I have taken quick trips before, but never like the one I recently took to Moscow, Russia. I went with my boss to a Russian Academy of Natural Sciences 25 Anniversary Conference the week before Thanksgiving. The goal was to get there, be there and get back in time for me to drive the 10+ hours down to Arizona and arrive just in time for turkey.
A week prior to our departure, Paris was terrorized by radical extremists with gunfire and bombs. We were on the Delta flight direct from Salt Lake City to Charles de Galle, but I figured the Paris airport would most likely be one of the best secured places after such attacks. No problems there. We arrived in Moscow in the evening to a dusting of snow and hopped on the new (at least to me) airport train direct to the Belaruskaya Train Station - complete with free Wi-Fi. After a short subway ride to one of the Red Square stops, we settled into our rooms the magnificent Metropol Hotel, just across the street from the Bolshoi Theater. Due to the weak ruble, we were able to get 3 nights in this lavish hotel for about the price of the same rooms at the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City. Not bad!
After 15 or so hours in the air (thanks to my coat-as-a-pillow and a sleeping pill) I felt much better than expected. My boss opted to catch up on sleep, while I decided to bundle up and walk over to Red Square. It was a "warm" evening and the snow flakes were fluffy and wet; the first real snow fall of the season in Moscow. The main department store - GUM - sponsored a Winter Market right on Red Square, complete with rides, booths and an ice skating rink. It was about 9:30pm and the Square was speckeled with tourists and locals alike taking in the holiday.
I was back in Russia; back in winter.
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