Russia Research Trip Day 1

Friday, October 11, 12:45 p.m.

Moscow, #Russia, stateroom on the Viking ship Rurik

I am so jet-lagged right now, I barely know which way is up. As such, this will be a rather short post about my travel day.

The first part of my trip did not start out so good. I barely got any sleep and woke up with an upset stomach.

As far as air travel, everything went remarkably well. Our flight from Chicago to Paris was on time, and we got through security smoothly. Unfortunately, I didn't sleep much on the eight-hour flight, and my stomach wasn't up for eating anything offered. So by the time we got to Paris, I could barely stand.

I ate a little bit at Charles de Gaulle Airport and laid down on a bench (because I have no shame). I managed a half-hour nap in the airport and felt a little better after.

Here's a picture of me on the flight from Paris to Moscow.

The flight to Moscow was a little bumpy at the end because we were landing in the rain. Boy, was I glad for that Dramamine!

Upon landing we went through immigration then got our bags. Then, we went through customs. It was all very quick and smooth. We found our Viking representative without problems, or rather she found us.

It was a forty-minute drive from the airport to our ship, proving that traffic around airports is a nightmare no matter what country you are in.

We checked in to our stateroom and got dinner just before they closed for the night. My husband was not pleased that I made us unpack before going to bed, but I knew it would save us time later.

Finally, and without ceremony, we crawled into bed and slept for twelve hours. You'd think that I wouldn't be tired after that, but you'd be wrong. I woke up at 9:45 a.m. when the loudspeaker announced we would be doing a drill in case the boat sinks...it was not the way I would have chosen to wake up to say the least.

During the drill, one of the officers (possibly the Captain, but I didn't look at his shoulder-boards) fixed my life-jacket because he didn't like how I'd tied it (can you see me blushing?).

After the drill, we had just enough time to eat a quick breakfast, I ate lightly as my stomach still is uneasy from lack of sleep and barely eating for two days.

Then, I had a blissful shower and went to lunch. Our tour leaves in twenty minutes, so this is where I will stop. I will have much better things to tell you about (and way better pictures) next time.

See you soon!