I'm back in Moscow after my tropical vacation in Kalinigrad (where temperatures got above freezing). Here's the recap:

I flew into Kaliningrad on Thursday with Ellen, a Bloomberg TV reporter. Our hotel, the Baltica, is located on the edge of the city. We had dinner at the hotel's French restaurant, which we dubbed "the best French food in Kaliningrad". It was awful.

Yesterday, we ate a surprisingly decent breakfast at the hotel, consisting of tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, salami, yogurt and tiny pancakes. All of the other journalists on our trip were staying at the same hotel, so we were picked up in a large bus. Our first stop was a local government office, where we were searched and detained for an hour.

Next, we were driven to a soy manufacturing plant on the Baltic Sea. Dmitry Medvedev (likely the next Russian president) and his entourage showed up an hour later. He was met by the owner of the plant. The two stood around talking while the press swarmed around for pictures. The photo op was suppose to be of him looking at the sea, but he faced the wrong way, so it looked like he was in a parking lot. Medvedev then joined a group of business people and government officials in a board room, where they gave boring speeches and he occasionally mumbled into the microphone. He certainly does not have the charisma of most world leaders.

From there, the procession moved to a brick making plant. I got some nice b-roll of the plant, but when Medvedev arrived he stood facing a large yellow dumpster. Again poor planning led to a poor photo op. That night, Ellen and I asked about the "best Italian food in Kaliningrad". We were directed to a restaurant near the center of town. This time it was actually good.

Catching a cab in Russia is more like hitch-hiking. Anyone can be a cab driver, so when you stand by the road you are often picked up by the first passing motorist. This time it was a man and his sister, who were out looking for the sister's husband. The husband had just stormed out of the house after one month of marriage. We drove slowly as the sister searched the side of the road. Eventually we dropped her off at an apartment building and were taken back to the hotel.

Now I am back in Moscow, hoping to find one more decent meal before leaving tomorrow.