What a debacle!
Our flight, only about an hour late, arrived safely in Moscow around lunch time and we were off. Passport control was easy and friendly and at the arriving baggage conveyor, we relaxed as bags came around about a half dozen every 5 minutes. I think they had just one guy working as a baggage handler today. LOL
Mark's bag was pretty much last off. And mine.... never arrived. The Aeroflot service desk was super nice and the young lady who helped me used all of her English skills and was enthusiastic about it too. I liked her a lot but she couldnt solve the missing suitcase problem despite her best efforts. At some point she tapped on her computer and announced that my bag looked like it was still in NYC. Sweet! The next step was to fill out an "irregular action" report and some preemptive customs paperwork so that Aeroflot could whip it through then hand it off to a courier for delivery to our hotel later. They anticipated it would be arriving around 5:10pm and would deliver that same night.
Ok, so Im no math whiz, but it's an 8 hour flight from NY and it was now 1:30pm. If the suitcase had indeed been traced to JFK, just how was it going to make Moscow by dinner time?
(There is a place and a time to be sarcastic about this, but that place is not Russia if you don't speak Russian and the time was not then... I was too tired.)
Dragging only one suitcase to the curb in search for a taxi was actually going to be easier than 2 anyway.
Outside, we were immediately accosted by a VERY friendly, engaging and funny Russian dude. He assured us he was there to put us in a "genuine taxi" and in about an hour we'd be near Red Square and at our hotel. The Budapest Hotel. It wasn't until he was loading the suitcase into the trunk that he showed us his non-negotiable fare card. Laminated, to prove that's what everyone paid. Hahaha.
4800 Rubles = about $80 US. And about 3600 Rubles to much according to my research.
Out came the bags and we stormed off, the happy-go-lucky taxi dude following 4 feet behind us the whole way and trying to apologize. His price dropping about every 30 seconds. When it hit 1200 Rubles a deal was struck and once again the bags and ourselves were loaded into a taxi. Albeit a less fancy looking taxi.
Our driver was a little crazy but we liked him. He spoke not a word of English and seemed to enjoy lane-splitting, using the off-ramp as a passing lane then diving back onto the highway or riding the shoulder like it was the extra lane built just for us. In all fairness, he got us to the hotel in one piece and still had a smile on his face at arrival. That's a win!
Hotel Budapest is pretty swanky. I guess our travel agent is a keeper too.
Our Junior Suite was not ready on arrival but we were assured it would be in 30 minutes and Maria at the front desk gave us directions to the nearest shopping area so I could buy a dress and shoes for the ballet. Shopping had never been on my list for Moscow, but I had no choice. What stood in front of Maria was a woman who hadn't showered in 2 days, wore leggings and sneakers and sported a bed-head. The Bolshoi has standards and I didn't even come close to meeting them.
Between 3pm and 5:30pm Mark and I hit the local high end mall. Downtown Moscow is akin to Cherry Creek, Denver. I had no business shopping there, but again... had no choice either and at some point I just took out my credit card and walked away with a dress and shoes that would certainly fool anyone into thinking I deserved box seats at the Bolshoi. We followed shopping with a quick bite (stroganoff of course) at a casual bar not far from the hotel and then it was time to shower and get ready to go out again.
You might remember little OCD me printing off duplicate tickets for the ballet? That paid off. The first set was packed in my suitcase, somewhere between NYC and Moscow(?) but the second, was spiral bound in my "itineraries and useful info" book and stashed in my computer case of my carry on bag.
First Dress Circle, Box 2, Seats 3 and 5. Perched on the left and overlooking the orchestral pit with a fab view of the stage, we propped ourselves up against the railing and settled in for the evening. Tchaikovsky wafted up and lights dimmed for each of the scenes set at night - Swan Lake, so that's about half of the show! I knew I should have had caffeine with dinner!!!
In the last 72 hours, I think I was lucky enough to have had almost 8 hours sleep and Mark, a lot less. We had run ourselves ragged and skipped through time zones willy-nilly and now, it was all taking its toll. I only had to blink slowly and I my body started to twitch with the first signs of sleep. Making it through the performance, one of the most beautiful experiences of my life, was tough. But it was nothing short of magical too... every costume was a work of art, every ballerina/swan was in perfect synchronicity and the music was heavenly. We shared our box with a Russian couple who were just as delighted to be there as we were and I couldn't help but remember how fortunate (and just plain lucky) we were to have been awarded these seats as part of the randomness of the universe.
