people want these things when they travel, I'm no different. When I travel, I want satellite TV, free local calls, internet connections, microwave, etc.

I do want to have the option for privacy so that will not work for me either.

Herein lies the problem. Bro, one question, are you ready for an international relationship? It's not cheap is my point.

Living in San Francisco I am almost completely unprepared for very cold weather.

Wasn't it Mark Twain who said " the coldest winter I ever saw was the summer I spent in San Francisco" .

I wouldn't worry so much about the weather in October. While chilly, hardly that bad. Most people walk around without hats, gloves and such. Now January, February are different, but the last 2 years even those months have been relatively mild.

Sorry, have to run. I'll try to address other things (like stylish Muscovites) later. Good luck.

chivo

[Ooooops]

I just got an offer on an apartment and want to see what those with experience in Moscow think about the location...

The place is at the end of the "Green Metro" on the south side.  It is the last stop. 

Any thoughts?

If you don't mind spending an hour on a subway each way then it's OK.    Moscow is a big city, you know.   

[Sculpto]

Ok to answer Chivos questions first..

I already have the ticket and am happy with the connections so its all good.

I am going to make one more effort with one of the apartment agency sites because they have some places listed that are reasonable budget closer to the center.  But, I did talk to my girl about it today and her opinion was it doesn't matter where the apartment is.

Chivo asks if I am ready for an international relationship because it is not cheap.  Well, this is a good and interesting talking point.  I am well aware it is not cheap, but, that does not mean a person should ever go beyond their means in trying to achieve it.  First of all, if a person splurges on the vacation aspect it can certainly create unrealistic expectations in the lady because she sees him throwing money around freely and she will naturally expect that is his lifestyle.  So, I think in that regard it is very important to spend realistically according to a persons real life ability to spend.  Second of all, just because tickets and apartments cost a lot doesn't mean someone should go overboard.  Sure it would be great to fly first class, but, do I "need" to fly first class?  NOPE!  It seems to me it is a lot wiser to research the best alternatives and pay the best price.  Isn't that what a good RW would do? 

Now, I happen to be a very non-materialistic person.  Given the choice between staying in a 5***** hotel or camping in a hammock on the beach I will choose the hammock every time.  Given this "parameter" it has complicated my search a lot.  But, something I have tried to keep in mind since day one is the lessons I learned in Mexico about materialistic lifestyles.  20+ years ago I had a fantastic girlfriend in Mexico.  We loved each other a lot.  Now, on one hand I was living down there off a bank account and supporting her.  It meant I needed to come back to the States periodically to earn some fast cash and then go back to Mexico.  My girl and I had been living together for about ten months when it was time for me to go earn some money.  She was distraught about it and made the comment, "If we are in love all we need is each other, all the rest of the stuff we will create together."  Well, I didn't believe that and because of the middle class upbringing and lifestyle I was acustomed to I could not accept her ideas.  So, I left her alone to go and work, for three months.  Well, by the time I got back.. she didn't have the personal strength to remain alone for so long.  She held out for two months but collapsed in the third.  To this day she is a great friend and she has reminded me 1000 times over the years that it was my materialism that left her alone and gave doubt and weakness a chance to get into her psyche.  I have never doubted she was right about that because I have seen a lot of other international couples in Mexico that started the same way and when the easy "western money" ran out they somehow managed to build a life inside the Mexican economy even though they started with nothing.

So, in my search in the FSU finding a lady who can understand this has been the basis for any ongoing interest on my part.  Guess what.. it is really hard to find someone who understands those values and shares them.  But such ladies do exist and the lady I am going to see is very much one of them.  She knows my financial status, which is neither rich nor poor and she is perfectly accepting of that.  So, I will always be FRUGAL but never cheap.  Besides, I am not going to Moscow to sit in the apartment.  I want to go to the museums and houses of artists and eat out and go to clubs.  If I spend more on the apartment I have less to spend having fun. 

Oooops, the guy who owns the apartment told me it is a 40 minute trip, but, the American woman who lived there this summer told me it is only 30 minutes.  This might sound strange but I actually enjoy riding subways and have done so in a lot of places. 

Here is a nice little list of the great subway systems of the world I have used with ratings on a 1-5 scale, 5 being best under the follwoing criteria.. frequency, cleanliness, cost, cool stations, crowds... 

