The Orient Express: The Soundtrack

Ken’s and my anniversary on May 8th always hits us at a terrible time. It’s always finals, grading, and graduation; this year, we barely saw each other for 15 minutes, but during those fifteen minutes, we managed to plan to celebrate our anniversary in Russia. And, folks, we did.

Last Friday night at midnight, we took the expensive overnight sleeper train to Moscow, eight hours each way. We immediately thought of the Orient Express, which we’re calling it, but it was really called the Red Line Express or something like that. For $280.00 (2 people round trip), we had what is a unique experience to us. Our berth was private, had two bench seats that convert to beds, box suppers with caviar and vodka (I only took one sip, Mom, and that was more than enough!), and a table for two set with cloth napkins.

I’ve converted the picture of us on the train to black-and-white, because we both totally felt like we were in an old romantic movie! We slept well both nights (we returned Saturday night on the midnight train as well; of course we sang “Midnight Train to Georgia”), nestled in our berths, lulled into sleep by the humming and lurching of the train.

And you know the funniest part? Think about that triumphant music that always plays at the end of those old movies, right when the credits are rolling. No kidding, when we stepped off the train—two young lovers who have now been married longer than we haven’t been—that kind of music swelled in the station, broadcasting
our triumphant return from Moscow, our successful managing of this trip where we didn’t know the language, and its confidence that this couple will make it for the long haul! How cool is that?!