Moscow

[Helena Moscow]

Well there you have it gentlemen, we should be ashamed of ourselves: "... men are becoming greedy and rude....."

We must try harder in the future, as I hope in my own case it is only a temporary lapse.

Helena,

I have flown Germanwings a number of times and cities and have been very satisfied with them as per GJ's post - not to/from Moscow though I would add. Very good planes and on-time record when I've flown them.

Your comment on the pricing is correct. The prices are not fixed and fluctuate depending upon ticket demand and length of time before before departure time. You will also find that the price of the ticket can be different on the same day - the more activity for a given flight/date the higher the price or lower in the case of low demand. That's how it works. If you book a flight several months ahead, it can be very very cheap. Internet is the way they use to book tickets. Also take note of the cancellation and change rules that can be very strict.

Thank you, so Germanwings are trustworthy. Good news

[Helena Moscow]

Price changes daily and depends on which day you want to fly. The closer the date, the more expensive it is. Therefore, you need to book pretty much in advance, and that's why I mentionned flight for Sept-Nov in my post.

I attach a screen cap for price for November (36 euros one way). Very tempted to make a booking for Nov 15-20. Would you be in Moscow at these dates by any chance?

For buying tickets, you can do it by internet (best way), by phone (international number) or by going to the airport. For more details click here.

Thanks, now it's getting more clear.
"Would you be in Moscow at these dates by any chance? " - Probably =)) Keep in touch =)

[Doctor_Skank]

I meet up with 109 at some nameless cocktail bar, the kind of glam place where beer costs $9 and a mojito $15… admittedly a nice place, but also the kind of place that shoots very large holes in your mongering budget within a few hours. Call it Club 88.

We notice that we are both wearing the same uniform, something that can best be described as a more than casual drinkers battle smock. We laugh at our impromptu team coordination and proceed on our mission to throw caution to the wind and defy nearly every rule of safe conduct recently established in the ISG forum… expensive watches, flashing cash and club cards, speaking English, hitting on every chick within range, getting tanked quickly and effectively.

A few cocktails and beers and about $150 later, we are successfully tanked and while some blond is forcing 109 to note her telephone number, I am chatting up a sweet Jewish-looking girl…. I seem to be getting somewhere and she is hanging around interested, but I am reasonably sure that she is not a possible one night stand… seems just too sweet and is being guarded by two girlfriends, both of which are quite attractive and well-dressed. Almost every girl is well-dressed at the bar, suggesting they are either gainfully employed somewhere as secretaries, mid-level managers or accountants, sponsored or somehow on the take. At least 1 NF pro is spotted by eagle-eyed 109. She indeed looks very whorish and a bit used up.

I order a last round of drinks and a very hot blonde standing with a well-dressed English guy chats me up. We make idle useless conversation and I blow her off… she seems a bit taken back. Guess she’s not used to getting blown off, but frankly Masha, I don’t give a damn.

I get the Jewish girls number and give her a kiss as we leave to get our coats, chatting up two other hotties on the way out, tempting them with a trip to a club, but they are headed home.

Mission successful I suppose, but what is a Jewish girl’s phone number worth?

Before leaving we run through the options audibly as the girls we had chatted up before listen in.

Skazka, the new in club where Minesterstevo (sp.) used to be, Slava, the distant large club frequented by easy chicks on Shosse Entusiastov, perennial favorite First, the lazy man’s option Karma Bar or Club XIII… the girls seem impressed with our club knowledge and maybe we should have invited them somewhere, but we are interested in finding new girls to grovel and slobber on.

We go outside to brave the –20° cold, stopping to take a [CodeWord140] as we watch the Hummer2s, 7 series BMWs, S-class Mercedes and Prado LandCruisers drive by… this town has too much fucking money.

PZ is within walking distance and we decide to go there, which turns out to be a good choice. We stroll past PZ’s unpredictable feis control and check our coats, heading upstairs to the club. Instantly we realize it’s a good choice. Although small and maybe even a bit dumpy, PZ is a good place to meet regular Russians and especially a great place to meet chicks getting really drunk. Finding a sober chick in PZ, although presumably possible, is difficult. Not that we were looking.

