I will shortly be heading off to Russia, visiting the cities of Saint Petersburg (formerly Leningrad or Petrograd) and Moscow, the capital city.

Yes, it was 3 years ago when Mom and I went to Houston to get visas to go. That was before lock-downs and border closings and sanctions.

My itinerary will take me from Atlanta through Chicago and Warsaw, Poland, before landing in Tallinn, Estonia. I will then need to take a seven and a half hour bus ride to Saint Petersburg. I know, you are so jealous of me getting a long bus ride.

As Estonia is in the Schengen Area, I don’t need a separate visa to enter. So I will have a few hours to walk around their capital before getting on the bus. I don’t have any Euros, but I can use my credit card if I find anything worth buying (or rather worth carrying around for over 2 weeks). But because of the sanctions imposed by the US, no American credit, bank, or debit cards will work in Russia. Fortunately, I have Russian rubbles, that I got back before the lock-down screwed everything up.

A idea I had when I went to Italy, take bank envelopes and divide up the money I need for each hostel. This allows me to spend without worrying about not being able to have my room. Russia is too cold to sleep outside <brrr>.

After Moscow, I fly through Istanbul (Constantinople), Turkey, and Frankfurt, Germany, before returning to Atlanta. In total, I will spend over 72 hours in transit.

Interestingly, I will go through Atlanta, Warsaw, Tallinn, Moscow, and Istanbul. Each is the capital of their country or state. Not planned, just worked out that way.