Trans-Mongolian/Siberian Railroad to Scandinavia
XIAN, CHINAHello friends and family! I made it to China, country #39 on my list of foreign nations visited. As you can see, I'm calling this my Hands-On History course...I feel like many of my travels are more like a college history course, than a typical vacation where you relax and sip beverages on the beach. I like both types, but my curiosity makes me continue to do these more energy sapping trips.
It still hasn't sunk in yet that I've left Bangkok for good. I think I packed everything up and had so much going on the last couple of weeks that it never gave me time to get sad that I was leaving, never to return to live, at least, again.
Of course, that type of thing always has its positives and negatives. I was ready to go and I know I made the right decision, but I met so many great people and fell in love with the smiles and graciousness of the Thai people that I'll definitely reflect back fondly on those things and miss them.
I spent the last night appropriately at Witch's Tavern with pretty much everybody that I hung out with in Bangkok, so that was excellent! It was our last day of school on Friday and a huge group of us headed up there for dinner, drinks, and a candle ceremony for the King who is celebrating his 60th year on the throne, the longest ever in the history of the world! We stood for the Thai national anthem with lit candles; it was pretty cool. It's nice how much respect the Thai people have for their King...it is very much like a religion over there and he has earned it (unlike some of our current world leaders that I won't name :).
I landed at 7am in Xian, after a 4.5 hour flight that I completely slept through, but I was still exhausted when I landed. The bus to town didn't leave for an hour and a half, so I grabbed breakfast of a bowl of noodles swimming in some sort of red sauce (it was tasty) and tea with some really cool flowers in it (I took a picture it was so pretty :)
I hopped on the bus and during the ride noticed how dry this part of China is. It is also cooler than Bangkok, but then again everyplace is, I believe! There's less humidity, but in the sun it's still hot. I could barely keep my eyes open during the ride because I hadn't quite slept enough the previous night on the plane.
I finally reached the train station, so I tossed my heavy backpack on and started the walk to Bob's Guesthouse (travelbob2005@hotmail.com). I was approached by the typical dozen touts for a room, etc., etc., but I just kept saying no thank you and continuing on. It was about 12 minutes away (600 meters) and, with the backpack, I was way happy to arrive and set down my things.
I walked downtown, I guess you would call it, to check it out and stroll down a quaint little street with a bunch of food and trinkets for sale. I grabbed a bowl of noodles in a spicy sauce of some sort (seems to be the theme of my day) for 2 yuan (it's about 7 yuan to the $1).I visited the Great Mosque, Bell Tower, and Drum Tower in a beautiful area that is very pretty at night when it's all lit up. I bought Madi a funny, wooden, glowing top that you spin on the ground and hit with a bamboo stick with a rope at the end. She'll get a kick out of it! Everybody was doing it in the square and it looked like fun!
I spent two hours chatting with a bunch of college girls who started talking to me (I'm sure they wanted to practice their English :) and a bit of an Indian-Tourist scene emerged (similar to India, Westerners are looked at like aliens here), with a little boy selling roses smashed up against my side, another guy on the other side of him, about 6-7 college girls, and other people who would stroll over to hear and see what was going on. It was pretty funny, but I learned a lot from those girls and had fun talking with them. It was getting late - 9pm - so I started my walk back to the guest house to relax and fall asleep. It had been a long day!
I woke up this morning and took off for the Terracotta Warriors. I walked down to the train station to hop on bus 306 for 7 yuan. I initially got off too early, at some famous spot where a queen once bathed. It looked pretty, but I didn't feel like wandering around when I had intended to go straight to the warriors, so I got back on the next bus - they roll through every few minutes - and finally made it.The Terracotta Warriors were pretty amazing (I thought of you, Renee, because you always wanted to be an archeologist and this was one fascinating dig! It looks like too much work to me, though!). I watched a video after checking them out and learned how they were created. I guess it took like 750,000 people to make them! They were created over 2000 years ago and were actually attacked underground by a rival group to the Qin Dynasty and some parts were destroyed and burned. For some reason, they were long forgotten until 1974 when they were found by people digging a well! What a discovery!