We buy a couple of drinks for some girls at the bar and then forget them as quickly as we feel our mojo moving in. 109 goes to the john and chats up some chicks waiting in line and beckons me to join them at their table where he is now seated. I am eyeing two attractive blondes talking to two English guys and they intermittently look back. I don’t know why, but today I am feeling destructive. I feel great and happy, but somehow feel like the Cleaner from Luc Besson’s classic film La Femme Nikita… like the guy called in to either clean up a messy situation or if necessary, be the one making the mess.

I join 109 at his table where he is sitting with a German guy and two girls. One of the girls is really cute, a dark-haired girl from Tomsk. Instantly the Tomsk girl and I are getting along great and she is giving me great vibes. I am more than chatty and doing a good job of moving in on her when she cautions me that she is actually together with the German guy. Undaunted as I realize that she is much more interested in me than him, I cautiously ask for her number. She says she will give it to me, but the German should not see it. What a *****, passing out her number to strangers when she is with somebody else. And me, frankly I am being an asshole tonight. It’s really not my style to move in on some other guy’s clam, but tonight I know no shame.

She leaves the table briefly and 109 follows her, getting her number for me. Thanks mate. I also write my number down and slip it to her later. The German guy is at least somewhat aware of what’s going on and seems to fall into some sort of depressed trance. If I were him I’d fight for my chick, but he doesn’t. He’s a nice guy and I feel a bit sorry for him, so I decide to lay off his chick. She actually told me she doesn’t like him much, but he is very kind so she cannot leave with me today, but will meet me tomorrow. 109 and I move on to other prey, the Tomsk girl squeezing my hand as I stand up. As we leave, the German guy suddenly cheers up and is happy again.

I go to the toilet and while waiting in line I see the two blondes who were with the English guys waiting in line as well. I talk to the one closest to me, telling her that 109 and I are the much better choice, we are incredibly rich sex maniacs. The blondes are very amused and we enjoy some fun conversation. I don’t push the issue as I KNOW the English guys wouldn’t just surrender and would probably try to kick my ass if they knew what I was doing… so I defuse that situation by adding some more humour to the mix and wishing the blondes a fun night… the way things were headed I am sure the English lads got exactly what they were looking for that night.

109 and I acquire new targets nearly instantly… two girls are standing next to the dance floor and we buy them Jack and Coke. After a brief chat-up, 109 decides to head to a strip club for his nightly fix and I consider that option too, but decide to pursue my prey, and the curly haired brunette, only average attractive but with a skinny body, drags me to the dance floor. We dance and eventually end up on the stage where I am now dancing on show, gyrating to the beat and having a blast… the girls love it and join me. Things get cloudy memory wise at some point and I remember both standing on the dance floor and pointing at girls while wailing Ricky Martin’s “She bangs, she bangs!” and then making out with the brunette in the hallway that leads outside, my hand creeping up her shirt for a grab of tit. I tell her “po-idyom” and we go to get our coats. At this point I am already checking the timeclock to put in my nightly shift of sexual service when suddenly something vaguely resembling the dyev union foreman, or some sort of wannabe KGB political officer shows up… her girlfriend.

Taking a look at her girlfriend’s grumpy face, I realise that my night is suddenly threatened and that I have an acute logistical problem. As we walk to the taxi I try to get them both back to the pad in my patented 2-for-1 option and while the brunette tugs on me and gives me a somewhat confused look and tries to kiss me, her girlfriend tugs her away, argues with her a bit and they both scurry off to a taxi and take off without even looking back, leaving me standing there on the sidewalk.

Curiously, I am only mildly disappointed and this is certainly not the first time I have gotten the last second rejection. I laugh under my breath, mutter “suki” and the taxi driver standing next to me laughs too, giving me a sympathetic shrug of the shoulders.

I decide to walk off my drink a bit and instead of taking a car, walk 5 minutes to the American Bar and Grill on Mayakovskaya, ordering a 4am plate of nachos and water. Honestly, at that moment a plate of nachos and a liter of water were BETTER THAN SEX! I walk the last 10 minutes home, stopping at a 24 hour kiosk to get juice, water and beer. I struggle home and before passing out, check to make sure I still have my passport, cash, both phones, watch and both kidneys. Vsyo normalna. Despite the odds, another wild Moscow night survived.

