I had an early flight, so I got up at around 6, although I slept very poorly all night because of the excitement. Trying to save some money, I decided to take the metro/minibus. Bad decision. First, I got to the correct metro station, then got on the right bus (I even asked "does this go to the Airport?), but headed in the wrong direction. I realized this pretty quickly then yelled at the driver about not telling me when I asked, and he gave me the shittiest "well, I AM going to the airport, eventually", so I paid, hopped off, and tried to hail a taxi, but to no avail. So. I got back on the metro, went back to the original stop, and hailed a taxi there. The guy who stopped refused to quote a price before I got in, and since time was starting to run short, I had to hope for the best. We talked about Obama (and how he doesn't trust him as he seems a bit "two-faced", which must be the most thinly-veiled racist statement about someone of mixed heritage I've ever heard), then we arrived at Pulkovo-2, which is the international section. He demanded 1000 rubles for a 200 ruble ride. I told him I didn't have that, which was true, and he started calling me a liar and a cheat. I asked him who was cheating whom, offered him 300, and that was that. So I go into the airport, but suddenly realize that since I am stopping over in Moscow, I need to be at Pulkovo-1, which your tickets don't remind you of, and which, in a great example of Soviet logic, is several miles away. I hit an ATM, then run out and stop the first taxi coming by. He quotes a price that is only a little more than I probably should have paid, and just wanting to get there, I agreed immediately. Fortunately, he drove like a maniac and I got there with plenty of time to spare. Phew.
I then arrived in Moscow, which has a similarly-stupid setup for domestic versus international flights. So I asked a couple of police officers what to do, and they were actually quite helpful, although one kept asking me if I was registered (even though he was holding my registration card and passport). I told him yes, in St. Pete, and he asked why not in Moscow. Not in the mood, I asked him as snottily as possible how on earth I could have landed 20 minutes ago and gotten registered in Moscow that quickly. The other officer laughed, then took my passport and handed it back. Ugh. At least they told me that Aeroflot runs a free bus between the two airports. So I waited and got on the bus, then got to wait for a long time for the next plane. They didn't print on my ticket or announce which gate my flight was leaving from, so I wandered around looking for the right one until about 30 minutes before boarding, when they finally posted it. The flight was uneventful, and I was so tired, I of the no-sleeping-on-planes, managed to sleep through most of it. We landed, and passport control was nightmarishly backed up. After about an hour, I made it through, and was bombarded by taxi drivers. I told them all I didn't need it, and hopped the bus that I was told to take. In one of the few strokes of luck I had all day, the driver didn't charge me. I took it to the end of its line, but that wasn't where I was supposed to be, and I couldn't figure out what was going on. So, I started walking. Fortunately, it was a lovely day, and I figured that since I was at least in the city, I would soon find a metro. Wrong. But I walked, kept my head up, and I came around a bend and saw the famous skyline, with the golden cupolas and the giant protectress statue, so I knew I was going in the right direction. I thought about hailing a taxi (I walked several miles with my bags), but it was rush hour on Friday, so I was, in fact, moving at about the same pace as traffic. I crossed the Dniepr, and found a metro, which I then took to my stop. Fortunately, the hostel was only about a five-minute walk from the station, and I found it with minimal difficulty. Home sweet home. Too bad the joint lied in two ways: 1) no wireless internet and 2) no security safes in the room. I figured out a way to rig my bag so that it was attached to my bed near my head and to tie up the zipper so that taking anything out would be difficult. My roommates, two Russian tourists, seem like decent enough guys, too, so I'm not too worried. They did, however, stay up late in the common room talking to the staff, and after such a long day, I just wanted to sleep. Luckily, I still had the earplugs in my backpack from the sleep mask I gave you, and was able to fall asleep immediately after that.
Also, this is hilariously tragic and tragically true and truly appropriate for this post: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/15/world/europe/15kiev.html?hp
Do pobachennya,
C
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