If anybody follows my Facebook page for this blog (facebook.com/wanderingbarbarian), this announcement won’t come as a surprise. If you don’t, and frankly you’re missing out on the fun, you’d have read that I’ll be going to Volgograd this summer for the World Cup. This means that I’ll have some of my travel plans sorted out, while I’m still trying to plan other destinations. Hopefully I’ll be able to find cheap enough flights, as finances are a perpetual struggle, especially in those slow summer months. This leads me to my next, more important point: I’m never going to be one of those semi-permanent travelers whose locations are firmly chronicled on social media.

For those of you travel bloggers who’ve made the giant mistake of following me on Instagram, I try to make it as abundantly clear that I can’t live your lifestyle. Yeah, I try to post as many travel-related pictures as possible, but given how I only can travel when I can afford to (the ruble kinda limits my adventuring), naturally I’m gonna lag behind. I’m not sorry for posting relevant stuff about my life, because I’m very much a multi-faceted person who loves more than just traveling; I try to curate things that I find interesting, whether that be something I see on the streets of Moscow or intellectual pursuits. Am I a bit jealous that you guys can afford to travel in perpetuity? Absolutely! Does that mean I’d want to do that myself? Eh, not really. As I continue to beat a dead horse to death in its afterlife, I do think there’s something great about having a home base to come back to after trips on the road. Well, that, and the fact that I simply can’t afford longer trips unless I want to eat a steady diet of government cheese whilst living in a van down by the river. Basically, all I’m asking is that your temper your expectations of what you’ll find on my social media.

But anyways, getting back to the point about Volgograd-I’m absolutely stoked to visit there! As I’d already planned a trip there, getting tickets to the Iceland-Nigeria match was a happy coincidence. One coworker of mine had already visited the city, and he was telling all about how much he enjoyed it, thus adding more fuel to the fire. In particular, I’m shaking with anticipation to see The Motherland Calls statue. Just looking at pictures, which I’m reliably told can’t do it justice, gives me chills! The historical aspect is something that drew me to it, and I’m absolutely planning to absorb as much of it as I can! However, the one downside to going during the World Cup is how jacked up the prices are. For example, the hostel I booked is going to run about $150 for three nights, whereas it normally would be five times cheaper during any other time of the year. My flight also costed that same amount, but I did opt to a) not take advantage of the free train ride that comes with my Fan ID and b) spend more time in the city. Hey, sometimes you do what you can to maximize the experience, especially for these types of events!