Packout Day One went pretty well: the only major glitch was with the car: we have to de-register the car in order to export it. Problem is, I seem to have lost the registration card. OOOOOPS. So today one of our Admin guys took the car in to be re-registered -- yes, that's the way things go behind the Rusted Iron Curtain. They can't just pull the record out of their files, oh no. It's back to Square One. So the car has been successfully re-registered; now it can be de-registered. On the one hand, bureaucracy here is an art form and keeps lots of otherwise useless human beings off the streets. On the other hand, it is a huge byzantine pain in the neck. One less thing to miss.
Last night my husband and I went to dinner with a friend to say farewell, and after a nice meal we drove around to say goodbye to some of the various sights we will miss in this city: the museums, churches, and riverside walks that make this place livable. It's not enough to keep me here, but it's enough to make me say that the last two years have been worth it.