[GandJim]

Hi.
Did you happen to buy tickets from them? They advertise a lot and ones I also wanted to buy their ticket, but when came on the site, the prices were different from those pointed in adverticement. And I didn't find the phone number and adress in Moscow. Do they have an office or work by internet only?

Price changes daily and depends on which day you want to fly. The closer the date, the more expensive it is. Therefore, you need to book pretty much in advance, and that's why I mentionned flight for Sept-Nov in my post.

I attach a screen cap for price for November (36 euros one way). Very tempted to make a booking for Nov 15-20. Would you be in Moscow at these dates by any chance?

For buying tickets, you can do it by internet (best way), by phone (international number) or by going to the airport. For more details click here.

[One O Nine]

oh, and i forgot why i came here for. sheesh.

there's this strip club gryozy, which is one of the moscow's oldest; it recently reopened after being renovated for about a year.

to cut the long story short, stay away.

and if anyone wants the long story, here it is. the place is right next to the metro novoslobodskaya. the entrance is kind of crummy looking, little steps down. huge tacky sign with glittering lights above it. the ohrana look like they're about to mug you, then murder you and [CodeWord123] your dead body. as you walk into the place, you realize why the ohrana is so gloomy. they're the thin unshaved line between this world and the next. the place is overrun by nightmarish ghouls from the underworld.

the apparitions unsuccessfully try to pass themselves for human females; however they can be easily distinguished by horrible scars and foul smell. i wish i was kidding. just like at the horrible, yet infinitely better, safari lodge, the girls immediately proposition you for sex upon approaching. they can be had on the premises for an absolute bargain of $300, plus ? (i forget) thousand roubles for the room. that's per hour.

the club inexplicably presents itself as a high-class elite club, trying to compete with the likes of bely medved and dolls. however you can find better looking women at a tochka at 6:15 am on a tuesday night.

oh, and i completely forgot. the drinks are excessively expensive. i don't know if i got overcharged or whatever, i don't really care, but two rounds of a few drops of jack daniels on piles of ice, i paid 3,000 something roubles, plus "tip", i.e. 4,000 r. and when i gave some goblin a 100 r note just to get rid of her, she looked at me funny and said "that's all?"

uggh. i need to repress the memory of that place, fast. if anyone wants to join me at 911 vip for drinks tonight on my last night in moscow, i'll be the dashing young gentleman in a suit surrounded by sluts.

[CharlieH]

I was told by a girl at NF that NF management only allows girls that have documents to work there. Most tochka girls don't have documents therefore can't work there. I can't however comment on that NF girls being higher quality. I wasn't impressed by their looks. I find them to bit a little on the mature/older side.

She also told me that NF management prefers foreign clientile over Russians as Russian men tend to be rough and might get drunk and cause trouble at the club.

[One O Nine]

If the going tochka prices are $150 to $200, and CF is now an indoor line-up,
then why aren't they getting paid? Is it because the $150-$200 price is
only the tourist price? Wasn't that already the CF price? And if they're so beautiful, then why can't they go to NF?

Well, first of all these girls don't want to be taken out by the tochka clientelle. The tochka-going Russians can be rough. This one girl was forced by some old guy to stay at his apt for 2 days and do his dishes and his laundry, and then he threw her out without paying. Another pair of girls was taken out by a decent-looking fellow, who took them out to the 'burbs and gave them as a treat to the crew of Tajiks fixing up his place. 7 Tajiks, 2 girls, $150 minus 700r to security each. Great deal, huh? There's a reason not everyone works tochkas you know. These stories add-up, the girls become scared to go with Russians, foreigners are scarce, etc - you get the idea.

And making it at NF isn't that easy. Going in there as a working girl is different from going there as a client. Helena touched on that a little bit already, but basically security selects who can go in and who can't. A lot more girls want to work at NF than actually get to. Security keeps it what it is.

Basically, I'm not sure what you're trying to imply about my friends, but do you honestly think that they'd give up a nice income so easily and switch to crummy day jobs? They're all decent looking, but mostly in a homely girl-next-door way, not the dolled-up NF type of thing. Most of them speak very basic English.

In short, I'm sure you know that NF and CF are very different places. Not everyone who can make it at CF will make it at NF, and vice versa. That's elementary, Watson.

