Moscow

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I've arrived in Moscow at last. We sailed through customs without any problems, though we almost missed an important stamp on our documents going through Passport Control, I caught it, and the clerk told us that we hadn't completed the form properly. The cruel thing is, she was just going to let us go in to Russia without this stamp, which we'd need to leave the country, and the fine for not having it starts at $150, plus graft. We met our driver and host, got our gear loaded in a van, and began a harrowing half-hour journey from the airport to the institution where we're staying. Driving in Moscow is...well...different. I know the cars run the same way that ours do, but people drive them like they have to choose between accelerating, or slamming on the brakes. No coasting, no gentle braking, it's like NASCAR. We survived, and the frequent stops kept us from falling asleep.

We got checked in, after which I promptly took a shower, which was nearly as good as sleep for rejuvenating me. Alexey, our guide/translator, was supposed to meet us at 4:00 p.m., but in Russia, that means 5:00, so I squeezed in a nap while we waited for his arrival.

After meeting Alexey, we converted some dollars to rubles, bought a SIM chip for the Russian cell phone I have, and got some internet access cards (using it to post this, at 14.4K(!) from my hotel room). We then set out in search of dinner. We walked about 2 miles down one of the main streets, and found nothing that both interested us and was affordable. I can see why Russians don't eat out at restaurants much, Moscow is expensive to dine in. We wound up at a TGI Friday's, of all places, simply because we were tired of walking, and it was one of the first things we passed near the Institute. I had some of the worst chicken fingers of my life, but the fries were good. We finished off the meal, which was 1000 rubles for the 3 of us, and headed back to our rooms, buying some bottled water along the way.

And now it's time for me to go to bed, I've had about 3 hours of sleep in the last 40 hours, and I'm beat. Tomorrow we're planning on seeing the Kremlin and Red Square, and eating at some place called Mu-Mu's. I'm not sure what that is, but I'll be sure to report back here.

Frankfurt

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Nope, no wireless here in Frankfurt either. The Lufthansa flight was cramped, my femur is exactly as long as the space between the seats, and no amount of geometry would let me get comfortable. On the plus side, Chuck & I wound up sitting with four NFL Europe cheerleaders, who'd been hired to work a trade show in Chicago, so at least we had someone to talk to. We just bid them auf weidersein and are now awaiting our flight to Moscow, which leaves in a little over an hour. I managed to scam an exit row seat for this flight, and the plane is supposed to be half-empty, so hopefully I'll have a chance to get some shut-eye before having to deal with customs. Local time is 7:10 a.m., Iowa time/My Body's Time is 12:10 a.m. Only two more time zones to go!

Update: Found wireless 5 min before we had to leave, but it wasn't free, so we didn't bother.

Cedar Rapids

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Made it through check-in in Cedar Rapids, which is apparently the only airport left in the state of Iowa without wireless networking. My suitcase was 9 pounds overweight, which I thought might cost me a small fee, so I asked how much it was. Since it's going internationally, United told me the fee would be $381. Ouch. So, I did some quick shuffling from my suitcase to my carry-on, and kicked out my heavy leather coat to ride back to UNI with the co-worker who brought us to the airport (still have a windbreaker and a poncho) and most of the food I was carrying with me, to get my bag back below 70 pounds. I weighed in at 64.5 pounds on my second try, so then I shuffled four of my 1 pound Twizzler packages back into my suitcase. I'm taking them as gifts, as apparently red licorice is a big hit in Russia, but in hindsight, i wish I'd picked something lighter to bring.