I hopped in a much slower and much hotter bus home - ugh! - and arrived around 2:30pm. The people here don't speak English, so it took me a while to seek out this Internet cafe (at one store, they thought I wanted to buy a computer!). There are NOT many of them in Xian and thought I should check in with my family, at least. More later…
BEIJING, CHINA
Pictures say it all in Beijing! I had a fantastic 10km hike on the Great Wall of China.
ULAANBAATOR, MONGOLIA
I had a great train ride with my cabin mates, Bob from Texas and Henrique from Portugal. The yurts dotting the landscape were amazing and the people of Ulaanbaator were drastically different from the Chinese in both appearance and personality. Ghenghis Khan was everywhere and even appeared carved on the hillside. We stayed in the same hostel, Zaya Backpackers Hostel.
SIBERIA
Well, I arrived in Irkutsk, Russia today, the former capital of Siberia. What an exhausting time! I arrived at 2pm and hadn't booked an accommodation, so I strutted around town with my backpacks - yes plural! - and first came upon a Russian girl at a bus stop whom I pointed to the Americansky Dom (American House) in my guide book and tried to ask here where it was. She had no idea, so she was a gem enough to use her cell phone to call the number listed in the book; it doesn't exist anymore apparently! You should have seen our communication, as all I know how to say in Russian is "spasee-ba" or thank you :)
So, I chose another place in the trusty book and hopped in a cab to the other side of the river. That place looked way too nice for my budget, but it didn't have a room anyway and she told me that she didn't think there were any rooms in town. She was a real crab-face, though, so I left not believing her :)
I continued on my walk and after 3 hours FINALLY stumbled into a travel agency and booked a homestay. I'm staying in a grandma's apartment and she speaks only Russian and German...verrrrry interesting.
That was the good news. The bad news is that I'm supposed to get my visa registered within 3 days of crossing the border into Russia. If you stay at a hotel, they'll register it for you, but they can't if you do the homestay route. I told the travel agent that I'm leaving for Moscow tomorrow and will be arriving on the 25th (my passport was stamped at the border on the train last night, so it's dated the 21st). That will be the 4 day in the country, so I'm hoping it's okay. The worst they can do is fine me, but I read if you have a valid reason like train travel, it's okay. We'll see. The best I can do is cross my fingers! I also emailed a guy a bit ago that I found online who owns a guest house, asking if he could register it for me tomorrow or if he knows how I can do so myself (although, I've never heard of doing it on your own). Russia is such a pain in the rear when it comes to visa. Most countries are a piece of cake; Mongolia didn't even require one for Americans and others you can
buy at the border! The joys of bureaucracy!Well, I was glad to find a place to sleep, though. Usually there are loads of places to choose from. In Ulaanbaatar there were dozens of people at the train station wanting you to stay with them. Well, I guess that's not the case here! Needless to say, I'm at the internet cafe, booking my stays in both Moscow and St. Petersburg to prevent another exhaustive search like todays! Those cities are huge, so I'm sure it's a different story, but just in case...
Sooooo, by the time I land in Minnie, I'm going to be sooo ready to set the backpack down! Oh, also, my bunkmate on the last train ride, from Mongolia to Irkutsk, was a young Russian girl, Natalia who spoke a bit of English and is dating a Canadian guy in Ulaanbaatar where they work. The train was a bit crazier than the other one because there were 3 crazy Russian guys who were drinking beer and trying to get Natalia and I to drink up with them, both of us declined, but we joined them for one small beer :) They were hilarious and could barely speak English, but it was funny watching them try. I was also dazzling them with my guide book Russian.
The border deal last night began at about 10pm when we hit the Mongolian border - no problem - they stamped out passports and we were on our way until we hit the Russian border. In the meantime, the two English speakers in the cabin next to me and I watched a
couple Russians, along with one of the Russian train attendants, move the rug and open a trap door underneath the train where they slid a bag or two!!! I'm not sure what they were smuggling, but it was quite interesting. The crazy thing was, when the Russian customs officials came on the train, they looked in that trap door! I'm not sure what happened, but it didn't seem like anything...confusing?!?! They also went into our cabin and actually opened the ceiling where they stuck their head out the top of the train to see if we had stuck anything on the roof! They are thorough, that's for sure!So, that was my train excitement...the foliage looks just like northern Minnesota and Lake Baikal reminds me of Lake Superior. It was gorgeous! We drove alongside the lake for about 4 hours this morning. I took several pics and stuck my head out the window occasionally to breathe in that fresh air - ahhhhh!
