When the time came to leave Volgograd and Volzhsky, I wished I could stay longer.  The time to return to work was approaching.  Instead of thinking about returning to work, I concentrated on the time I would spend with Alexandra and Mav in Moscow.  I always try to look at the bright side of things.

I planned my arrival time into Moscow for early morning so I could do as much as possible in the one day I would have there.  I wish I would have planned more time in Moscow.  Lesson learned.

My flight returning to Moscow was on Aeroflot Airlines on the same type of aircraft as I arrived on.  After we took off, I felt the same flight characteristics as when I had arrived and realized the same pilot was flying for my return.  This time, I would be prepared for the landing.  A wise decision since he floated the landing at Sheremetyevo 1 just as he did before in Volgograd.  The ride was as wild as the first time.

I stood around for about 30 minutes waiting for my baggage to arrive.  Luckily my baggage was the first to arrive and I got out of dodge fast.  I found the driver Alexandra and Mav sent me easily and within minutes we were on our way.  The excitement and anticipation of seeing my friends again was overwhelming.  Thoughts of American style pancakes Alexandra was preparing for my breakfast raced through my head.  It had been years since I have seen my friends and I couldn’t wait to see them once again.

When we arrived to the apartment complex, I was shocked to see FSB agents (Russian Federation version of the KGB which stands for Federal Security Service, and I should add, have more power than the KGB did) in the parking lot.  Audi A6’s, Mercedes, and BMW 7 series cars painted black with the single blue light mounted on the driver side of the roof.  I wanted to take a picture but I was warned by my driver not to pursue or I would be in a world of trouble.  I was easily persuaded.