Packing Up

I’m down to the final week in Kazan and now face the somewhat difficult task of packing everything I’ve bought, as well as everything I’ve brought with me, into the suitcase. I have this horrible feeling it is going to be a tight fit. I could well have to post back the three models I’ve bought. Certainly I’d be a lot less worried about crushing them. But I suspect I won’t.
I have this feeling that I’m going to have to leave one or two things behind. The first casualty will be a couple of pairs of old socks. I came here with both summer and winter weight socks. The laundrette managed to lose one sock. (I attach no blame to the, socks are a migratory species of clothing and occasionally get lost when separated from the flock. Either that, or there is an, as yet, undiscovered species that preys on socks.) One of my old pairs of winter weight socks suffered terminal drying, and shrivelled at the point where it was worn threadbare. I think these two pairs are for the rubbish bin.
What next? I will have to tightly roll and carefully fold all the clothing. I’m sure to gain an extra 500ml of space. Of course, on the return leg I’ll be wearing slightly more clothes (and wishing wasn’t) than on the way here. That’s one sweatshirt, a heavy pair of socks, and heavy trousers. Oh yes, a long-sleeved shirt and the “winter” boots. I wore a pair of very comfortable walking shoes on the way over, but they were cheap. The laces snapped (both are now knotted together) and a D-ring one lace threads through has broken. Quite annoying, as they really are comfortable. Lesson: don’t expect to get full wear out of shoes bought at Nº1 Shoe Warehouse.
Right, I’ve now freed up enough space to stuff in the soft and compressible gifts I bought. If I put the books and the laptop in its bag and carry it separately, I might have enough room for the things I can’t get in the suitcase, into my rucksack. This may entail a spot of repacking at Moscow-Sheremetyevo airport. These days, the airlines are loath to allow you to take bottles of booze on as hand luggage. Aeroflot in particular, because Russia is involved in its on “war on terror”, is very strict on these rules. I’ve had my shoes scanned for explosives only in Moscow. There are metal detectors at all the stadia and big theatres. They really are concerned about this. (TatNeft Arena, home of Ak Bars hockey team, has an interesting set of “not allowed” on the wall – first time I’ve seen knives and handguns listed. But then, I’ve not been to a game in the redneck belt.)
Because I’m going to spending a few hours, like 12, in Moscow before the plane flies out, I’ll be doing a bit of sight-seeing. I don’t expect to see any snow there, Moscow’s had the warmest early December on record and only now, in mid-December are the temperatures staying below 0°C during the day. We’ve had the same problem in Kazan; it’s probably going to be a brown Christmas. Provided I don’t go silly with the money, and there’s no large state functions, I’ll probably do a quick tour of the Moscow Kremlin. Apparently there are a few churches worth seeing. I know how to find it. The bags, or two of them, will be stuck in left luggage at Cavyolovskaya railway station (Савёловская Вокзал). I’ll use that one as it’s the terminal for the express out to Sheremetyevo airport.
There will be a furious bout of repacking at the airport, I suppose, as I try and arrange things the way I want them and still comply with all the airline rules and regulations. Damn this flying cattle class! I just know I’ll have to pay excess baggage.
Next Post: What I’ll Miss (or Not).