Okay, I'm starving! I've eaten 3 pieces of bread and a bowl of ramen noodle soup and it's 9:15 pm. Not to mention I walked around the city for 3 hours today! More from Moscow!
TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILROADI made it safe and sound to Moscow! My train ride was an excellent adventure! I spent 77 hours straight on a train departing Irkutsk, Russia and landing just over three full days later in Moscow, Russia. My bunkmates were Viktor, a middle-aged Russian, Lubov, a middle-aged Russian woman and a family with a mother, two adolescent daughters and a 3 year-old named Oleg, who quickly became my buddy.
The most interesting part was the fact that nobody in my cab spoke any English! We had a hilarious time communicating with body language, drawing pictures and using my guide book. By the end of three days, I really felt like I knew Lubov and Viktor. They shared their food and took care of me at all times. Viktor loved sharing his smuggled vodka; I found out that he bought it from the duffle bags of “undercover” salespeople on the platforms along the way. You’re able to buy beer legally, but not vodka. This doesn’t seem to be enforced too much, but enough to require duffle bags.
Crossing the Ural Mountains was less interesting that I thought it would be. They’re not very big, but it was pretty cool to know that we were crossing the division line that separates European Russia from Asian Russia.My days pretty much consisted of waking up early, eating breakfast of dark brown bread, cheese, tomatoes and cucumbers with instant Nescafé, reading, listening to music, looking out the window, eating lunch of instant noodles, stretching any time the train stopped by walking around the platform, eating the same thing for dinner as I had for breakfast and visiting with my cabin mates. Amazingly, this was plenty to keep me occupied and I didn’t go too crazy.
Oleg was adorable and I enjoyed finding things for him to do. He only had two cars to play with during a three-day train adventure and it took him until the final hours on the train for him to start wigging out. I occupied his time by letting him listen to my MP3 player, fumbling around with my small flashlight and watching a little bit of King Kong or viewing pictures of my friends and family on my laptop until the batteries died.
Everybody I met really enjoyed looking at pictures. I’m sure it’s interesting for them to meet a foreigner and catch a glimpse of their “real” life. I also showed them photos from other countries and they were surprised at how much of the world I had seen. I’m not sure if they think we all travel like that, but they were questioning me as to how I managed to get to all of those places. I ended up writing down the dates and locations where I had lived.
It was actually sad to get to Moscow and leave my new found friends and the fun adventure on the train. I’ve grown to love train travel and think it’s the only way to go when you really want to see as much of a country as possible.
MOSCOW, RUSSIAAn incredibly nice guy from my train who actually spoke English went way out of his way to walk me all the way to my guest house! It was extremely helpful because not many Russian speak English and I didn’t have a detailed map of the city, as I just arrived on the train. Sasha walked me from the train station over to the subway, had us stop at a station just so he could show me the art work of the interior (I obliged as it was the least I could do, but I couldn’t wait to drop off my heavy bags!) and took me to the door of the guest house after asking directions twice and walking five blocks uphill.
I was incredibly excited to take a shower after three days on the train and felt fabulous afterwards! It was the first hot water since Mongolia and I felt like a new person! I briefly walked around my neighborhood, stopping to exchange money through a creepy steel door with a security buzzer, before returning to the guest house to pay for the next two nights and arrange for an overnight train to St. Petersburg.
Luckily, there were seats, but unluckily they were in fourth class. On a positive note, it only cost $18 US and I’d be on the train from 1:44 am until 11:00 am, but fourth class means upright seats so it would be similar to sleeping on a plane overnight (although there ended up being a lot more leg room).