New York, 3  ugly stations, crowds, noisy trains
Chicago, 3  small system, crowded
Los Angeles (above ground) 2  lack of frequency
San Francisco, 3  MUNI is infrequent, rarely on time, ugly,  BART is infrequent and expensive
Atlanta, 3  Infrequent boring system
Washington DC, 3 smallish system and infrequent


London, 3  Old like New York and very crowded, tube feel claustrophobic.  I would hate to ride this system daily
Paris, 4  Massive system very frequent and pretty low cost.
Madrid, 3  I don't remember much from this system and that indicates how I must have felt about it
Amsterdam (above ground) 4  Its just cool..
Lisbon, 3+  Lisbon system gets the plus because of very late night trains..
Barcelona 3++  I don't know if it has changed since I was there in 1987 (probably) but it was a fun system with rock bands playing in the entrances
Milano, 2 Noisy, crowded, boring, cheap, fast

Donetsk (above ground) 1 (ugly crowded and slow)  These trains were rusty, slow, noisy, very crowded

Mexico City, 4  This massive system is awesome.  Bult by the French so the trains are the same as in Paris.  Many stations are veyr interesting.. one has a hall with the galaxy in the cieling done in fiber optics.. another has Aztec pyramids that wer euncovered during excavations.. system costs $.10 for a ride, trains come every 3 minutes.  Stations are spotless with marble floors.  People are very helpfull if you look lost.  6 Million riders every day. 

From what I have heard and read about the Moscow system it may give Mexico City a run for the money as my favorite subway system.

Weather... I am glad to hear the weather will nto be so cold as I was thinking.  I watch "Russia Today" almost every day and have been following the temperature trends.  I might get by with my leather and a warm wool sweater which would be fantastic. 

San Francisco summer is defintely weird opposite world.  In summer we get fog and wind, especially in the western part of the city.  Within our 49 square miles it can be 59 degrees at the beach and 79 degrees downtown at the same time.  I live in the warm eastern part of the city outside of the worst of the fog.  I am accustomed to 60-70 degrees and sunny for about 250 days a year.  Extreme heat and extreme cold have just become part of my memory, except when I go to Mexico but then I am usually at a clothing optional beach less than 25 steps from crystal clear aqua blue water...

Ok, I have rambled on long enough.. I need to do some work today.  Can anyone tell I am excited?  LOL

[Sculpto]

I've got a few things to report...

My girl finally got the photos of the $550 apartment at the end of the Green Metro line that I emailed her.  Her first question was how much will it cost.  I told her and she so "NOOO, it too much, it same for whole month, I call my friend and see if she can something find"  I told her she has one day because I must confirm this apartment soon.  Then she asked me where it is and I explained it.. she said its ok because she does not want to stay in the center.. too much noise and people.. so.. probably I think we will stay at the end of the Green line which is fine with me.  Its pretty noisy and crowded where I live in SF so it will be nice to be 7 floors up in a quiet area.  LOL Might be tooooo quiet.. I hope i will be able to sleep without noise.  HAHAHA

Yesterday I had some free time at work, (sure no one noticed cuz I have been writing so little, LOL) and I decided to send some flowers to my girl.  After a year of correspondence I had never done this.  BAD ME!  I used Russian Florists Network to send 11 red long stem roses.  I put the order in at about 3pm my time.  When I called her this morning after we talked about the apartment she said, "Ereek, I like flowers, thank you".  I think she was really suprised and touched judging by the tone of her voice.  So, it looks like I got same day service.  After she thanked me her Mom got on the phone and said something to me in Russian I didn't understand and then both of them laughed a lot and my girl said "Kiss You".  So, LOL, whatever.. hahaha

Then we talked about how she will get to Moscow.  I asked if she will fly or go on the train.  She said she is afraid to go on the plane and will take the train.  I told her.. its 3 days travel are you sure?  She replied its ok that she likes it and it will give her time to rest before I arrive.  She is still working crazy hours.  I keep telling her not to work so much and I will pay for her travel expense but she keeps refusing it.  I don't want her to have financial problems but dang the girl is stubborn sometimes.  LOL,  I guess I better get used to that.

[Kuna]

Yesterday I had some free time at work, (sure no one noticed cuz I have been writing so little, LOL) and I decided to send some flowers to my girl.  After a year of correspondence I had never done this.  BAD ME!  I used Russian Florists Network to send 11 red long stem roses.  I put the order in at about 3pm my time.  When I called her this morning after we talked about the apartment she said, "Ereek, I like flowers, thank you".  I think she was really suprised and touched judging by the tone of her voice.  So, it looks like I got same day service.  After she thanked me her Mom got on the phone and said something to me in Russian I didn't understand and then both of them laughed a lot and my girl said "Kiss You".  So, LOL, whatever.. hahaha

Then we talked about how she will get to Moscow.  I asked if she will fly or go on the train.  She said she is afraid to go on the plane and will take the train.  I told her.. its 3 days travel are you sure?  She replied its ok that she likes it and it will give her time to rest before I arrive.  She is still working crazy hours.  I keep telling her not to work so much and I will pay for her travel expense but she keeps refusing it.  I don't want her to have financial problems but dang the girl is stubborn sometimes.  LOL,  I guess I better get used to that.

