First trip to Ekaterinburg - Russian Ukrainian Belarus Travel Music Woman Dating News

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First trip to Ekaterinburg
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Posted by: smoke20

Hey guys and gals,
Just returned from my first trip to Russia (Ekaterinburg) and pretty much
was all over the spectrum with my feelings. Overall, the trip went really
well as me and my RW,Sveta have decided to continue our correspondence
and plan trips for the near future. She wants to visit me here in the U.S.
to see what my life is like. I have to admit that the first couple days were
a little awkward with the language barrier (Svetas English is way better than
my Russian) but by the end of the week things were much smoother with
understanding each other.
Sveta showed me all over Ekaterinburg, had some great food, saw a Russian
musical comedy, and even saw the "DaVinci Code" at the cinema (fortunately
I had seen it here before I left so I knew what was going on). We spent some
time at her work, met her colleagues and got along really well. She introduced
me to 3 of her close girlfriends, which I took as a good sign. On the last day,
we had dinner at her families home (unfortunately Papa wasnt there as he
was at the Grandfathers helping with his garden). I had a great time meeting
her Mama, sister, brother in law and nephew. After toasting many times during the meal we talked, and Sveta showed me a video of her Scuba diving
in Egypt last Summer and several photo albums of family pictures. I remembered to take gifts for all the family and gave Sveta a ruby and sterling
silver tennis bracelet at the end of the last night on the walk home.
I will post more about my trip later as I am still recovering from the jetlag
from the flight home. Here are a few pix to start......
-smoke20

Posted by: Chrismc

Good to hear things went well Smoke. Please feel free to tell us more :-)

Posted by: dagpop

Thanks for sharing the pictures and about your trip.

Posted by: smoke20

Hey guys and gals,
This is the second part of my report on my trip to Ekaterinburg.

Regarding Moscow and the "Sheremetro Shuffle" between the 2 terminals:
If you are flying Aeroflot (and most of the time, who isnt), DO NOT,REPEAT,
DO NOT take a taxi, they will gouge you bigger than crap on the fare. Fortunately, before I left I checked out Aeroflots website and the actually
had step by step instructions about catching their free transit busses between the terminals. When moving from the International terminal to the Domestic terminal, dont even bother stopping at the transit desk to ask where to catch the bus, they will try and tell you the Aeroflot busses only run a few times a day and get you to pay 15 rubles for another terminal bus. When you enter the main terminal and wade through the cabbies hounding you for a taxi (2 and 3 times each), just go past the transit desk to the left, out the door and you will see an Aeroflot sign for a transit bus. Just stand there and a bus will appear shortly. On the trip back (Domestic terminal to
International terminal), once you get off the plane and go inside, before you collect your luggage, stop at the transit desk and they will tell you what to do. They speak enough English, it was no problem whatsoever.

If you go to Ekaterinburg, dont bother with the zoo. They hardly have any animals (actually had a raccoon in one cage, a house cat in another, and a coyote in a third, a few bears, some wild birds and not much else).
The Metro in Ekaterinburg is actually quite beautiful and very clean although it only runs in the central part of the city, if you want to go out of the city, rent a car. Sveta took me to an outdoor market (great for picking up souvenirs) and we walked through some very nice parks. The only drawback was that it was a little too early in the season, not many flowers blooming, but still very beautiful.

Sveta was very insistent that I not go out around the town without her even though everyone seemed friendly enough. Next trip I plan on taking some excursions with Sveta to the Nevjansk Tower and the Ice caves of Gundar.
Sveta also made sure I always had a decent breakfast and kept me feed really well during the day. She is very caring and attentive as many of the RW are that Ive heard about on here. Here are a few more pictures......
-smoke20

Posted by: skinsfan

it sounds as if all went well, and that you had a great time.....the pics were also great....

Posted by: GoingToRussia

Smoke20,

Sounds like you have a keeper. Isn't the care of a RW just amazing!!!?

You are right about the Moscow taxi drivers. They can smell a foreigner from the tarmac. If you need a taxi, they are cheaper if you go outside and even cheaper if your RW is with you to barter.

GTR

Posted by: metaforest

Thank you so much for the details on the "Sheremetro Shuffle!" I had been harboring some worries about this in the back of my mind. It's good to get good recon data on this!!!

I'll be in Yekaterinburg on the 7th...

=B-)

Posted by: waiting123

Beautiful photos!!

Yes... you will feel like you are in a herd cattle.... The taxi drivers are terrible, I advise not even talking to them... The more you talk the more they bother you!

Posted by: smoke20

Quote:

Originally Posted by metaforest

Thank you so much for the details on the "Sheremetro Shuffle!" I had been harboring some worries about this in the back of my mind. It's good to get good recon data on this!!!

I'll be in Yekaterinburg on the 7th...

=B-)

Metaforest,
You'll like Ekaterinburg very much....you can log onto www.aeroflot.com
for the full details about changing terminals at Moscow if you want more
detailed info.
Smoke20

Posted by: Nicholas

Did you visit the place where the last Emperor and his family were shooted?

Posted by: smoke20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nicholas

Did you visit the place where the last Emperor and his family were shooted?

Plan on doing that next trip along with a few other excursions

smoke20

Posted by: mistermopar

Smoke20,great photos.
Good to hear you had an excelent trip and your lady took care of you so well.

I have never had the experiance of changing terminals in Moscow,but I have had to deal with all of them pesky taxi drivers there.

So when is your next trip??

Randy

Posted by: smoke20

Quote:

Originally Posted by mistermopar

Smoke20,great photos.
Good to hear you had an excelent trip and your lady took care of you so well.

I have never had the experiance of changing terminals in Moscow,but I have had to deal with all of them pesky taxi drivers there.

So when is your next trip??

Randy

Randy,
I was planning on going back in September to see her. Unfortunately, she
will be too busy because of work. She works as a manager at a modelling agency and their biggest show of the year is in September (they put on a huge fashion show with Karin model agency from Paris). As much as I'd love to go and be there with her (and show her "hey, i'm here for you) Ive decided against it. She will already be stressing out to make sure the show is a success, I dont want to be a distraction and keep her from doing her most important work of the year (sorry for the book, lol!).
So, I am going to have to be patient and wait until she can visit me in October or November. Due to finances, I would not be able to visit her until September, otherwise I would visit her before then.
smoke20

Posted by: smoke20

p.s. Randy

figure the day of the big show in September, I'm going to send a couple dozen roses to her and tell her I wish I was there!
smoke20

Posted by: mistermopar

Quote:

Originally Posted by smoke20

p.s. Randy

figure the day of the big show in September, I'm going to send a couple dozen roses to her and tell her I wish I was there!
smoke20

The flowers will be a nice touch.
Yes it is to bad you can not go back sooner,but a lot of us are in the same boat money wise.

Randy

Posted by: so cal rick

Good show Smoke, I went to Ekaterinburg in May of 2005.
Sveta looks like real nice girl, I wish you best of luck.

The folks at Ekaterinburg travel were invaluable to me in securing apartment and transportation to and from airport.

When I viewed your pics the memory flooded back.

I wish you and Sveta the best of luck and a most successful future.

Best regards

So cal rick