I decided to leave the touring until the following day and woke up nice and early, heading on foot to find the Kremlin…again with no map, but a sense of direction (sometimes it’s adventurous to see how well you do). I eventually not only made it to the Red Square to check out St. Basil’s, the famous GUM department store and Lenin’s tomb, but I actually snuck into the Kremlin! I didn't know I was sneaking in, but found myself ushered in with a tour group much to my surprise…and I’ll be honest, joy, as I saved $8 US and more importantly avoided having to turn around and walk in the heat to find where the actual ticket place was.
The Kremlin was interesting, but not as fascinating as I had imagined. My feet were killing me as I had walked for over six hours today so I returned to the guest house, but not easily. The alphabet over here is Cyrillic and things are not written in Roman as well, so it’s not very easy to read the signage.
This can make riding the subway a nightmare, especially when you’re exhausted and your brain probably isn’t working all that well. I eventually made it back to my subway stop, but what should have taken me about 20 minutes, took 2 hours and I almost snapped…but didn’t.I hung out with some fun folks in the guest house, four hilarious Mexicans from Guadalajara who booked the guest house online and showed up to be told that there wasn’t room so they were shoved into the TV room. Typically this wouldn’t have been a problem, but the Soccer World Cup is going on and people from several different European countries were glued to the screen until the wee hours of the night. Juan and the boys took it in stride, not even mentioning it to the TV watchers, but instead busted out the tequila and we shared a glass of it before I had to crash and rest mis piernas.
ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA
My overnight trip was a breeze; not as comfortable as if I had been able to lie down, but doable. I ended up either getting off the train too early – although everybody in the entire car exited when I did – or buying a ticket to a station that was farther out of downtown St. Petersburg than I had planned…either way, I ended up WALKING for hours with my two huge bags before finding my guest house.
I almost collapsed when I finally found it and was thrilled to see Zen and Gina from my train from Mongolia to Irkutsk at my guest house! What a crazy coincidence. They explained the quirkiness of the place we were staying; it was the cheapest place we could find, but the manager of the joint would ask the guests if they were staying in for the night and if the answer was yes, you became the official security buzzer, letting guests into the apartment building when they went out.
I went out with Gina, Zen and two Ozzies for several beers and had a blast until the wee hours of the morning. The sun never sets or sets only for a brief hour or two, so it was weird to be out bar hopping in the middle of the night with plenty of daylight! We got home around 5:30 am and I slept for about six hours before getting up and walking around the city to check it out and take pictures.
I was surprised at how many waterways there are in St. Petersburg and what a beautiful city it is. I guess I had expected it to look more drab, as I used to picture Russia before my trip. The G8 Summit will be held here in a week or so, bringing leaders from around the world to this city. That should bring more awareness and possibly more tourists to the city.
The Russian people tend to smile little, but once they warm up to you, they are very nice and generous. Some people look very Russian and others look like anybody else in the US or Europe.
Hello friends and family from Oslo! I said, "Do svidaniya," to Russia yesterday and hopped on Norwegian Air flight DY 1091 from St. Petersburg to Oslo at 14.35.
Getting from point A to B while traveling is my most loathed part of travel and for good reason. Picture me carrying a 50 pound backpack on my back and a 40 pounder turned around backwards on my front with an additional small purse-like satchel criss-crossed over my chest. Got the picture?
Now envision me trying to find the metro station, which is clearly marked in an obvious spot near an under the street crossing, but is nowhere to be found underground...
I ask two different people and eventually find it in a pillared building in the midst of shops. Ah, I buy my ticket for 12 roubles and begin attempting to read Cyrillic, an alphabet I've had many a battle with, but I'm quickly successful and after standing for seven (not several, but seven) stops until we get to something naturally called Mayakovskaya. That's me!
My next assignment is finding Bus 13 which I know is 7 roubles. Of course there are several options for exiting the metro and I initially select the one across the street. No problem, I go back underground, surface and point to Bus 13 saying, "Polkovo," and holding up 2 fingers (Polkovo 1 is the domestic terminal and I need international). I hear a healthy, "Da," and load my overloaded self into a minivan trying not to smash any other passengers.
