Athens to St. Petersburg – Day 10 (4th May)

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We left the hotel very early to the airport. Our flight to Moscow was at 9 am. There aren't many weekly flights from Athens to Moscow. We did not have much choice. We could not fly directly to St. Petersburg either. It had to be via Moscow. Flight was fine, nearly empty and the plane was really really old. It is a 3h50 min flight and all went well. As we approached Moscow airport the plane did not descend gradually. It was virtually a scary nose dive that shocked us. As you can read this now you know that we landed safely though. We did not know really what to expect from Moscow airport. We had read a lot about it and no review was optimistic. We made our way through immigration in speechless fashion but I got a smile from the immigration officer. We collected our bags and made our way out. Countless times we needed to refuse offers for taxis and even had to give explanations why we did not want one. When you say I am in transit they offer to take you to Terminal 1. We were quite apprehensive as we needed to change money and, really, did not want to get ripped off by airport conversion rates. Also there is quite a lot of people around you at the airport and this intimidates a bit. We found a machine that exchange Euro notes we started using it but gave up. We saw an advert for a booth around the corner with better rates and changed our money there. There was another woman in front of us in the queue and she counted her money thoroughly in front of the cashier and we did exactly the same. Still a bit lost and trying to look knowledgeable of the terrain we sat in front of a cafe, the only one on the ground floor or as it is in Russia, first floor. I adventured to discover all we needed to know about changing terminals, somewhere where we could eat, etc. We bought a little world atlas (in Russian) to better understand our steps. I also got two free tickets for the Aeroflot shuttle bus that takes passengers to the other terminal. We went to the fourth floor where there is a Cafe and a Restaurant. Half of the airport staff were eating in the cafe. The menu of the restaurant looked reasonable (believe me it really is) and we had a delicious Russian soup with lovely bread and a beer. The waiters were really kind. We started to feel better. Not sure if it was the kindness of the waiters or the beers. We were able to relax as the restaurant was nearly empty. About 5 pm we made our way to Terminal 1. Oh boy! What an experience. The terminal is really really tiny but holds as many flights as the Terminal 2 I guess. On entering the Terminal there is a line of ticket selling desks and nowhere to check-in. Passengers walk one meter and go through security. The check in desk is just in front after security. If ever you travel from Moscow terminal one make sure you know the check in desk number as that is the security gate you will have to make your way. It was so confusing we forgot our bag with food for the Trans Siberian outside. Panic time. I went out again and got the bag. The staff was incredibly helpful though. Glad it did not happen in London. Can you imagine a whole airport being evacuated because of a few packets of camping food. It was a very pleasant welcome, quite relaxed. We checked in and made our way to the second floor where our gate is. The plane to St. Petersburg left on time. Ben and I were hungry and the Russian Lady sitting with us gave us her croissant and we happily shared it. In St Petersburg the Trans Siberian people picked us up at the airport and spoke about vodka with us till we got to the hotel. We slept really well that night.

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