Just under two weeks to go!

I've been looking at the details of the hotel I'm booked in - reviews are variable to say the least! One consistent theme though is that there are plenty of hookers plying their wares in the lobby of the hotel - that should be amusing. I wonder if they are a relic (the actual hookers and the process!) from past times and have secret phials of sodium pentathol to get victims to divulge state secrets, e.g. about the length of the runway at Bristol Airport, or if the Number 9 still goes right to Tower Bridge?

Good news is that the Hotel is very close to a Metro station, and is next to a park with some interesting old Soviet memorabilia, all the reviews give it good marks for location. After some of the dives I have stayed in, both in the UK and Switzerland, the bar is quite low. And as for food - after four weeks trying and failing to understand why the Swiss appeared to have Perch as their national dish in Geneva, I am not loosing sleep. Also had some interesting meals in Krakow - and the most bizarre hot dog that you could imagine at the railway station in Osweicim!

If it does not take up too much time, I am going to try and check out Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov and see what he's up to these days - sitting around in a vinegar bath for all those years must be a bit boring. I'll also drop by Uncle Joe and say Hi.

Until....