I'm back on the air (sort of) - Russian Ukrainian Belarus Travel Music Woman Dating News

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I'm back on the air (sort of)
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Posted by: Buckeye5702

Hey gang! It's really buckeye5704 here. I changed my email addy a few days ago and now I can't post anything. I started this user name so I could let you all know that Irina and I are still alive. That's right, she hasn't killed me yet after our first two days (and nights) together on our big adventure.

We pulled out of Bangor at about 6 pm on Friday, after a good supper, and arrived at our friend's house around 3 am where we were met with open arms, full plates and a nice glass of wine. The hospitality is beyond compare. A quick shower and off to bed we went to share a bed for the first time ever. I woke up several times ans just lay watching Irina sleep like the angel she is.

I had help unloading the trailer and returned it to U-Haul by 4pm Saturday and took another shower and relaxed for the rest of the day. Another Russian couple (who stopped in earlier) and Our friend's ("R") BF "M" arrived around 8ish and we had a great late supper and mor ewine of course before I turned in at 11.

Todat it's grocery shopping and maybe we'll find the ellusive pr of sneakers that I can wear over there and kto snayet after that, maybe the beach.

Later,
Tim

Posted by: redhawk

great to hear from you buck! i have to sneak on here from time to time(away from my rw watchful eyes) to see whats happening with everyone,and i really enjoy your posts.

Posted by: GoingToRussia

Well that makes 3 of us guys that are newly sharing a house with a FSU woman! It has been only fantastic for me and I hope for you guys too! I'll be getting married in 6 days so take care and good luck to both of you.

Posted by: Big wheel

Glad to see you back. And goodluck

Posted by: martin3030

Triple congrats to you all

Posted by: dagpop

Good to see things are going well B.

Posted by: Buckeye5702

Thanks guys!

It's great to have such wonderful friends as Irina has. We REAllY have to do something nice for Riasa. She opened her heart and home and gave up the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in, for us for 5 nights. And my GOD it's nice to wake up next to my beauty Queen!!

frflowr:

Today is R & R time. We have the house to ourselves until 3 and, well, life is OCHEEN HOROSHO!

Irina just finished my pedicure

and we're going grocery shopping in a little while. I'm cooking meatball soup for everyone tonight and I think I'll grill some pork chops and make some spud salad for lunch when they all get back home.

Wednesday we're on the plane to Russia and I'll try to keep all posted (with pix) as much as I can. A trip report WILL be filed.

GTR, you have a fantastic hiney, er, HONEYmoon.

Could an admin unlock my original profile please? (Buckeye5704)

Later,
Tim

Posted by: GoingToRussia

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buckeye5702

GTR, you have a fantastic hiney ...

You been peeking through my window?

Looks like we fly the same day ... too bad we are going in different directions!

Posted by: Buckeye5702

You never know where I might turn up GTR!

Well in about 1.5 hrs our ride to JFK will be here to pick us up and away we go on my first (of many) trip(s) to Russia. I will post a few pics of our send off last night when I have more time, but suffice it to say the shashlik was ocheen vkusna and the piva flowed a little to freely.

Later gang,
Tim

Posted by: Buckeye5702

Russian trip report

Earth date: 7.4.08

Well Irina and I are almost in Yoshkar Ola and I want to say that it has been an extremely enjoyable voyage to begin our adventure.

The air travel was the usual with no big (or bad) surprises. As you would guess there were LOTS of Russian speakers on the plane but Irina was too nervous to talk to anyone much. She is always nervous about a trip and even more so during. I had to rebuke her a couple of times to get things done because she just could not make a snap decision, but I did it gently and she still loves me (God only, knows why). Once we got on the train she relaxed completely and we had a great ride.

The taxi from Moskva (SVO) to Kazanski Station was one of the tamest rides I’ve ever had. I had envisioned screaming up the sidewalks on two wheels with little old babushkas diving into doorways to avoid being killed, but nothing even remotely close happened. Completely uneventful (and mildly disappointing). The best part of the journey was the train. We used the regular four seat compartment and our roommates, Roman and son Alexi were very friendly and helped me get all our bags stowed in short order. Yes, we even needed a baggage handler to move our gear around form curb to storage to train for us, 200 ru each way and we had much less to deal with. We boarded the train and left Moskva behind us at 4:30 pm and spent the next 5 or so hours chatting with Roman, who spoke decent English, and 14 y/o Alexi who hadn’t learned that much yet. They made for a very pleasant time and it went by quickly. Sometime around 7 pm Irina went to check out the Resteraunt car and came back later to report that one of her cousin’s mother was the cook and she invited us to supper, her treat. Galina also advised us to wait until we left the 8 pm stop so we we wound up not eating til nearly 9, but it was well worth the wait. We were seated and right away the salad came then drinks, I had my second Russian pivo of the day (Baltica #3 at the train station) a Holsten with supper. I would like to add here that you just gotta love a country where beer is cheaper than coffee. At Kazanski Station the coffee was around $6 while the Baltica was about $2.50. We assumed that we would pay for the beer at supper, but when we asked how much, Galina said have a nice night. SO after several hugs (from me too) and many bolshoy spacibas, we wended our way back to our car in time to say our goodbyes to Roman and Alexi. Another neat observation I made was the striking differences between the US and Russian when it comes to serving food and drinks. They use glass and metal dinnerware everywhere, even on the train. It was such a treat to be served tea in our compartment in cups and saucers. Two cups of coffee and four cups of tea and a packet of cookies (over the 16 hrs) cost us about 75 ru and I think it was worth it. Dinning on a train is also an adventure and I am proud to report that everything went into my face (as opposed to ON it or on my clothes), Irina was very pleased (and relieved) as I can be a tad messy at times. Oh, yea, another adventure is moving from car to car on a moving train. It’s like walking the deck of a ship in heavy swells. You wouldn’t believe how much the floor moves around on you. I was surprised too at how well I slept during the night. I woke up everytime the train stopped, but fell asleep right away when we started moving again. The mattress was surprisingly comfy as were the pillows and they give you sheets and a decent blanket to make you as comfortable as possible. So if anyone is concerned about an overnight train don’t worry about it. If you want more comfort get the first class compartment (for two) and enjoy a WC with a real toilet in it and better faucets.

Well the train is going to pull into Yoshkar Ola in a short time here and I want to make sure I’m ready to meet Mama. Thanks for reading my babblings and enjoy your day (or night).

Poka,
Tim

Tune in tomorrow for the arrival, it was everything I'd hoped for.

Posted by: Big wheel

we will be wighting for your next update

Posted by: matt235

Tim,

Sounds like you are having a great time and all is going well. I'll be looking for the next update.

Cheers,