It's a short ride to the airport and before getting out I repeat, "Polkovo," with the two-finger hold up. A second confirmation is given and I lug my goods out of the minivan.
Lo and behold there's a line stretching outside the airport and, as Russia is known for their lines and bureaucracy, I know getting to the airport has only been the beginning. I head through the typical security check after I'm asked to open my backpack - the laptop seems to confuse them, although I know they have many in Russia, as I've spent more than a few minutes at the Internet cafe. I'm flagged through and head toward my next line.
I see a Russian guy go in front of a large group of people and get through, so I give it a shot. I'm wondering if this is a large travel group who is waiting for their leader. I'm asked for my ticket from the Russian security woman, explain that I booked online and there was no printer, so all I have is the info written down on a sheet of paper that includes LOADS of other information (hostel in Oslo, in Sweden, a calendar of my travel dates and destinations, etc., etc). For those of you who know me, you know I have a more thorough itinerary than most travel agencies.
Luckily, she flags me through (some Russians occasionally have a stick up their behinds and others have probably harassed the last guy, so you're given a pass) and I stand in line for my boarding pass, which goes smoothly.
This is the part I've been dreading since Gina and Zen from Britain told me I was supposed to register my visa in EVERY city I stopped in while in Russia. I knew about registering during the first 72 hours after I crossed the border and this turned out to be a bit of a fiasco, as I stayed in a homestay and they are not able to register you. I found information from a helpful gal at a hostel about a hotel that would do it for me for 200 roubles (8 USD) and literally received it in the knick of time, flying to the train station to head to Moscow immediately after getting the much-needed stamp.
What I did not realize was that I was supposed to register in Moscow, which I hadn't done and it was too late as I was already in St. Petersburg. I was being told that places in St. Pete were charging 800 roubles, which is absolutely ridiculous, not to mention I only had 24 hours to register it, etc. I decided to take my chances at the airport, which was rumored to be easier to get through than the train travel border control. I put that to the test.
If you read about visa registration online, you're given the typical 45 explanations. Some say you only need to register if you stayed for more than 3 days in one place (that may be why Godzilla Hostel in Moscow didn't ask me to register it), other places say to hang onto your train tickets to prove where you went (I had thrown these away long ago) and other places say that you should register just to be safe, but it's completely unknown as to what the rules are. Again, it depends upon the stick that may or may not be up the Russian's behind when you go through passport-border control.
I stood in my dreaded line and watched the line next to me fly people through unscathed. I'm wondering what my gal up ahead is doing and getting a bit concerned that it's her day to wear the stick. It's my turn and I hand her my boarding pass, passport, visa registration card (with the one stamp from Irkutsk), and I wait. She looks on the computer, types away, looks at my paperwork, looks at me, waits, stamps (yes, I'm feeling lucky!!!!), hands me my documents and I almost run out of the passport control area to freedom!!!
I figure it's smooth sailing from here...I'm leaving Russia and it's bureaucracy behind! Oh boy...
I board the plane almost literally last because it was a bit delayed and people had been standing smashed together for close to an hour. I don't get it, but realize that the anxiety is because you are not assigned a seat, but similar to Asia Air, you select one as you board. If you're a stickler for aisle or row or you're traveling with others you'd like to sit with, then I understand the eagerness. I was solo and didn't care, so I read my book and relaxed in a chair until the line had dwindled down. I naturally ended up in the middle seat, but the flight was only an hour and forty minutes, so it was no big deal.
We departed and landed in Oslo at the same time due to the time change and we flew over Stockholm, which is full of beautiful lakes, and landed in lush, brilliantly green Oslo. The airport was beautiful and clean and I was given priority after the Norwegians and EU passport holders, as Americans don't need a visa to enter any Scandinavian country. It was a slick process, involving no bureaucracy (which should be spelled bureaucrazy) and no sticks.
I walked toward baggage claim, past the Duty Free shop with the Marlboros wearing the "Smokers Die Young" sign. I used the restroom (I'm very detail oriented) and went to get my bag, which showed up seconds after I arrived at the assembly line. I flew through customs, found the bus ticket counter, inquired about where I needed to go and was told to hop on the bus to Storo (I'm feeling at home already!) that was a bit delayed due to an accident and switch to Bus 56.
