MIDNIGHT TRAIN TO MOSCOW

I lay on an 18-inch wide lower bunk, in the four-person train cabin. The bottom of Mare’s bunk lies within arm’s reach above me. A young Russian man climbs up and into the top bunk about 18-inches across our aisle. He does not say a word. A business man hangs...

ST. PETERSBURG: SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL

That song from the Rolling Stones plays in our heads. A stranger on the streets of St. Petersburg helps us locate the MIR Hostel. (We know 5 words in Russian) Our first order of business will be the ominous task of copping train tickets from the notoriously impatient,...