[cindyc]

Dear forum folks:

Has anyone been to Arkhangelsk? We're leaving next week for Trip 1, and I would appreciate any tips or advice from those who've been there - especially in the winter!

Thanks!
CindyC

[MIKelly]

Hi!

Congratulations! We adopted our 2 children from Arkhangelsk this past July. Sorry I can't help with any winter advice, but the river was still frozen when we were there on our first trip at the end of April so I imagine it's very cold now!

The in-country flight wasn't bad. Sometimes we flew Arkhangelsk Airlines, sometimes we flew Aeroflot. Both were similar. Sometimes we had assigned seats, sometimes we didn't. On our first trip we went directly from the plane to the MOE's office, so be sure to dress appropriately just in case!

We stayed at the Pur-Navolok hotel. I believe most families stay there. They have a website. Very nice, modern hotel. Breakfast buffet is included, although the food choices were a little different than what I would normally eat for breakfast!

Do you know which orphanage you are going to? We went to the Regional City orphanage. Different agencies work with different orphanages and there's quite a bit of difference between them.

Please feel free to PM me with specific questions! There's also a yahoo group for the region that has a ton of information. Search for ArkAdopt.

Good luck!
Kelly

[cindyc]

Thanks so much, Kelly, for all the great info. I appreciate it!

Peace,
CindyC