I headed to the money exchange line and unfortunately got behind someone who appeared to be checking into the exchange rates on over a dozen currencies! I admired his 80s black round sunglasses with the mirror lenses and the leather pads on the sides...do you remember those?!?
When it was my turn, after 20 minutes, I was told they don't accept roubles (I had about 18 USD worth), but was able to exchange my last 100 dollar bill...it was tough to part with Franklin. I was given 611 NOK (Norwegian Kronor) and walked toward the bus, which appeared to be there right on time...and almost leaving! I made it just moments before it took off, plunked my massive bags down, and watched the spectacular scenery go by.
There are miles and miles of green hills, red barns, manicured hill sides - it's an extremely picturesque country. There are also a lot of good-looking people, although I could be biased being from Minnesota, the land of 10 million Scandinavians.
The bus dumped me at Stor-Oslo and I waited, and waited, and waited for Bus 56, which was clearly marked as stopping at this bus stop. Bus 23 came by four times before I finally asked someone - the beauty of Norway is that EVERYBODY speaks English, so you can always ask and get a clear answer from anyone on the street - to be told that the bus wasn't running anymore today and to try to the tram station visible across the street.
I headed over, asked a gal which one to take and before she could answer, Bus 56 showed up! Yeah!! I hopped on, asked the driver where I was supposed to get off, he wasn't sure and said he'd do his best to figure it out. We drove about 5 minutes, he stopped at the bottom of a hill, said he thinks this is the closest, handed me a map, didn't charge me any kronors, and I was left on the residential roadside with no idea as to where I was supposed to go.
First I laughed and then I checked out the map. As I didn't know what street I was on to begin with, I walked up the hill to the next stop, down the hill and up again, but eventually I found a street name and noticed I was darn close - hopefully. I took a left onto the street that the hostel is on, found 52C, but was looking for 52B which was nowhere. I was going to knock on 52Cs door when I noticed a pretty view, went to take a look and saw a huge International Hostelling sign below - that's me!!!
I walked down the stairs to the small alley, checked in, was charged almost 10 USD for sheets and a towel, told there's free Internet and breakfast and told to go to room 212 on the first floor of the grey house. There were two grey houses, of course, and I was told at the first one that I wanted the grey building across the parking lot. This has gotten completely old and I just want to put my crap down and sit.
The first floor is the second floor to an American, but I found my room, literally threw my backpack on the bed and sat down. Ahhhhh, it's good to be in Norway!!!
I took an incredibly clean overnight train from Oslo to Stockholm and am finding it very easy to get around and communicate in Scandinavia. EVERYBODY speaks English and it’s amazing how easy that makes the life of an English speaking traveler. Although extremely expensive in comparison with Asia, these countries are
incredibly clean and the people are wonderfully helpful and nice. Here's what some guy wrote about his visit to Stockholm...hilarious!
I enjoyed my time and all of my visits over the past four weeks, but I was also glad to start my journey home through Germany where I slept in the airport rather than haul my backpacks around another city trying to find another guest house. I landed in Minneapolis to the beautiful, smiling faces of my mom, dad, sister and 6.5 year old niece, Madison, holding a sign saying, “Welcome Home, Bella” – life is good indeed!
I almost collapsed when I finally found it and was thrilled to see Zen and Gina from my train from Mongolia to Irkutsk at my guest house! What a crazy coincidence. They explained the quirkiness of the place we were staying; it was the cheapest place we could find, but the manager of the joint would ask the guests if they were staying in for the night and if the answer was yes, you became the official security buzzer, letting guests into the apartment building when they went out.
I went out with Gina, Zen and two Ozzies for several beers and had a blast until the wee hours of the morning. The sun never sets or sets only for a brief hour or two, so it was weird to be out bar hopping in the middle of the night with plenty of daylight! We got home around 5:30 am and I slept for about six hours before getting up and walking around the city to check it out and take pictures.I was surprised at how many waterways there are in St. Petersburg and what a beautiful city it is. I guess I had expected it to look more drab, as I used to picture Russia before my trip. The G8 Summit will be held here in a week or so, bringing leaders from around the world to this city. That should bring more awareness and possibly more tourists to the city.
