Andy's 6 Rubles Worth

Hey ya'll:

You may get double postings...we're a little bored becuase we get zapped by the all the walking and then get stuck in the hotel. So here's Andy's bit. His will go up a Ruble each time :)

Stacye

• Court went very well. It was long and boring but the result was GREAT. Our interpreter prepared us very well. The previous court session went long which I was ok with. I was very concerned, however, when they started shouting at each other. I did NOT want to have an angry judge. But all went well.
• Everybody wants updates on Alina but we are thinking with our heads and not our hearts. Visiting her in the 10 day waiting period is expensive. $200.00 for a driver and interpreter. Extra visits would cost Alina’s 1st year’s college tuition. Also, and more importantly, visits during this time are not good for Alina. 1st they mess up the routine of the staff. They have a big job to do with a lot of babies and little staff. They need a routine and we don’t need to mess it up. It also has the potential to confuse Alina. We don’t want her thinking that we come and leave her. ALWAYS leave her. That is the wrong message. So we’re doing the hard thing and not visiting until later next week. When we can get reacquainted and learn her habits. So we can keep the ones that make sense. So for now we’re tourists.
• The bad news is that it’s very cold. Very, Very, Very cold if you’re from Alabama. The good news is that the lines are short. Why? Because it’s very, very, cold. Yesterday we went inside the Kremlin walls. Among the cool things we saw were: The changing of the guard at Russia’s tomb of the unknown soldier, The Czar’s armory (which featured carriages, silver, jewelry, tableware, textiles and more Faberge eggs than I can imagine), and many churches. It seems as if they made a new church every 300 years. (Moscow is old so that’s a lot of churches.)
• Socially, one thing that I found interesting and very telling about Russian racial attitudes. Just ahead of us in the line to enter the Kremlin was an Asian man with his two grandchildren. He set off the metal detector. He took out a pocket knife and went back through. He set off the metal detector again. He took the change out of his pocket and went back through. He set off the metal detector again. He then took more change out of his pocket and went back through. He set off the metal detector again. He then took out a flask to go with his other stuff and went back through. He set off the metal detector again. He then took off his belt buckle and shoes (on a cold day) and went back through. He set off the metal detector again. By this time the line had backed up and they opened another line. I went through and set off the metal detector. I went back through after emptying my pockets. Then, even though I set off the metal detector, I was passed through. They were still giving the Asian guy a hard time. I set it off twice and was passed through. He set it off many times and they nearly stripped him. I doubt terrorists would bomb the Kremlin with their grandchildren in tow. I think that he simply relieved the boredom of two Russian policemen.
• It seems that there are a lot of very expensive cars here in Moscow. They’re all caked in mud. If I lived here I would buy a large affordable car like a Ford or Skoda. When they’re caked in mud they look like a Mercedes or Audi, at 1/3 the price. A true entrepreneur would convince these people that clean cars are faster and run better. He would then open a cheaper, quicker car wash. People would need a new car wash everyday. The money would rack up.
• The subways here are very deep. The escalators are very steep. While it is possible that this is because the soil is sandy, I doubt it. I think they were meant to be fallout shelters. The older ones are very pretty fallout shelters. They have decorative carvings and great tile work. They also have beautiful plaster on the ceilings. The subways are large and clunky. Like the subway version of a 1965 Chevy truck. The newer subway lines are not as deep and the stations aren’t as elaborate. The subways are sleeker. I’ll take old, elaborate and clunky. More character.