Do you like to read books about your destination when planning or reflecting on a trip? I love to recognise places and Christopher Hope's book about Moscow enthralled me.
I love to read travel narratives and novels about my favorite destinations. Recently I re-read Christopher Hope’s Moscow! Moscow!, describing his experiences of visiting Moscow during the 1980s. With two stays in Moscow under my belt since I first read it, I found a lot more familiar sights and people in the book, despite the fact that it was all pre-revolution. The stories he heard from people were often similar to what my homestay hosts told me.
And one story I especially liked in his book was this incident he observed:
In the sandy yard behind their apartment block one evening in spring, a little boy and girl were playing shop. She was the baker, he was the queue. He shuffled forward and asked for bread; she considered a line of rocks on the ground behind her and handed him a small stone loaf. He put it in his bag and paid. She shouted at him. He apologised for not having the right coins. Then they changed places.
Whether you prefer to read books like this before or after your trip, it won’t spoil it to read my review of Moscow! Moscow! first. And if you have any favorite books (fact or fiction) about Eastern Europe and Russia, let us know.
