We left the Philadelphia airport at 610pm on Friday with no problems. We were anxious, ready and excited all in one. An uneventful flight on Lufthansa with plenty of room to stretch out as the flight wasn't full. Joe of course moved over one seat so we could sleep comfortably and managed to get the one drunk on the plane behind him that repeatedly grabbed at his head in his sleep and argued with himself. Too funny ! Leave it to Joe.
First notable difference between American and foreign carriers...more legroom, they feed you twice, and wine and beer is free ! A definite plus to travelling Lufthansa, besides being able to leave from PHL.
We arrived in Frankfurt on time with no issues at 8:30am and had lots of hours to kill before our 10pm flight to Ekaterinburg. A bus (yes , I said bus) took us to the terminal from our flight and from there we asked a Lufthansa rep where to go to explore the city a bit. After a few more directions ( No problems, as everyone spoke English) we found a baggage check to leave our carryons and proceeded to the local train into town to Haptendof Station. (that isn't how its spelled but its how we pronounced it !) We quickly found a on/off sightseeing tour bus and proceeded to explore Frankfurt for a while. Neat city, very industrial, not too cold, and busy. After about 4 hours of exploration in Frankfurt we hit the let lag and sleepy wall !! We couldn't keep our eyes open anymore. We found the train back to the airport and got a small bite to eat (no choices other than Bratwurst, even at McDonald's) and then found a small terminal on the basement floor of the airport that reminded us of Tom Hanks' movie. We took our stolen airplane blankets and each took a bench and tried to re-charge our batteries. Apparently, some other passengers followed our lead and this area quickly became the sleeping center in FRA airport.
Finally at 1010pm we boarded the bus to take us to our plane to Russia. A modern and comfortable 747 where they again, feed you and give you free beer, wine and soda. We were the ONLY Americans on the flight, but I sat next to a nice girl that we chatted with and Joe was beside a Mother and Son who were amazed that we were from AMERICA ! A quite flight for 5 hours to Ekat from Frankfurt and we slept a few more hours before we arrived in Ekaterinburg at 7am local time. 10 hours ahead of the East Coast.
The airport was quiet, spotlessly clean and stark white, and mostly glass. yes, I almost walked into a glass wall...go figure! We proceeded to passport control and presented our visas without question and as promised Lidia and Yuri were waiting for us after customs with the DI EDUARDO sign clearly written.
Into the Lada (the Ford of Russia) we went and off to a quick and easy ride to the Park Inn.
We noticed that Ekat had trees like Georigia Pines and the snow was packed tightly like a blacktop, so cars could easily drive and manuever on it without issue.
Knowing we were exhausted, Lidia and Yuri said goodbye and promised to pick us up at 9:30am for our first trip to the orphange. We welcomed the room and the bed and napped for several hours before meeting our American friends in the lobby at about 700pm.
Jeni and Jason are here from Minnesota adopting their 4th child, and you could not ask for better people or better resources. They know the ropes and they are gladly sharing them with all us PAPs ! A few hours later Beth Hurley, from Boston, also joined us. She was here for her court date on Wednesday. We laughed and shared stories and marvelled at how we were all at the three different stages of Russian adoption and knowing and empathizing with the road that preceeded the one we were all on.
Off to bed for a long and rewarding Day One on Monday March 1st !
First notable difference between American and foreign carriers...more legroom, they feed you twice, and wine and beer is free ! A definite plus to travelling Lufthansa, besides being able to leave from PHL.
We arrived in Frankfurt on time with no issues at 8:30am and had lots of hours to kill before our 10pm flight to Ekaterinburg. A bus (yes , I said bus) took us to the terminal from our flight and from there we asked a Lufthansa rep where to go to explore the city a bit. After a few more directions ( No problems, as everyone spoke English) we found a baggage check to leave our carryons and proceeded to the local train into town to Haptendof Station. (that isn't how its spelled but its how we pronounced it !) We quickly found a on/off sightseeing tour bus and proceeded to explore Frankfurt for a while. Neat city, very industrial, not too cold, and busy. After about 4 hours of exploration in Frankfurt we hit the let lag and sleepy wall !! We couldn't keep our eyes open anymore. We found the train back to the airport and got a small bite to eat (no choices other than Bratwurst, even at McDonald's) and then found a small terminal on the basement floor of the airport that reminded us of Tom Hanks' movie. We took our stolen airplane blankets and each took a bench and tried to re-charge our batteries. Apparently, some other passengers followed our lead and this area quickly became the sleeping center in FRA airport.
Finally at 1010pm we boarded the bus to take us to our plane to Russia. A modern and comfortable 747 where they again, feed you and give you free beer, wine and soda. We were the ONLY Americans on the flight, but I sat next to a nice girl that we chatted with and Joe was beside a Mother and Son who were amazed that we were from AMERICA ! A quite flight for 5 hours to Ekat from Frankfurt and we slept a few more hours before we arrived in Ekaterinburg at 7am local time. 10 hours ahead of the East Coast.
The airport was quiet, spotlessly clean and stark white, and mostly glass. yes, I almost walked into a glass wall...go figure! We proceeded to passport control and presented our visas without question and as promised Lidia and Yuri were waiting for us after customs with the DI EDUARDO sign clearly written.
Into the Lada (the Ford of Russia) we went and off to a quick and easy ride to the Park Inn.
We noticed that Ekat had trees like Georigia Pines and the snow was packed tightly like a blacktop, so cars could easily drive and manuever on it without issue.
Knowing we were exhausted, Lidia and Yuri said goodbye and promised to pick us up at 9:30am for our first trip to the orphange. We welcomed the room and the bed and napped for several hours before meeting our American friends in the lobby at about 700pm.
Jeni and Jason are here from Minnesota adopting their 4th child, and you could not ask for better people or better resources. They know the ropes and they are gladly sharing them with all us PAPs ! A few hours later Beth Hurley, from Boston, also joined us. She was here for her court date on Wednesday. We laughed and shared stories and marvelled at how we were all at the three different stages of Russian adoption and knowing and empathizing with the road that preceeded the one we were all on.
Off to bed for a long and rewarding Day One on Monday March 1st !
1 comment:
Oh, we know those seats all too well at the Park Inn! So glad to see you've made it safe and sound!
~Laura :)
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