Sounds ike a good girl Sculpto,

Of course there's no knowing what it'll really be like when you meet - UNTIL you meet...  but a few things you mentioned above tell me she is a keeper.

1. The reaction to the flowers is excellent... sharing the moment with her mother is even better.  Ya know, you'll probably get the same reaction in future if you give 3 of 5 flowers.  We're used to giving a dozen roses but my wifes reaction is no different if it's 3 or 13.   

2. Her desire to take the train (even because she's afraid of the plane) is a good one.  We read here many times of women who have an expectation that they can suck money from the men for air tickets etc, even before they meet.  SOme men might htink that is acceptable but I wonder if anyone really should marry a woman with suck expectations.

Let's be honest, 3 days on a train will be a killer... her optimistic nature says she'll apprciate the rest before meeting.  That is the type of character (optimism) that attracts me.

Something you may want to do is offer her the plane ride home once you do meet and hit it off.  I kow it sounds like a contradiction but if this girl is anything like my wife was she'd rather die than ask for money and will do everything possible to avoid accepting money (before marriage - don't worry after marriage a RW will have no problems consuming money     )...  but anyway,  you might like to consider INSISTING she fly home to make it easier on her.  She can spend the extra two days with her mum (as she seems close to her).

Looking forward to hearing more about your trip!

[Sculpto]

I have been kind of quiet on this thread because there hasn't been much new to report.  However, I made some progress yesterday.

My first stop was Macy's to pick up the shoes I left for repair.  I had purchased the shoes there a number of years ago and the heels and soles were worn out.  Macy's repaired the shoes at no cost.  I was especially happy because they are the most expensive shoes I had ever bought and super comfortable and should be "cool" enough for fashion conscious Moscow. Awesome service.  Then I went over the the coat department as I have still been worried about this.  I have a good leather jacket I can bring but I am worried it won't be warm enough and have not been able to shake this feeling.  SF weather is so mild, neither hot nor cold, and I kept thinking about the short time I was in Odessa last year and it snowed.  I was miserable with my leather and sweater, so, I finally decided to bite the bullet.  So, here goes another plug for Macy's.  I found a nice warm coat that I liked, tag said 250.. not bad, but, I asked the salesman for a discount and he did me good!  Same guy that took care of me on the shoes.  I paid $142 for the coat.  Not bad for a days work.    So, go to Macy's guys.    LOL

After Macy's I went over to the huge Borders on Union Square and found the brand new Lonely Planet guide to Moscow.  It is pretty good and has a lot of things I was looking for.  The best part is it contains "walking tours" for nearly every neighborhood.  I wanted to get some Russian literature to read on the trip and was especially hoping to get a copy of Gulag Archipeligo since I have never read it, but, they actually had a big fat ZERO on Solznietzen.  I've already read most of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky so I thought I would try for Pushkin since I have not read him either.  Strike two!  Not a single book.  So, I settled on Gogol.  I might grab Dr. Zhivago also, I've seen the movie several times but never read the book.  But seriously, what is up with the lack of important Russian literature on the shelves at Borders?

Then I had a nice long chat with my girl.  It has been a while since she has been able to get on Yahoo so it was really nice.  I was suprised to see she cut her hair.  Its a little short but looks nice.  I didn't tell her I prefer long hair though.. I can do that later.  LOL. 

Then she went on to talk about the situation with her Dad after I asked how he is doing.  I opened up a flood by doing this.  She finally confessed somethign I had considered might be part of why she had seemed a little disconnected recently.  She told me her Dad will never approve the relationship for two reasons, the first, and the bigger of the two, because I am American (remember he is an old Soviet cop) and the second because of the age gap.  She told me she did not want to hurt her Dad as he lay on his death bed and that is why she didn't want me to come to Tomsk right now.  She wants him to die in peace.  On the other hand her Mother does approve the relationship and advised her to let her Father go to rest without drama.  So, she asked me to understand this and to please not judge her negatively for protecting her Father.  I could see no reason to disagree with her and told her not to worry and to just be good to her Father and when the time is right we will go the next step if after meeting our feelings are still the same.  She thanked me and told me she never thought any man would be so good to her and apologized because this had been worrying her for more than a month. 

