How does this happen?  I woke up before 5 am today.  I was up and then couldn't get back to sleep so I started reorganizing and packing up for the flights to Kaliningrad.  It is now just about 7:30 am - I have had black instant coffee and a peach given to me by a vendor on the street during yesterday's walk around the city of Makhachkala.  I have responded to a few emails and facebook replies to my last post of several photos of me and the group.  My Georgian tour leader Nick saw the photo of our jeep group with Rustam and recognized Kay.  What a coincidence - it was just after Kay and I realized we both had him as our leader on an Explore Caucasus trip.  She said she had a renegade group and they made Nick take them to Batumi.  I tink I remember him saying something to that effect on my tour.  Well, what to do now??  Maybe get dressed....but it is too early to try for breakfast.

So it was finally on time for breakfast.  I was the first of our dwindling group to arrive and I sat by the window.  Vlad came in and sat a few tables down from me.  Then Dana and Phil came in and sat with Vlad.  I was feeling a bit like a pariah but some Judy came and sat at my table and then Paul and Jim.  We chose our breakfast from the menu:  I had the mushroom and avocado omelet - very nicely presented.  Paul somehow ordered buckwheat porridge which turned out not to be a favorite of his.   Soon it was time to get ready for our taxi to the airport.

There were 5 of us in two cabs - Michel with Jim and me and Dana and Phil in the other cab.  It seemed like a long ride to the small airport in Makhachkala.  It was a domestic flight but had two security x-ray gauntlets to run.  Michel helped me get a window seat and check my bag through to Kaliningrad.  We sat for a bit in the smallish waiting area - there really weren't any gates that I saw.  We took a shuttle bus to the plane and Michel and I talked about how people worked to be in the front of the line to board, only to get to the back after the opposite doors open in the shuttle bus.  Yes, I am only too familiar with this. 

Wit my window seat 2nd to last row, I went up to Michel to tell him not to worry about waiting for me, but toe help Jim who was worried about making his short connection.  After leaving the plane, I made one wrong turn but got back on the right track to make my way to the gates for my flight to Kaliningrad before boarding started.  But, when I got there, there was already a quite long line.

I managed to read some of my Louise Penny mystery on this flight and had my second cheese sandwich, apple and fruit leather.  I lost the apple when it flipped onto the floor.  I had a middle seat and the man next to me tried to find it, but no luck.  I was beginning to get sleepy.

It was still light when I arrived at Kaliningrad's airport.  I waited and waited for my checked bag.   I tried to talk to some men wearing name tags but they were no help - pointing me to the carousel.  Another flight had already come in and all their bags were on the rack.  I heard a young woman talking to some official person and asked her about lost bags.  She very kindly led me to a lost and found window.  A woman checked and said my bag was in Moscow, then she kept looking at her commputer screen and occassionally saying somethings I didn't undersand.  A long line was forming behind me.  Then a young man who spoke English helped me and said that my bag would be sent on the next flight to Kaliningrad and delivered to my hotel tomorrow.

I then found an information counter where I asked about maps and taxi prices.  The woman there went to get a young woman to help me.  She was really nice and took me to a kiosk where I bought a Russian map because there were no English ones.  The information woman found out how much a taxi into the center of the city would cost me.  Then I found out that the girl was the daughter of the info lady.   More nice people.  It does appear that English may not be so widely spoken here as I anticipated. 

The taxi driver and I made a little conversation in Russian and then I arrived at the hotel where the young woman at reception only spoke German in addition to her Russian.  Tomorrow the receptionist will be English-speaking.  I have a room on the 4th floor with no elevator, but luckily I had no heavy bag to carry up.  Or unluckily.  I got settled and then sometime after 8 pm, I went downstairs to the restaurant to have a light supper of Greek salad and glass of red wine and a roll with garlic butter.  I get a discount for being a hotel client but cannot put my meals on the hotel bill.  This hotel is old, or old-style, and is quite charming I think.  I have a sort of attic room with a slanted wall but I can open the windows and there is a lovely breeze.  Soon I will pack it in for the day.