Lunch

After we got settled in our hotel room we grabbed a bite of lunch on the sidewalk patio of this restaurant near the hotel.  After lunch we looked for the restrooms.  In Belgium, France, Russia and now in Switzerland finding the restroom can be challenging.  They are usually marked with a WC but they are often down or up several flights of steep and narrow stairs.  Many times the bathrooms are communal, the sink is in a common area and then there is a room or two with a toilet.  Sometimes these are marked male and female, sometimes they are not.  There is hardly ever a changing table for a baby and they are most certainly not handicapped accessible.

Leaving the WC in this restaurant I noticed this cigarette machine, in current use.  Another surprising thing is that no matter how healthy the populations of these European cities appear, a huge number of the population still smoke, young and old, male and female.  

Swissotel Le Plaza Basel

Due to the last minute nature of the trip and the Basel Tattoo in town at the same time, we had a bit of a challenge finding a hotel and ended up in one a bit fancier than we usually choose.  It was comfortable and conveniently located near enough to downtown, the office R would be visiting and the tram stop.  We also ate a yummy breakfast in the attached restaurant each day.  

DME to Frankfurt to Basel

R, the driver picked us up early on Thursday, July 24th and we headed to Moscow's Domodedovo International Airport.  We had a short layover in Frankfurt and then landed in Basel Switzerland.  R's company is implementing a new software, but in order to work in an agricultural business it has to be layered with another software.  R had an invitation to visit the headquarters of the layering software to see how it worked.  He called me when I was in NH and asked if I'd like to go with him.  No, I don't think so, um YES!  One of the layering software company's partners picked us up at the airport and took us to the hotel.

A Statue to Laika

The first animal to orbit the earth.  The statue was unveiled April 11, 2008 near the military research facility that prepared for her launch into space.

Library Trip

Although the children do not attend Hinkson Christian Academy they are welcomed to use the library.  We pay a usage fee and visit, this summer it was Tuesdays, during the school year it will be Thursdays.  It is a good trek for us but well worth the trip!  

Sunset

Out and About in Moscow

This seemed to be an upscale shopping district, the cars certainly were.

Wedding Limo

International Business Center Moscow

Cat Circus

This started out as a Youth Group activity but there were not many youth in town so it turned into a family event.  The costumes and lights and showmanship was excellent.  The program was only in Russian but not much was lost as we could get the jokes and the countdown without understanding Russian.  The cats and dogs were well trained and healthy.  They seemed to enjoy their work.  C thought it was wonderful.  Most of the audience was children his age or younger and their caregivers.  The rest of us enjoyed our outing but the show was more suited to younger viewers.  Thank you K for setting this up!

Sunset

Uh Oh

Three suitcases came around the luggage carousel and then we waited and waited and waited, finally the fourth one came around but something was amiss.  Sure enough the fourth suitcase was nearly empty and tucked inside a plastic bag.  Being an international airport you might think they would have someone in the Lost Luggage Claim Area that spoke English, but you would be wrong.  After about an hour and a conversation with R's assistant/translator I was finally led to anther office where I had to fill out some papers claiming what was lost.  A police officer came to ask questions, he wanted to know if it was clothing that I lost.  I explained that it was not clothing it was books.  He asked me if they were subversive books.  Oh no, I said they are English language children's school books.  Lot of good they are going to do children in Russia or Madrid. . . Especially the American History ones.  The police officer called the next day after having reviewed the security tapes he said the loss or theft did not occur at DME so I filed a claim with Iberia Airlines on July 17th.  I sent the claim registered mail from Moscow.  In the letter I requested that they contact me to let me know they received my claim, that was over a month ago.  I have heard nothing.  Did the registered letter get to Madrid?  Did it even leave Moscow?  Fortunately for me ( the kids disagree) R was headed to the states again in August so I reordered the books and he brought them back with him after his fishing trip.  

Domodedovo International Airport

Landing at DME is very strange, next to the runways are all sorts of abandoned aircraft.