My two biggest passions in life are sports and travel. So the World Cup is basically the greatest thing ever. So that’s exactly what I did. Here’s a day-by-day account of my experience at the World Cup Russia 2018. First and foremost, I am constantly asked how I got tickets for the games. I literally followed the FIFA directions when they were to go on sale, set an alarm for 3 am ET and went online and got the games I wanted in the cities I wanted. It was that simple. I didn’t use any connections and they weren’t sponsored. Anyone can do it! Before I begin, here are a few observations about FIFA and the World Cup Russia 2018: The Russians did a very good job overall FIFA had plenty of English speaking helpers on the ground The stadiums were spectacular The fans were wonderful Russia is very cheap, especially outside of Moscow Security was very tight and borderline annoying but we always felt safe There were police everywhere I saw zero fights between fans-highly unusual at a soccer event Beers in the games were very cheap as far as sporting events go The lack of decent hotels with availability in all cities was a big issue Transportation between smaller cities was very limited i.e. Samara & Kazan World Cup swag was awful, poorly placed and almost always sold out FIFA needs more merchandise in more sizes in more places FIFA Fan Fests are lame and useless Ticket resale was very difficult and confusing The FIFA website for tickets was awful Fan ID’s worked like a charm-kudos to the Russians for making it easy Russian food is not good in general but in most places you have options Overall a good host country for an event like this but not perfect I had an amazing experience and was pleasantly surprised in general My experience at the World Cup Russia 2018 actually first we visited Kaliningrad is a small exclave of Russia just north of Poland. It’s the only part of Russia completely separated from the mainland and in Europe. Most people don’t even know it exists. Much of it was destroyed during World War II and there isn’t much to it these days. But the World Cup was truly its moment to shine. We stayed at a place called Hotel Kaliningrad, which happened to be the media headquarters for the World Cup games in Kaliningrad. It was a basic 2-3 star kind of place. The hotel selection in Kaliningrad is crap so we felt very lucky to even get that. The rooms were hotter than hell but it was in a good location next to the Fan Fest and a 15-minute walk to the Main Square and 30 minutes from the stadium. There is literally nothing to do in Kaliningrad. The sites are very whatever if you’ve been to Russia before. There is some German charm to some of the buildings to counter the Soviet-style architecture and dank, gray color. The Spanish fans and to their credit, a ton of Moroccan fans as well, took over Kaliningrad. The bars were absolutely packed before the game and singing filled the air. It was raining pretty much all day until about 6 pm so the atmosphere helped cheer things up. The stadium is brand new and very isolated from the city. It’s a solid 45-minute walk from the main square and the security lines were preposterous. We waited at least an hour and actually missed the opening kickoff, finally getting to our seats 6 minutes into the game. Luckily, we didn’t miss anything, as the score was 0-0. After the game, I met up with some friends at the hotel bar; which was mobbed for a drink then passed out. It was an early flight to the next game in St. Petersburg! After arriving in St. Petersburg following a 1.5-hour flight from Kaliningrad, we checked into the Nevsky Art Hotel. It was very centrally located equidistant to the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood and the Hermitage Museum-St. Petersburg’s 2 most famous sights. The hotel was average at best and was a walk-up hotel. My room was on the 5th floor; which was annoying. That said, it served its purpose. St. Petersburg is a dream city. It’s a Russian city with a ton of history that looks like it could be located anywhere in Europe. It has beautiful canals, charming architecture, massive squares, beautiful boulevards, and the city just has a buzz about it. I loved being there. he best thing about the World Cup Russia 2018 or any big soccer event is that you can tour the cities during the day. I made sure to see all the famous sights again and check out a restaurant that had been recommended by the late great Anthony Bourdain called Cococo. Trust me, it was delicious and very reasonably priced for fine-ish dining. he Argentina fans completely took over the city. It was awesome. I am a massive Argentina fan. The first World Cup I watched was 1986 when they famously won with the great Maradona. Since then, they’ve played in 2 more World Cup finals and currently have my all-time favorite player Lionel Messi. So I was pumped for the game! Then we go to Moscow After visiting Red Square and of course St. Basil’s and the Kremlin, we just had a meal and some beers before heading out to Spartak Stadium for Brazil vs. Serbia game. The stadium was brand new, it was an easy metro ride from Red Square and the place was packed. I was surprised to see so many Serbia fans but I guess we are in Eastern Europe and if they won the game they’d advance. Sadly they didn’t win although they put up a brave fight. Brazil was opportunistic and just a better team. For me, it was a pleasure to finally see the Brazilian National Team play in person. Their iconic yellow jersey and blue shorts are like the New York Yankees pinstripes or the Dallas Cowboys Star. You can’t help but stare. I absolutely loved attending the World Cup Russia 2018 and was happy because I got to revisit some places I hadn’t been in years and add some new places I normally wouldn’t have gone. That’s pretty much the essence of the World Cup. You see different games in different cities and meet different people all with shared interests. It’s a lot of fun.