My Travels #4

September 1996 – Red Square, Moscow. I’d just returned from a work assignment in Ekaterinburg and had the weekend off. I was happy to be back in Moscow. Ekaterinburg was rough. There was no heat in our hotel and some of my team members had no hot water. Our team would hang out in the dining room of the hotel every night. There was heat there because of the cooking that took place in the kitchen. We would hang out until midnight just to stay warm. When I left the dining room I would hasten to my room and dive under the bed covers —fully clothed.

I did have hot water, therefore, when I awoke the next morning, I would run to the bathroom and crank up the hot water in the shower and let the steam warm me up. After I was showered and dressed, I would hear a knock on my door. It was several of my team members, standing in line with their bath towels draped over their arms. They had no hot water.We spent two long weeks in Ekaterinburg.

After the Ekaterinburg work was done, I went to Moscow for the weekend. I was happy to be in Moscow because I stayed in an hotel that had both heat and hot water. Additionally, Moscow was a little warmer, hence me standing in front of Lenin’s tomb with just a trench coat.