I learned a lot during my adventure in Moscow and St. Petersburg. I actually knew a lot of it, but I didn't take it to heart. This includes:

• Paying in another country is cheaper with a credit card than with the Maestro, despite the processing fee, while withdrawing money should be done better with the Maestro

• In an emergency, washing clothes is easy with shampoo or shower gel, provided the product does not produce too much foam

• However, feeding a small dishwasher with hand dishwashing liquid can lead to a foam party in the kitchen

• This point would repeat the morale of several Disney films, which is why I have replaced it with this text

Fitting fun facts that more or less surprised me:

• Rumor has it that defiance of sanctions has banned Russia from adopting Russian children for Americans. However, this is slightly problematic for Russian children, as Americans were the main customers, especially for children with inherited disorders or trisomy-21.

• Moscow is right in the middle of the white and black seas.

• Despite the ban on homosexual propaganda, there are two LGBT clubs in St. Petersburg.

• Crossing a street on foot with red or no pedestrian crossing can be punished with a bus.

• Fewer people - at least in Moscow - dare to get on the metro for fear of a terrorist attack.

• Under the Hermitage there is the so-called 'Territory of the Cats'. A large number of cats live there, truly in the basement of the Hermitage, whose task is to hunt rats. Sponsors donate money and cat food to keep these cats.

• The speed of the handrail and escalator differ in certain metro stations. This is pretty daunting when you have to grab every few meters!

• The amount of the all-in-one shower shampoo gel, the battery life of my razor and the amount of toothpaste passed the test for 9 weeks successfully, even if it was scarce.