Actually, that's a question i meant to aks for a long time.
In the tochkas, are there always different prices for locals and tourists?

When the mamachka has the polizi waiting around the corner, is that
only for tourists as well, or do they work that scam on locals too?

Tochkas are a purely Russian resource; foreigners are a rare exception. Tochka pimps make so much money off the locals, and so little off the tourists, they don't need to bother making up additional policies for foreigners. Those cops waiting around the corner would die of starvation if they spent their nights waiting for you.

It's a friggin fast food joint. You get in, they tell you the price categories, you pick one, they line them up. They got no reason to sit there and scheme and come up with different line ups and different price structures based on where their clients are from. They want you to get in, get the broad, and get out. If you make it there late night when the selection is crummy, you'll get a discount just like anybody else. If you make it on a busy night at prime time, you may get charged 9,000 for a girl who'll go for 6,500 two hours later. That's got nothing to do with the color of your passport.

[Excess]

Well there you have it gentlemen, we should be ashamed of ourselves: "... men are becoming greedy and rude....."

We must try harder in the future, as I hope in my own case it is only a temporary lapse.

Helena,

I have flown Germanwings a number of times and cities and have been very satisfied with them as per GJ's post - not to/from Moscow though I would add. Very good planes and on-time record when I've flown them.

Your comment on the pricing is correct. The prices are not fixed and fluctuate depending upon ticket demand and length of time before before departure time. You will also find that the price of the ticket can be different on the same day - the more activity for a given flight/date the higher the price or lower in the case of low demand. That's how it works. If you book a flight several months ahead, it can be very very cheap. Internet is the way they use to book tickets. Also take note of the cancellation and change rules that can be very strict.

[Helena Moscow]

Changing subject....

I just had a look at GermanWings, and they are flying Koln-Moscow Vnukovo for 50 euros single trip (100 euros return) in September, and 36 euros single trip (72 euros return) in November.

I've often used GermanWings, excellent low cost airline and, judging from the photos (http://www35.germanwings.com/en/fluginfos_moskau.html), Vnukovo airport looks quite decent.

Hi.
Did you happen to buy tickets from them? They advertise a lot and ones I also wanted to buy their ticket, but when came on the site, the prices were different from those pointed in adverticement. And I didn't find the phone number and adress in Moscow. Do they have an office or work by internet only?
If someone had any experience with this company, please, whright. Thanks.

[Helena Moscow]

If the going tochka prices are $150 to $200, and CF is now an indoor line-up,
then why aren't they getting paid? Is it because the $150-$200 price is
only the tourist price? Wasn't that already the CF price? And if they're so beautiful, then why can't they go to NF?

Actually, that's a question i meant to aks for a long time.
In the tochkas, are there always different prices for locals and tourists?

When the mamachka has the polizi waiting around the corner, is that
only for tourists as well, or do they work that scam on locals too?

"And if they're so beautiful, then why can't they go to NF? " - That's not just the question of beauty. I used to work in NF for 3 years and business was good. But then unexpectedly security stopped let me in, as well as some other girls who used to go for a long time. The reason why was never explained. And some girls, beautiful, my friends, were never even admitted there. Club management somehow desides who is allowed to come and who is not. And noone understands the reasons. But I'm still in contact with some of NF girls and they also complain that now business goes worse than before and that men are becoming greedy and rude. Sometimes buseness goes down, and sometimes up. It happened many times before and there is nothing special about it.

[GandJim]

GermanWings is a good cheap option, but to get the cheap flights you must book at least 3 weeks in advance to get the best rates.

You're absolutely right, and I wouldn't say 3 weeks in advance, but rather 6 months! That's why I mentionned Sept and Nov. GermanWings has the additional advantages of very cheap prices from other cities in Europe to Koln, like 9 euro single trip from Nice, South of France (nearest airport for where I live). I used to fly to Prague with them for 50 euros Nice-Koln-Prague and return. For Moscow, it will be 100-120 euros return. I have to book pretty long in advance but I tell myself that, in the worse case where I have to cancel or change my flights, I won't lose that much money (thanks God, it never happened so far).

I already know about Germania Express, but never heard about S7. Great, another option. Thanks for the information, that's what a forum is all about, isn't it?

The same is even for www.klm.com and www.airfrance.com where it is a little more expencive, around 350-450 €.

