July 20, 2013 https://gruncleodd.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/DSCN1063-190x142.jpg

18 June. Today is off to a fairly easy start. We’re leaving the hotel around 08:00 to try to get a good spot in the queue to visit Lenin’s Tomb. The mausoleum opens at 10:00 but the line often forms …

July 19, 2013 https://gruncleodd.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Novodevichy_4-190x142.jpg

17 June. As I noted at the close of yesterday’s entry, I slept fitfully last night. The truth is I was awake at 05:00, wrote a bit, and tried exiting the cabin quietly in an effort to disturb my mates …

July 18, 2013 https://gruncleodd.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/DSCN0921-190x142.jpg

16 June. Woo hoo! Another 24-hour train ride. However, rather than continuing on the Trans-Siberian we boarded the Trans-Ural. (Okay, I added the ‘Trans’ because I like the symmetry – Trans-Mongolian, Trans-Siberian, Ural – just plain Ural doesn’t work for …