Trip to Russia: Day 1, Part 2: Red Square Trip

Hi all!  Sorry I haven't been posting for the last couple of days due to illness and business.  I was trying to get an internship position at a church.  Unfortunately, that fell through, so I am still looking for a job. 

On a brighter note, here is another post about my trip to Russia. 

On the evening of my first day in Moscow the developers of World of Tanks (devs) took us to Red Square.  Red Square is a fascinating place because of the history that has taken place there and the unique aspects of the buildings that border it.  Red Square is bordered by the Kremlin, Lenin's Mausoleum, the Russian National Armaments Museum, and the largest indoor public market (mall) in Russia.  While touring there we walked on ground that only 30 years ago was some of the most hostile to Americans. (To a certain extent it still is. :/ ) This is where there is a parade every year that shows the force of the Russian military.  It started with Lenin and Stalin, and continues to this day.  It was told to me that only 3% of Americans have ever been to Red Square.  This means that I am one of 3.7 million Americans to have ever visited this historic place.  It was an amazing experience.

After our walk and some other sightseeing, we went back to the Hotel and Crashed!  Many of us were so jet lagged that we got up at 6 am (that's 3pm CST) and were still very tired.  I, however, got very little sleep and was awake by 4am. (1pm CST)  I was basically up for 32 hours straight.  Ya, it sucked.  At least I got some good pictures. :)  Until next time, TI.

 The Kremlin

 Sorry that some of these are sideways.  I can't figure out how to turn them, so you can just turn your monitor. :)  BTW, This clock is the official timepiece of Russia.  According to tradition, it does not become the New Year in Russia until this clock rings the New Year in.

 Red Square

 The cobblestones of Red Square that have seen so much military hardware and history.

 A picture of the Kremlin from Red Square

 Dawn at 4:30 am Moscow Time

 Lenin's Mausoleum

 Russian Central Market

 "Lenin"

 The Armament Museum

 Some FSB Agents.  We were trying to be on our best behavior.  These guys were just making sure.

 Downtown Moscow from a Scenic Overlook

 One of my Teammates and his "Tank Commander" Pig

Russian T-54 Medium Tank

 Russian Self Propelled Gun (Artillery)

 Semi-Amphibious Light Russian Tank

 Moscow with Red Sky (2am)

4am

Song of the Day: Toby Mac "Get Back Up"/Sanctus Real "Whatever You're Doing"

Hi Everyone!  Here's a little something to tie you over till the next post about Russia.

This song is by Toby Mac.  A former member of DC Talk, the man knows his thing about music. This man has been part of projects such as Jesus Freak, Supernatural, Irene, Gone, and many other hits.  Toby has produced some of the best Christian music for the past 3 decades. 

However, the saying is that all good things must come to an end.  Toby's prowess is no exception.  Toby's lyrics used to be clear cut.  When you listened to his music, you knew that he was standing up for Christ and a Christian way of living.  This style, sadly, changed.  His lyrics have become wishy washy.  The strong messages have been replaced with the message of "Fluffy Love."  This type of lyrics comes down to the "can't we all just get along" motive.  It's frustrating to see such a great defender of the faith turn into just another fluffy kind of artist.  It's the equivalent of seeing R.C. Sproul go the way of Rick Warren or Joel Osteen.

Here is another song that came through my playlist as I was typing this.  It is another one of my favorites and leads the listener to really challenge him or herself into a radical recommittment to God.  Here is Whatever You're Doing by Sanctus Real.

See you all tomorrow, TI.

Trip to Russia: Day 1 With Pictures!

I have 4 hours left in my flight back home from Russia.  I figure this is a good time to begin my blog about my excursion to Russia to play in the Ural Steel International Championship for World of Tanks.  I left my home early in the morning to catch my flight from O’Hare Airport to Washington, DC.  What I didn’t realize was that my flight from Chicago was flying into Reagan National Airport in DC, not Dulles International which was the airport that my flight to Russia was leaving from.  I managed to catch a SuperShuttle from one airport to the other.  I left the shuttle and stood in the international departure line that was about a half mile long.  While in line I realized that I had less than an hour to get through the line and to my flight before it took off.  I prayed for the Lord to get me through the line if he wanted me to go to Russia.  Two minutes later, a woman came to me and asked me when my flight was.  I told her and she pulled me out of line.  She brought me right up to the ticket booth and I received my boarding pass in record time.  I flew through security and ran all the way to the shuttle that took me to the concourse where my gate was at and I ran all the way to the gate. 

I arrived at the gate just as the other people in my team and from our server were about to board.  I boarded as the last one on the flight and managed to sleep some of the way to Russia.  While on the flight, I got to meet and get to know better some of the people I have played games with for over 2 years.  I met guys from Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, and Florida.  We all were here for the same reason, to do our server and teams proud. 

After our 10 hour flight, we landed in Domodedevo International Airport in Moscow.  We made it through customs and met a group of the developers of the game at the exit from the Airport.  They were able to get us all together and put us in a minibus.  We tried to cram 15 people in 14 seats.  I, for some reason,  got the short end of the stick and ended up trying to be part of the 4 Americans trying to sit in seats made for 3 ½ Russians.  Our bus driver decided to hit every pot hole, bump, and rail line between the airport the hotel.  All this happened while I was on a metal tube that comprised the edge of the seat and stuck between two other guys.  (Just a little update: While writing this I am entering Canadian Airspace over the northern peninsula in Quebec.) 

We arrived at the hotel which I found out was part of the Olympic village during the 1980 Moscow Games.  The inside of the hotel was nice, but very overpriced.  The outside of every building built before 1990 has not been kept up.  Maintenance does not seem like a priority to the Russian Government.  The hotel staff was very helpful.  Most of the guys were so tired that we went to bed after the devs gave us a little info on the schedule of things.  During this meeting we told them that the flights that were booked for us would not allow us to go to the special day away that they had planned for us.  The devs  told us that they would attempt to change our flights at no cost to us.  The jet lag was so bad that we crashed after the meeting.  Many of our guys were up at 6am Moscow time due to the time difference.  I was awake at 4am.  While in Moscow, I slept no more than 4 hours a night.  I am still very tired.

I am going to take a nap and write some more later.  Part 2 coming later.

 In the plane, I met a couple of guys from the North American Server teams.  (The guy in the Red hat is on my team.)

Domodedovo International Airport - Moscow, Russia

The Amazing Birch Forest that surrounded the Airport and the City

Welcome to Moscow (Or as the natives call it: Moskva)

One of the Many Russian Orthodox Churches in Moscow

Some of the Apartments in Moscow.  Much of it looks like our low income housing.

Nate riding on the minibus through town

Yup, that's me with no hat.  We were trying to fit 4 American gamers in a seat built for 4 petite Russian Models.  

Another Church.  This one was pretty big.

McDonald's in Russia!

Our hotel: The Ismailovo Gamma Hotel.  It was once used to house athletes during the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

Our lush accommodations.  :)

The view out our room.  I stayed with another guy from my team.

Another picture of the view.

Dinner with the Red Sky guys.  Our first in Moscow.

Two more of the guys that were able to make it.

Some other guys from the North American Server

Dinner.

For dinner we had Mixed fresh veggies washed with dill added, and a Tempura style chicken with a ginger sauce and very large grain rice cooked and cooled to al dente.

The vodka museum behind our hotel.  Tourist trap!  lol

More to come later with pics from our trip to Red Square.  Day 2 will follow later with the actual tournament.