Back at the hotel, there was no sign of my luggage and the Aeroflot website that I could track my delayed baggage case number through, was still saying "baggage is being traced". Perhaps it would be there in the morning, as our chipper service desk gal optimistically suggested.
Our flight, only about an hour late, arrived safely in Moscow around lunch time and we were off. Passport control was easy and friendly and at the arriving baggage conveyor, we relaxed as bags came around about a half dozen every 5 minutes. I think they had just one guy working as a baggage handler today. LOL
Mark's bag was pretty much last off. And mine.... never arrived. The Aeroflot service desk was super nice and the young lady who helped me used all of her English skills and was enthusiastic about it too. I liked her a lot but she couldnt solve the missing suitcase problem despite her best efforts. At some point she tapped on her computer and announced that my bag looked like it was still in NYC. Sweet! The next step was to fill out an "irregular action" report and some preemptive customs paperwork so that Aeroflot could whip it through then hand it off to a courier for delivery to our hotel later. They anticipated it would be arriving around 5:10pm and would deliver that same night.
Ok, so Im no math whiz, but it's an 8 hour flight from NY and it was now 1:30pm. If the suitcase had indeed been traced to JFK, just how was it going to make Moscow by dinner time?
(There is a place and a time to be sarcastic about this, but that place is not Russia if you don't speak Russian and the time was not then... I was too tired.)
Dragging only one suitcase to the curb in search for a taxi was actually going to be easier than 2 anyway.
Outside, we were immediately accosted by a VERY friendly, engaging and funny Russian dude. He assured us he was there to put us in a "genuine taxi" and in about an hour we'd be near Red Square and at our hotel. The Budapest Hotel. It wasn't until he was loading the suitcase into the trunk that he showed us his non-negotiable fare card. Laminated, to prove that's what everyone paid. Hahaha.
4800 Rubles = about $80 US. And about 3600 Rubles to much according to my research.
Out came the bags and we stormed off, the happy-go-lucky taxi dude following 4 feet behind us the whole way and trying to apologize. His price dropping about every 30 seconds. When it hit 1200 Rubles a deal was struck and once again the bags and ourselves were loaded into a taxi. Albeit a less fancy looking taxi.
Our driver was a little crazy but we liked him. He spoke not a word of English and seemed to enjoy lane-splitting, using the off-ramp as a passing lane then diving back onto the highway or riding the shoulder like it was the extra lane built just for us. In all fairness, he got us to the hotel in one piece and still had a smile on his face at arrival. That's a win!
Hotel Budapest is pretty swanky. I guess our travel agent is a keeper too.
Our Junior Suite was not ready on arrival but we were assured it would be in 30 minutes and Maria at the front desk gave us directions to the nearest shopping area so I could buy a dress and shoes for the ballet. Shopping had never been on my list for Moscow, but I had no choice. What stood in front of Maria was a woman who hadn't showered in 2 days, wore leggings and sneakers and sported a bed-head. The Bolshoi has standards and I didn't even come close to meeting them.
Between 3pm and 5:30pm Mark and I hit the local high end mall. Downtown Moscow is akin to Cherry Creek, Denver. I had no business shopping there, but again... had no choice either and at some point I just took out my credit card and walked away with a dress and shoes that would certainly fool anyone into thinking I deserved box seats at the Bolshoi. We followed shopping with a quick bite (stroganoff of course) at a casual bar not far from the hotel and then it was time to shower and get ready to go out again.
You might remember little OCD me printing off duplicate tickets for the ballet? That paid off. The first set was packed in my suitcase, somewhere between NYC and Moscow(?) but the second, was spiral bound in my "itineraries and useful info" book and stashed in my computer case of my carry on bag.
First Dress Circle, Box 2, Seats 3 and 5. Perched on the left and overlooking the orchestral pit with a fab view of the stage, we propped ourselves up against the railing and settled in for the evening. Tchaikovsky wafted up and lights dimmed for each of the scenes set at night - Swan Lake, so that's about half of the show! I knew I should have had caffeine with dinner!!!
Back at the hotel, there was no sign of my luggage and the Aeroflot website that I could track my delayed baggage case number through, was still saying "baggage is being traced". Perhaps it would be there in the morning, as our chipper service desk gal optimistically suggested.
