It’s been a very tiring week.   We went back to work still fighting off our head colds & jetlag.   We’ve been fast asleep before 8:00 p.m. several nights this week.   With Christmas closing in on us quickly, we’ve got to get in gear before the guests start arriving next weekend!

I mentioned in my last post that there were several items we needed on our first trip that we didn’t have — and a few items that we did take but really didn’t need.   I’ve dug out my notes and thought I’d share my list with you.

Items we didn’t take but wished we had:


  • DVDs - Our apartment had a DVD player but we didn’t think to bring along any movies to watch.

  • Speakers for the iPod - it would’ve been nice to listen to (American) music in the apartment.

  • Alarm clock - Although my cell phone made a surprisingly-effective alarm clock, Rob really missed having a clock to glance at.   (There wasn’t a single clock anywhere in the otherwise well-stocked apartment.)

  • Long network cable for the notebook PC - we were blessed with fast DSL Internet but only brought a dinky little 6’ cable so we had to setup camp on a tiny nightstand next to the bed.

  • Extra boxes of Folger’s singles - we went through the one box we took pretty quickly so we’ll be taking an extra couple of boxes next time.

  • Extra Kleenex - We took a couple of the travel packs and ran out before the end of the week.

  • Ear muffs - Rob’s ears stayed cold anytime we were outside.   My toasty jacket had a hood so I was okay.

  • Extra t-shirts - they were nice to wear as a bottom layer and nice to wear in the apartment as it was usually very warm in there.

  • Cough and/or cold medicine - We finally found some Hall’s cough drops in the market but that was it.   We were told we’d have to go to a Pharmacy to get aspirin or any other medicine and I don’t think there was one nearby.

  • Tylenol PM or something to help me sleep on the airplane.

  • Thermal underwear so our legs don’t get cold when we’re outside in the evenings.

  • Soup - There’s no canned soup to be found in the little market on New Arbat.

Items we took but didn’t need:


  • Heavy sweaters - Lighter layering worked much better.

  • Toliet paper - There was TP everywhere we went, although this may be a different case in some of the less urban regions.

  • Hand Sanitizer - I took waaaay too much.   One small bottle would’ve been plenty.

  • Scarf - Never needed it thanks to my toasty coat that has a hood!

  • House Shoes - Warm socks work just as well.

I hope this helps.   As others have said, pack light and plan to reuse clothing! And if you’re staying in an apartment (highly recommended), you’ll have access to a washing machine to launder a few things along the way.   Thanks in no small part to the Space Bag Travel Storage bags that Linda loaned us (those things are like magic - we’ll never travel again without ’em!) we were able to pack everything in one large checked bag and a single smaller carry-on bag.   When you get to Customs in Moscow and have to carry your bags downstairs (no escalator or elevator) you’ll be happy that you packed light.