Anyway, growing up in the 80’s and going through all of the nuclear drills in Southern Maryland when they told us that it was for “tornadoes” got me thinking as I got older. I thought, wow, we don’t really get many tornadoes in Maryland. My Grandparents in Iowa had seen tornadoes but I had never even heard of a tornado touching down in Maryland. Just the same, we did as many “tornado drills” as we did fire drills. As I got older, I began to understand. After all, I lived very close to our nations capital.

I began to learn the issue. Apparently, the United States and Russia (at the time) had enough nuclear weapons to destroy the earth many times over. It kind of made me chuckle at the drills I practiced so often in grade school. The idea of facing the wall on my knees with my hands over my head seemed like a pretty futile conquest given the possibilities. What it really got me thinking about was our competitor or enemy at the time. I wondered if they were doing similar drills in their grade schools. What was the real issue?

Granted, the ideals of Communism and Capitalism are quite opposite but destroying the world never seemed like much of a solution to anything. Anyway, time passed and the Berlin wall fell; one of the great historical events of my lifetime. I always said I would explore both Berlin and Moscow. I want to find out first hand what it was like as a child in Moscow during the same period. Did they do tornado drills too?

Unfortunately, I’m not on an unlimited budget. Even if I were, I still would want to get good value for my money. Besides airfare, finding a place to stay is the most expensive part of the trip. When I do go to Moscow, I’ll want to spend some time and may look for some longer term arrangements. I found this site on Moscow Hotels helpful as it reviews all kinds of hotels from 2 stars to 5 stars. It also reviews long term arrangement options. It’s just one place I start before I embark on a journey of questions and hope to return with a plethora of answers.