

As many of you know, I’m working on a book about the experience of life under Communism. I’ve done, and will continue to do, travel in the former Soviet bloc countries, interviewing people. The final interview trip I’ll make is to Moscow and St. Petersburg, in late October and early November. This will be my first time to Russia. I’m really excited about it. To worship God in Moscow’s St. Basil’s Cathedral is an incredible privilege. I actually got a little teary today thinking about my childhood, when we all were terrified of the Russians, and feared dying in a nuclear war. And now I’ll be in Moscow as a friend, indeed worshipping as an Orthodox Christian. Crazy old world.

I struggled today online, trying to book a flight to Moscow, and home from St. Petersburg, with getting a decent flight at a decent price. The flight home was the problem. It was crazy, really. Prices were out of control, unless I wanted to have a 10-hour layover somewhere. It finally occurred to me that the problem was trying to fly into Baton Rouge, instead of New Orleans (which is an hour away). The airlines were having trouble getting me back into the US in time to catch a flight to BTR. When I put New Orleans into the algorithm, it was a whole different world. Not only were there lots of flight options, they were much cheaper. The flight inbound to Russia will take me through Chicago, and then on a Finnair flight to Helsinki. Anybody here ever flown Finnair? I’m curious.

Though my wife will be teaching when I need to get down to the airport, I saved so much money on the ticket that I can afford to take an Uber to the New Orleans airport from Baton Rouge, and still pay significantly less than I would have were I flying out of BTR. So, yay.

I also saved so much money, and the dollar is so strong against the ruble, that I could afford to book a room at the Hotel Metropol in Moscow for that part of my journey. If, like me, you read and loved the novel A Gentleman In Moscow, you’ll understand why I’m thrilled by this. I’ll be staying at that classic hotel for much less than I would pay for an ordinary hotel room in New York, and about what I would pay for a boutique hotel in Washington. In fact, the most expensive hotel by far in Moscow is the Ritz-Carlton, where you can get a room for as little as $465 a night when I’m there. That’s much more than the Metropol costs, but it does give you an idea of how far the dollar can go in Russia right now. Of course late autumn is the off season, but still.

I had a decision to make about getting to St. Petersburg. There I will be staying with a friend, so don’t have to spring for a hotel. It’s an eight-hour ride by standard train, or three and a half hours by bullet train. I figured I’d take the bullet train, but it turns out that I had the option of booking the nicest solo sleeping compartment on the Grand Express, a luxury overnight train (departs 11:30 pm, arrives 8:30ish) for more or less the cost of one more night at the Metropol + the bullet train ticket. I opted for the overnight train, which is not something I’ve ever done, or am likely ever to do in the US. There might be spies afoot, and intrigue! There is never much intrigue on a bullet train.

Anyway, I’m pretty excited about it all. I will be working during the days, doing interviews, but I also hope to do some sightseeing. Ever stayed at the Metropol, or taken the Grand Express? Let me know what to expect. Also, please give me your other advice — especially for places to eat, and for places I might go to learn more about the experience of Soviet communism.