I hope you make the trip in summertime ~ it can get pretty damn chilly up there!

In my very limited international travel experience, I've noticed that Europe (Western Europe, anyway ~ can't say about Russia) is considerably more temperate than North America at a given latitiude. For example, compare Maine to Spain...not the exact same latitiude, but closer than you'd think when considerfing their respective climates.

This is an intrguing idea for planning a monumental trip, but I would prefer to stay down around the subtropical 30-degree mark, where I've come to feel at home. (New Orleans is at 30 x 90 ~ the exact spot is in an uninhabited area near the Intracoastal Waterway, about two miles west of my house.)