Then she did something that I find very curious.  She engaged in a rant of self deprecation.  She has done this before.  She will tell me how she is a bad girl with a bad temper and that she can't cook and is lazy to clean.  Since the very first time she did this, and she has done it numerous times, I have always felt it was some kind of test.  I have seen she has a temper, but, I have also seen she is very kind and generous with the people she loves.  The couple times we have disagreed over the year we have been corresponding she has always apologized afterwards, even if I didn't think her actions or words were especially wrong.  I cook so I don't care if she doesn't and then when it was time to go it was because she had to clean the apartment so I suspect her idea of clean might be different than what most Americans expect, or at least maybe what her Mother does.  I told her I don't look for a maid and if she behaves badly I will throw her in the bed and give her the attention she obviously wants.  She laughed and said "I'm agree".  Then I got the "kiss you kiss you kiss you" and she told me she can not wait for me to arrive and she will be waiting me in the airport when I arrive in Moscow.

So, ten more days and I am on the plane. 

OK, so here is a rather pedestrian question.  I have a really special bottle of wine that I want to bring and share with her.  However, with the security stuff I can not bring this bottle on the plane.  So, any thoughts on how to pack it so it will actually arrive and not destroy all my clothes in the suitcase?  I would also like to get a gift for her Mom.  I asked her what her Mom would like and she asked only for cigarretes, the same brand I smoke.  Sheesh.. ok I do smoke the best all natural American Spirits or on occasion Shermans, neither of which are probably available in Russia, but, that is a lame gift.  I will do it, but, I would really like to do something more meaningful.  So, what is a nice small gift for a Russian Mom in her 50's?

Well, that is all for now.  Thanks for reading. 

[felix8787]

Hey Sculpto,
Pack it in your suit case, if it has a box put it in that and then wrap it in bubble wrap then take a pair of jeans and wrap that around it. I know it sounds stupid, but I did the same thing on my trip back home from Kiev. I didn't have a box to put them in, I just stuck it in the pant leg and wrapped it up in the jeans, yes I was worried whether the bottles would break, I had 3 of them, one in a pant leg in 3 separate jeans , but it got back to the states without a hitch.

As far as a gift for her mother.............hm? Besides the smokes, get her a nice ash tray or something. Just a thought.

felix8787

[UTRO]

Wrap your bottles good, as Felix says. I would then individually place them inside heavy duty 'zip type' bags and place them in the middle of my suitcase between the layers of clothing you'll bring. I've done this back and forth without a hitch.
Get Mum a really nice lighter for her smokes.

[docetae]

So, what is a nice small gift for a Russian Mom in her 50's?

Well, that is all for now.  Thanks for reading. 

Big box of fine chocolates. This is always a winner and has many advantages: The time she eat them she can not say bad things 

[groovlstk]

But seriously, what is up with the lack of important Russian literature on the shelves at Borders?

No suprise here, bookstore chains suck. Crappy self-help books, celebrity bios, and space for cappuccino machines have displaced serious literature.

So, what is a nice small gift for a Russian Mom in her 50's?

If her mom imbibes occasionally, she might be tickled pink by a small bottle of Bailey's.

[OlgaH]

However, with the security stuff I can not bring this bottle on the plane.  So, any thoughts on how to pack it so it will actually arrive and not destroy all my clothes in the suitcase? 

Wrap your bottles good, as Felix says. I would then individually place them inside heavy duty 'zip type' bags and place them in the middle of my suitcase between the layers of clothing you'll bring. I've done this back and forth without a hitch.
Get Mum a really nice lighter for her smokes.

I also did not have any problems bringing bottles of wine or vodka. Only before to place them inside 'zip type' bags I wrapped them with  towels and clothing. If something happens the towels or clothing  will soak up the liquid.

[Sculpto]

Do you guys think I can get away with bringing more than one bottle? 

[OlgaH]

Last time I brought about 5 liters (three bottles) of wine to Russia

[UTRO]

Do you guys think I can get away with bringing more than one bottle? 

For sure I have and last time the Ruskie Customs Control even X-rayed my luggage as I exited through the Green Zone at SVO. Not even a blink of an eye. One full sized bag contained nothing but gifts.

[docetae]

It was the same in Kiev last september. We had me and my mother 6 bottles of Champagne for my wedding in our luggages. Everything went trough X-Ray without problem..