We woke up at 5:30. I spent some time reading/writing email from the blackberry. It's
nice to stay in touch, but boy is that inefficient. Hopefully in the future we can get
some wireless access from the apartment -- if we intend for our off-hours to be productive.
Otherwise, I want to find some interesting places -- seeing Dave walk around in his
underwear is only amusing the first time. ;)
I called Eriko while Dave showered and then we ate breakfast at Cafe Manya. I had
pordrige, omlet and bacon, and two lattes. I successfully ordered water in Russian
for the first time. That was pretty exciting. We went back to the apartment and I
finished packing. We went downstairs to wait for Vladimir about 9:20 - he was already
there, waiting for us. I said my goodbyes and admired Vladmimir's driving skills
through Moscow.
Arriving at Moscow airport, the arrival ramp was congested, so Vladimir let me
off about a hundred feet from the door. Immediately in the door is security.
Once through, I used the large electronic billboard in the middle of the
terminal to locate Delta flight 47. It indicated gate 1, which was to my left.
I walked through the gates labeled "nothing to declare" and found myself in a
very long line for the Delta ticket agents. I had a plesant conversation with a
woman from Layfette, Louisiana.
Near the gate agent, I went through security again. I then answered a few
questions about packing my luggage and had my bag hand-examined. Through some
"mis-communication" I ended up with one less chocolate bar. The man indicated
that he wanted to look at my plastic bag with 5 chocolate bars, so I opened it
for him. He then took one out and set it on the floor. He immediately ceased
looking through my bag and put things back in. I probably could have retrieved
my chocolate but I decided it wasn't worth the hassle. It sure felt like a
bribe...
I retrieved my boarding pass and checked my luggage. I passed through
emmigration with no issues and found myself in duty free. I walked around a bit
and then purchased some chocolate to replace that which dissappeared. This
chocolate is for Eriko, after all. At the gate, I went through security again.
They examined my carry-on bag by hand.
I waited at the gate for about an hour, next to a very annoying child who kept
asking his mother what time it was, when we were boarding, etc.