OneWorld Finnair to Ekaterinburg

[russianrob]

Finnair: Hel to Svx
Flight AY 151
Rego: EEL
Plane: Embraer 170 with 6 J seats and 64 whY. 2-2
Same seats for both classes, just different level of service and meals.
Seats: given 5 A, B, D, E and 6 A, B for the 2 ½ of us
50% load.
Bus transfer from terminal, single stairs to plane.
2350 On time taxi away;
2355 takeoff.
Entire Flight during twilight, with a bright orange horizon. Never really dark as sun just sets below the horizon and comes back across after about 3 hours at these latitudes.
Boxed meals in whY: Meatballs, Pasta and carrots (very cold); Bread roll and butter, Water, Milk portion, and Snickers, Coffee and Tea delivered hot and with a smile.
Landed on time.
Taxied up to new terminal (leaves Perth looking the 3rd world example it is!). A problem with the aerobridge delayed disembarking only by 5 minutes, and a short walk led to the immigration. My wife and son, entering on their Russian Passports breezed through of course, and I continued my “love affair” with Russian women in uniform (not!). The next comment is not PC, but how Russian Immigration Officers of the female persuasion can look so smoking hot in their “war paint”, minis and heels (it seems to be part of their job description), and yet be such Ice Queen/Pain in the A’s never ceases to amaze me. Very short wait for bag, and straight through customs without a second glance. On the street in 15 minutes.
The old terminal was literally a concrete bunker left over from the war, and you were picked up from the plane in a worn-out 50’s bus without seats. Pity help you if you came in winter and had no Arctic grade coat and gloves to put on BEFORE you exited the plane, as you could not hang on in the bus to any of the metal grab handles, and you had to wait in minus temps for them to DUMP your bags out up to an hour later. It's amazing how quickly something like this can get built when the city hosts a World Leaders meeting (BRIC).
A very positive impression .
As a OneWorld devotee, thisFinnair flight is now our only way into Ekaterinburg, as Maleav have dropped the route from Buda-Pest. B Mid of course left OW and have now dropped it as well.
Non OW still coming direct are Lufthansa, Austrian and Lot I believe.

 

[drron]

"but how Russian Immigration Officers of the female persuasion can look so smoking hot in their “war paint”, minis and heels (it seems to be part of their job description), and yet be such Ice Queen/Pain in the A’s never ceases to amaze me."

Maybe because I have spurned their offers of marriage
Now tell us what their is to do in Ekaterinburg other than ogle the Immigration staff!

 

[russianrob]

Dr Ron, Ekaterinburg is the 3rd largest city in Russia, located as the capital of the Ural region and the start of Siberian Russia (as distinct from European Russia).
Seems about the same amount of people as Perth, but much more compact as everyone lives in multi-story apartment blocks. Has one Metro train line with only about 6 stations, but extensive soviet era tram lines and bus routes to get around. The city centre is nice, with a weir'd river forming a lake. It does not have a Kremlin, but A magnificent Orthodox Cathedral rebuilt with money the church gangstered from the gangsters in the 90's! Plenty of expensive restaurants, face controlled clubs, and pretty, expensively dressed girls.
The city has lots of visible money as it is a major industrial town dealing with all the Urals mineral wealth. Armaments are made nearby, and the city hosts a weapons fair at this time each year if you'd like to come and see Russian tanks, trucks,Hummer copies, jets, weapons etc put through their paces! who knows you might have a seat next to a celebrity dictator!
The Romanov Clan were murdered here, and the site is now a shrine and Church just out of town.
In the summer it is a great region for fishing and hunting if you are into that.
There are still great forested areas close to the city, and not too many nasties besides bears and drunks having shishlik (bbq).
Winter the lakes freeze, so you can skate, ride Skidoos, ice fish, ice swim, even drive your car around, The skiing is mainly of the CC style, but we have a small downhill poma near my flat I can get a few turns on the way down, or travel about an hour south.
There's English and German Counsuls here and plenty of business done.
Corruption still a problem top to bottom. They claim to be making an effort to start sorting it out. If you make it out to the main cemetery you will see just how bad the Mafia war of the 90's was (shades of Melbourne's Underbelly story) as you see row after row of huge memorials to young men.

 

[drron]

Thanks for the very informative post.So it certainly sounds like somewhere that is totally different-and accessible via OW-a great bonus.Some interesting history which I will keep in mind.Will be making our first trip to russia next year though it will be only Moscow at this stage.The problem is flying into DME on JAL then having to go out of SVO on most of the others so wasting a sector.But if that is the worst thing life throws up there are no worries.
Thanks again.

 

[munitalP]

Cool TR redroo! Get the camera out now and I would lopve to see that sky!


Mr!

 

[munitalP]

..So it certainly sounds like somewhere that is totally different-and accessible via OW-a great bonus...

Yep, you know, I had never even heard of Ekaterinburg before this TR

Russia invokes the obvious places, Moskow, St P etc

for the sake of people like me, I have included this map!

Mr!

:shock:

Ekaterinburg - Google Maps

 

[russianrob]

Thanks,

If you have to waste a leg on an airport transfer, I would fly out of St Petersburg if you can. IMHO Moscow is only worth visiting for two days max, to see Red Sq?Lenin, inside the Kremlin museums, and some of the amazing underground Metro stations (and it's hellishly expensive), were as St P has a weeks worth of sights!

Oh, and lastly on Ekaterinburg again, some older maps still spell it with a Y as in Yekaterinburg. (and an even earlier name of Sverdlosk)