OUR FIRST TRIP – April 2009
DAY ONE – Saturday/Sunday, April 18/19
We flew from L.A. to Chicago, then on to Moscow. The trip went very smoothly, with both flights on time. It was snowing when we arrived! Masha and Dennis, the translator and driver from our agency, met us at the airport and took us to our rental apartment. Masha was so vivacious, personable and also well-organized, that we knew we were in good hands for the remainder of the trip. Travel time: 23 ½ hours door to door.
We rented a tiny one-bedroom apartment on the third floor of an old building (c. 1930), that faced into a side street and courtyard. (We used Peace Travel to get the apartment.) Our apartment was in the “Old Arbat” section of Moscow, which has many restored 19th century houses and churches. Old Arbat (street) is a pedestrian zone lined with shops and restaurants. This was about the time of year that the government turns off the heat, and we were happy to find that this had not happened yet, since the high temperatures were in the 40s.
After unpacking we took a walk down Old Arbat. We continued past the Kremlin, and eventually to Red Square. The Kremlin and museums were all closed, but we took in the architecture and walked around GUM, the famous department store in Red Square. We met Lilia, a former coworker of mine who now lives in Moscow, and had coffee in a big underground shopping mall. Then we returned to our hotel, taking our first ride on the Russian metro. The Moscow subway system is huge, with 165 stations, and the trains run frequently – every minute during rush hour. Built in the 1930s, these are some of the deepest subway tracks in the world; they doubled as bomb shelters.
DAY ONE – Saturday/Sunday, April 18/19
We flew from L.A. to Chicago, then on to Moscow. The trip went very smoothly, with both flights on time. It was snowing when we arrived! Masha and Dennis, the translator and driver from our agency, met us at the airport and took us to our rental apartment. Masha was so vivacious, personable and also well-organized, that we knew we were in good hands for the remainder of the trip. Travel time: 23 ½ hours door to door.
We rented a tiny one-bedroom apartment on the third floor of an old building (c. 1930), that faced into a side street and courtyard. (We used Peace Travel to get the apartment.) Our apartment was in the “Old Arbat” section of Moscow, which has many restored 19th century houses and churches. Old Arbat (street) is a pedestrian zone lined with shops and restaurants. This was about the time of year that the government turns off the heat, and we were happy to find that this had not happened yet, since the high temperatures were in the 40s.
After unpacking we took a walk down Old Arbat. We continued past the Kremlin, and eventually to Red Square. The Kremlin and museums were all closed, but we took in the architecture and walked around GUM, the famous department store in Red Square. We met Lilia, a former coworker of mine who now lives in Moscow, and had coffee in a big underground shopping mall. Then we returned to our hotel, taking our first ride on the Russian metro. The Moscow subway system is huge, with 165 stations, and the trains run frequently – every minute during rush hour. Built in the 1930s, these are some of the deepest subway tracks in the world; they doubled as bomb shelters.
DAY TWO – Monday, April 20, 2009
Everything went so smoothly on our second day; it couldn’t have been better! In the morning Masha took us to a clinic for our doctors’ exams. In Russia they don’t have GPs; there is a doctor for every specialty. So we had to be seen by seven doctors. The exams were fast, from 2-10 minutes each. Thanks to Masha’s efficency, we only spent a total of four hours at the clinic completing our exams and paperwork.
The next stop was the Ministry of Education, where we met Zhenya, our agency contact, and accepted the referral of our baby boy, Ilya. Unfortunately, it was too late in the day to go to the orphanage and meet him.
Moscow is notorious for its traffic. The roads are so congested that it takes a long time to go even a short distance. And, by American standards, there is a lot of crazy driving! Masha told us that there are 1,000 accidents a day in Moscow, and we could believe it. We were very glad that Dennis was driving and not us. Some of the roads are very wide, with up to ten lanes in one direction. Cars were parked in many areas that were surely not intended for parking.
In the evening we took a long walk in the neighborhood of our apartment, seeing a row of 18th century mansions, as well as the huge Church of Christ the Redeemer, originally built in 1883, torn down by Stalin in 1931, and reconstructed by the government in the 1990s. The Russian class I took was very useful as I could at least read signs and use our street map. We were also happy to be able to greet and thank people in Russian, and ask some simple questions. We had a delicious sit-down dinner at a restaurant designed to look like a Georgian village. The decor made us think of Disneyland.
DAY THREE – Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Masha and Dennis took us to the Baby Home in Fryazino (Фрязино), a town in the Moscow Region about 35K from the city. About 90 children live there, from infants to four years old. Fortunately, the traffic was unusually light and we got there in about an hour. When we arrived, we met with the Baby Home Director, who was nice enough to review with us all the medical and legal information she had about Ilya. Then we got to meet him!
