Things, as we all know, don't always go according to plan. I got used to the engine noise and gradually dropped off into a deep sleep. Then awoke suddenly experiencing a wave of nausea!
A fellow passenger suggested I go up to the top deck where I wouldn't sense the sway of the boat so much. I hurried upstairs. The coffee and alcohol bar was teeming with life -- happy voices and a television program on a large screen (for that long ago time) behind the bar.
Not the usual soccer game but an international ballet competition televised from Moscow. I was astounded and overjoyed!
You could never see something like this in North America, there would never be a donut or beer company that would pay for that to be seen.
Ballet was not big like it is now. I got a Nescafe (that's what you ordered there if you wanted coffee with milk) and a bun and took a seat close up. My stomach settled down.
I saw two dancers I'd been to school with, Karen Kain and Frank Augustyn, grace this behind-the-iron-curtain stage. And I enjoyed the other creme-de-la-creme young dancers, all competing in this illustrious international showcase on the Bolshoi stage.
Here is a video of that dance with Karen and Frank, although the venue is different.
