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On this trip, I chose a new form of train travel - two business class tickets that cost $150 round-trip. We were awarded with our own private compartment and meals. We even managed to plug in our laptop, and with 100 "Tom and Jerry" cartoons located on four DVDs, the long train ride rolled right on by (although if I never see another "Tom and Jerry" short, it might be too soon).

After a good night's rest, we arrived at 10 a.m. and were met by my friend, Vladimir Latyntsev, a talented oil painter from Vologda. He visited Southeast Alaska for a month last summer.

Latyntsev maintains a home in Veliki Ustug and is particularly interested in the history of Russian America, which is reflected in his body of work.

Veliki Ustug has a rich connection with the history of Alaska. Mikhail Buldakov, the chief director of the Russian-American Co. throughout Alexander Baranov's tenure in Alaska, was born here in 1766. Buldakov maintained a summer palace in Veliki Ustug that today is a teacher's college. In 1827, he donated a large portion of his estate to the town for a public park.

In preparation for the first Russian voyage around the world (1803 to 1806), Yuri Lisianski visited the town and chose seven sailors to join his crew, based on the recommendations of Buldakov.

Today, though, Veliki Ustug is most connected in the Russian mind with the traditional home of every child's favorite figure, Father Frost. During the New Year's celebrations, the town receives up to 30,000 visitors.

On our first day, we visited a little wooden post office in the town center, which was very busy with the thousands of letters from children across Russia, destined for the hands of Father Frost. The post office makes it a point to respond to every letter received, and we even ordered a personal message from the old man himself, to be sent in English to my family in Alaska.

With a population of 40,000, Veliki Ustug is the most beautiful place I have visited in Russia. Traffic on the main street in the historic center is barred, which makes for a pedestrian's delight. The brisk northern air and heavy fresh fallen snow covered the many cathedrals. As we walked along, it felt as if we had stepped back in time, into a fairy tale, several centuries old.

On our second day, we met with Deputy Mayor Ida Pinizhaninova concerning the history of Russian America, and our meeting was later broadcast on the local news.

Ida privately expressed a wish to forge a link with Alaska and in particular, with the town of North Pole.

Several years ago, on Father Frost's birthday, Nov. 18, a Santa Claus from Finland visited Veliki Ustug in a historic meeting between the two legendary figures.

The Deputy Mayor hoped that perhaps next year an Alaska Santa Claus could visit the town. It is a project that also has drawn the interest of the Russian American Historical Society in Moscow.

The highlight of our trip to Veliki Ustug came the following day, when we traveled five miles into the forest, to the Winter Palace of Father Frost himself.

As we entered the snow covered grounds, we were greeted by a reindeer, and then took a carriage ride throughout the park, stopping by to say hello to a pair of brown bears and a family of wolves.

Shortly after, we returned to the throne room, and a massive figure at least 6-foot-5, dressed in red and white, appeared before us. With a deep voice of northern timber, he intoned, "I hear I have a little boy from Moscow named Alyosha".

My son responded with awe-filled wonder and delight. As Alyosha approached the throne, Father Frost presented him with a brightly decorated box filled with Russian chocolates.

We adults also became lost in the emotion and magic of the fairy tale before us.

After finishing with my son, Father Frost turned to me and said, "And you, I hear, are from Alaska. I want you to send every child my personal wish, that their every dream may come true."

• Allan Engstrom is a longtime Juneau resident and co-author of "Alexander Baranov and a Pacific Empire."