Ilya is very handsome, with big eyes, long eyelashes and a happy smile (except when meeting new people). He has eight teeth! He walks around very well on his own. Unfortunately, he had just come down with a cold and was feeling feverish and congested. We got to play with him for only about an hour.
In the afternoon Masha gave us a tour of the cathedrals and museums in the Kremlin, including the Armoury, which is famous for its exhibits of treasures from the time of the Tzars. They had an amazing collection of 17th and 18th century carriages, as well as clothing, jewelry, weapons, suits of armor, Faberge Eggs, etc.
DAY FOUR – Wednesday, April 21
Masha and Dennis picked us up at 6:30 a.m., in order to get to the orphanage by 8:00 a.m. We could only visit until 9:30, as there was a government inspection that day. Ilya was just as cute on our second visit! He seemed a little more comfortable with us, but he still had a lot of congestion from his cold. We got to feed him his breakfast. It was cream of wheat, which he ate from a spoon, and hot tea, which he drank from a cup. The rest of the time we spent playing. He likes picking up toys and dropping them or handing them to us, and he puts everything in his mouth. He is not interested in stuffed animals, or books, unless chewing is involved. The visit went by fast and we wished we could spend more time with him.
The next stop was the notary office, where we signed a lot of official paperwork, including our intent to adopt Ilya and our request for a court date to finalize the adoption.
Afterwards we drove to an overlook for a good view of the city, and then to get a close-up look at a giant statue of Peter The Great, that is in the Moscow River. Masha told us the rumor that the statue was created as a gift for the United States but that we didn’t accept it due to its size. When we got close, we agreed that the figure looked just like Christopher Columbus.
In the afternoon we napped, in order to prepare for our evening at the ballet! The performance of “Don Quixot” was at the Kremlin State Theater, by a sister troupe to the Bolshoi. It was fabulous, with beautiful sets and costumes and amazing dancers. The ballet dancers were like rock stars to the Russians. There were bows and encores during the acts. When the lead dancers were spotlighted, people would be yelling “Bravo!” and clapping rhythmically (as you would for an encore at a pop concert). At the end of the performance, people rushed from the back to the edge of the stage to get close to the dancers as they bowed.
DAY FIVE – Thursday, April 22
In the morning we went to the notary’s office again, to collect the packet of notarized documents that Masha would deliver in Fryazino. Then we drove to the orphanage, where we had our final visit with Ilya. We had to wait until 2:30 to see him, since we could not interrupt the regular orphanage schedule of naptime and mealtime, but they let us spend an hour and a half with him, in a big playroom. He was much more at ease with us, and his cold had gotten a little better. We had a great time playing with him, and he even smiled a little! Ilya has such a calm and easygoing disposition. And he is very curious, wanting to investigate everything in the room. We took a lot of photos, as we will need to provide ten good photos of us together for our court date. Again, the time went by too fast, and it was sad to leave, knowing it would be two months or longer before we would see him again. It was a consolation to see how much the caretakers at the orphanage loved him. He seemed to be a favorite there.
Everything went so smoothly on our second day; it couldn’t have been better! In the morning Masha took us to a clinic for our doctors’ exams. In Russia they don’t have GPs; there is a doctor for every specialty. So we had to be seen by seven doctors. The exams were fast, from 2-10 minutes each. Thanks to Masha’s efficency, we only spent a total of four hours at the clinic completing our exams and paperwork.
The next stop was the Ministry of Education, where we met Zhenya, our agency contact, and accepted the referral of our baby boy, Ilya. Unfortunately, it was too late in the day to go to the orphanage and meet him.
Moscow is notorious for its traffic. The roads are so congested that it takes a long time to go even a short distance. And, by American standards, there is a lot of crazy driving! Masha told us that there are 1,000 accidents a day in Moscow, and we could believe it. We were very glad that Dennis was driving and not us. Some of the roads are very wide, with up to ten lanes in one direction. Cars were parked in many areas that were surely not intended for parking.
In the evening we took a long walk in the neighborhood of our apartment, seeing a row of 18th century mansions, as well as the huge Church of Christ the Redeemer, originally built in 1883, torn down by Stalin in 1931, and reconstructed by the government in the 1990s. The Russian class I took was very useful as I could at least read signs and use our street map. We were also happy to be able to greet and thank people in Russian, and ask some simple questions. We had a delicious sit-down dinner at a restaurant designed to look like a Georgian village. The decor made us think of Disneyland.
DAY THREE – Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Masha and Dennis took us to the Baby Home in Fryazino (Фрязино), a town in the Moscow Region about 35K from the city. About 90 children live there, from infants to four years old. Fortunately, the traffic was unusually light and we got there in about an hour. When we arrived, we met with the Baby Home Director, who was nice enough to review with us all the medical and legal information she had about Ilya. Then we got to meet him!