I'm living in France and belong to that category of "cocorico" guys who think that everything French is better. Even though, Air France is the worse airline I've ever use. I have tons of personal horror stories about Air France, but it would be pretty off-topic. Just one word from a guy who thinks everything "made in France" is better: Stay away from Air France.

I'm flying Lufthansa mainly too, in particular for business trips, but what I wanted to point out is that there are occasionally some cheap options popping up, worth catching. Even with GermanWings, offer for a 36 euros ticket to Moscow don't happen often, it's a special offer and it's available only for a few days. Those interested must act quick.

Jim

[Da Loader]

Can anyone figure out the Lufthansa schedule or prices
for r/t between Frankfurt and Gorky? The damn web site is a total pain in the ass.

Hi Bez,

as far as I know, Gorky is Nizhniy Novgorod. Here is what Lufthansa provides so far, prices are in/out flight:

Economy Saver Changes and refund not permitted. € 312
Economy Basic Changes are permitted against a charge. Refund not permitted. € 580
Economy Flex Flexible and refundable. € 1684

Eco saver just available limited and needs to have a weekend stay included.

Frankfurt NN: Wed, Frid, and Monday 18:30 to 00:05 + 1day (all local time)
NN to Frankfurt: Thu, Sat and Tue 05:50 to 07:30

[Bez Bezarra]

Well, none of those girls work at CF for at least two-three months decent ones are looking for other options. The client just doesn't go there no more, basically an indoor tochka. The girls routinely get mistreated or ripped off.
What's this world coming to, when a beautiful Russian girl can't find a nice tourist to sell her body to?

If the going tochka prices are $150 to $200, and CF is now an indoor line-up,
then why aren't they getting paid? Is it because the $150-$200 price is
only the tourist price? Wasn't that already the CF price? And if they're so beautiful, then why can't they go to NF?

Actually, that's a question i meant to aks for a long time.
In the tochkas, are there always different prices for locals and tourists?

When the mamachka has the polizi waiting around the corner, is that
only for tourists as well, or do they work that scam on locals too?

[Bez Bezarra]

Can anyone figure out the Lufthansa schedule or prices
for r/t between Frankfurt and Gorky? The damn web site
is a total pain in the ass.

[It Travel]

Thanks GJ for the link.

GermanWings is a good cheap option, but to get the cheap flights you must book at least 3 weeks in advance to get the best rates. As the departure day nears the prices go up to 100-200€ one-way. Still, this is the cheapest option I was able to find as well at 50-70€ one-way with advance booking. Flying to Vnukovo has no significant disadvantage from what I can tell.

Other cheap options I know of are:

Germania Express-this is essentially deutsche BA and flies from Duesseldorf to Domodedovo for 126 € + each way depending on which time you book. Nice modern planes.
www.gexx.de

S7- they also fly out of Duesseldorf and their fares run about 200-300€ round trip. I've flown them too, nice airline with modern planes. They also fly to Siberia.
www.s7.ru

Aeroflot - If you book in time it is still quite affordable at about 330 € round trip.
www.aeroflot.ru

Regarding airports I find Sheremetyevo to be the most convenient to get to, but Domodedovo is definitely the nicest and friendliest. They actually have decent cafes, have internet and wifi, have some shopping and it is generally clean and nice. We all know what a humourless dump Sheremetyevo is, especially after you pass passport control there is nothing to do there but sit and wait and maybe drink a beer at the Irish Pub.

Vnukovo is nothing special, but if saving €s is a priority, then flying to Vnukovo is your best bet, at least in terms of German-based flights.

On ground I'm flying very much I always prefer to go with bigger companies like Lufthansa or Austrian where you can get flights (booked and paid well before) for under 300-350 €.

I mean not from Germany, but from another European Country with a change in Frankfurt, ***ich or Vienna.

By the way the flight I'm buying from my Country to Vienna is 290 € with Austrian go to the site www.austrian.com or www.lufthansa.com. (safe you can buy with your CC and get an etix: electronic ticket).

The same is even for www.klm.com and www.airfrance.com where it is a little more expencive, around 350-450 €.

Of course all the prices are with all taxes and fees included (low cost have ususally hidden charges like 10 € fot ticket etc.)

IT