Ilya is very handsome, with big eyes, long eyelashes and a happy smile (except when meeting new people). He has eight teeth! He walks around very well on his own. Unfortunately, he had just come down with a cold and was feeling feverish and congested. We got to play with him for only about an hour.
In the afternoon Masha gave us a tour of the cathedrals and museums in the Kremlin, including the Armoury, which is famous for its exhibits of treasures from the time of the Tzars. They had an amazing collection of 17th and 18th century carriages, as well as clothing, jewelry, weapons, suits of armor, Faberge Eggs, etc.
DAY FOUR – Wednesday, April 21
Masha and Dennis picked us up at 6:30 a.m., in order to get to the orphanage by 8:00 a.m. We could only visit until 9:30, as there was a government inspection that day. Ilya was just as cute on our second visit! He seemed a little more comfortable with us, but he still had a lot of congestion from his cold. We got to feed him his breakfast. It was cream of wheat, which he ate from a spoon, and hot tea, which he drank from a cup. The rest of the time we spent playing. He likes picking up toys and dropping them or handing them to us, and he puts everything in his mouth. He is not interested in stuffed animals, or books, unless chewing is involved. The visit went by fast and we wished we could spend more time with him.
The next stop was the notary office, where we signed a lot of official paperwork, including our intent to adopt Ilya and our request for a court date to finalize the adoption.
Afterwards we drove to an overlook for a good view of the city, and then to get a close-up look at a giant statue of Peter The Great, that is in the Moscow River. Masha told us the rumor that the statue was created as a gift for the United States but that we didn’t accept it due to its size. When we got close, we agreed that the figure looked just like Christopher Columbus.
In the afternoon we napped, in order to prepare for our evening at the ballet! The performance of “Don Quixot” was at the Kremlin State Theater, by a sister troupe to the Bolshoi. It was fabulous, with beautiful sets and costumes and amazing dancers. The ballet dancers were like rock stars to the Russians. There were bows and encores during the acts. When the lead dancers were spotlighted, people would be yelling “Bravo!” and clapping rhythmically (as you would for an encore at a pop concert). At the end of the performance, people rushed from the back to the edge of the stage to get close to the dancers as they bowed.
DAY FIVE – Thursday, April 22
In the morning we went to the notary’s office again, to collect the packet of notarized documents that Masha would deliver in Fryazino. Then we drove to the orphanage, where we had our final visit with Ilya. We had to wait until 2:30 to see him, since we could not interrupt the regular orphanage schedule of naptime and mealtime, but they let us spend an hour and a half with him, in a big playroom. He was much more at ease with us, and his cold had gotten a little better. We had a great time playing with him, and he even smiled a little! Ilya has such a calm and easygoing disposition. And he is very curious, wanting to investigate everything in the room. We took a lot of photos, as we will need to provide ten good photos of us together for our court date. Again, the time went by too fast, and it was sad to leave, knowing it would be two months or longer before we would see him again. It was a consolation to see how much the caretakers at the orphanage loved him. He seemed to be a favorite there.
Before we left, Masha introduced me to one of the women who looks after Ilya’s group, and translated for us. She told me how much they care about him and how they are happy he will have a family, and that we should come back for him soon. I told her we would like to take him home right now and we would come back as soon as possible. We gave her a disposable camera and a photo album of Art and me, our house, the cats, and bird, with everyone’s names written in Russian. She said that she would take pictures of him while we were gone, and show him the album so he would remember us.
On our last evening in Moscow we rode the subway and took in some of the 1930s/40s artwork in the stations, ranging from architectural features, to beautiful paintings, mosaics, and sculptures. The artwork depicted events in Russian history, as well as idealized scenes of life in Communist Russia, especially of workers and peasants involved in traditional activities.
DAY SIX – Friday, April 23
Masha and Dennis picked us up in the morning for a long, traffic-filled ride to the airport, and then we made the long journey home. Our time in Moscow was so filled with excitement and activities that it seemed both very short and very long. It is hard to wait for our court date. But at least now we have met our baby and we know everything is on track for our adoption. One of our projects while we are waiting will be to set up the baby’s room.
On our last evening in Moscow we rode the subway and took in some of the 1930s/40s artwork in the stations, ranging from architectural features, to beautiful paintings, mosaics, and sculptures. The artwork depicted events in Russian history, as well as idealized scenes of life in Communist Russia, especially of workers and peasants involved in traditional activities.
DAY SIX – Friday, April 23
Masha and Dennis picked us up in the morning for a long, traffic-filled ride to the airport, and then we made the long journey home. Our time in Moscow was so filled with excitement and activities that it seemed both very short and very long. It is hard to wait for our court date. But at least now we have met our baby and we know everything is on track for our adoption. One of our projects while we are waiting will be to set up the baby’s room.
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