The Russian people tend to smile little, but once they warm up to you, they are very nice and generous. Some people look very Russian and others look like anybody else in the US or Europe.
OSLO, NORWAY
Hello friends and family from Oslo! I said, "Do svidaniya," to Russia yesterday and hopped on Norwegian Air flight DY 1091 from St. Petersburg to Oslo at 14.35.
Getting from point A to B while traveling is my most loathed part of travel and for good reason. Picture me carrying a 50 pound backpack on my back and a 40 pounder turned around backwards on my front with an additional small purse-like satchel criss-crossed over my chest. Got the picture?
Now envision me trying to find the metro station, which is clearly marked in an obvious spot near an under the street crossing, but is nowhere to be found underground...
I ask two different people and eventually find it in a pillared building in the midst of shops. Ah, I buy my ticket for 12 roubles and begin attempting to read Cyrillic, an alphabet I've had many a battle with, but I'm quickly successful and after standing for seven (not several, but seven) stops until we get to something naturally called Mayakovskaya. That's me!
My next assignment is finding Bus 13 which I know is 7 roubles. Of course there are several options for exiting the metro and I initially select the one across the street. No problem, I go back underground, surface and point to Bus 13 saying, "Polkovo," and holding up 2 fingers (Polkovo 1 is the domestic terminal and I need international). I hear a healthy, "Da," and load my overloaded self into a minivan trying not to smash any other passengers.
It's a short ride to the airport and before getting out I repeat, "Polkovo," with the two-finger hold up. A second confirmation is given and I lug my goods out of the minivan.Lo and behold there's a line stretching outside the airport and, as Russia is known for their lines and bureaucracy, I know getting to the airport has only been the beginning. I head through the typical security check after I'm asked to open my backpack - the laptop seems to confuse them, although I know they have many in Russia, as I've spent more than a few minutes at the Internet cafe. I'm flagged through and head toward my next line.
I see a Russian guy go in front of a large group of people and get through, so I give it a shot. I'm wondering if this is a large travel group who is waiting for their leader. I'm asked for my ticket from the Russian security woman, explain that I booked online and there was no printer, so all I have is the info written down on a sheet of paper that includes LOADS of other information (hostel in Oslo, in Sweden, a calendar of my travel dates and destinations, etc., etc). For those of you who know me, you know I have a more thorough itinerary than most travel agencies.
Luckily, she flags me through (some Russians occasionally have a stick up their behinds and others have probably harassed the last guy, so you're given a pass) and I stand in line for my boarding pass, which goes smoothly.
This is the part I've been dreading since Gina and Zen from Britain told me I was supposed to register my visa in EVERY city I stopped in while in Russia. I knew about registering during the first 72 hours after I crossed the border and this turned out to be a bit of a fiasco, as I stayed in a homestay and they are not able to register you. I found information from a helpful gal at a hostel about a hotel that would do it for me for 200 roubles (8 USD) and literally received it in the knick of time, flying to the train station to head to Moscow immediately after getting the much-needed stamp.
What I did not realize was that I was supposed to register in Moscow, which I hadn't done and it was too late as I was already in St. Petersburg. I was being told that places in St. Pete were charging 800 roubles, which is absolutely ridiculous, not to mention I only had 24 hours to register it, etc. I decided to take my chances at the airport, which was rumored to be easier to get through than the train travel border control. I put that to the test.
If you read about visa registration online, you're given the typical 45 explanations. Some say you only need to register if you stayed for more than 3 days in one place (that may be why Godzilla Hostel in Moscow didn't ask me to register it), other places say to hang onto your train tickets to prove where you went (I had thrown these away long ago) and other places say that you should register just to be safe, but it's completely unknown as to what the rules are. Again, it depends upon the stick that may or may not be up the Russian's behind when you go through passport-border control.
I stood in my dreaded line and watched the line next to me fly people through unscathed. I'm wondering what my gal up ahead is doing and getting a bit concerned that it's her day to wear the stick. It's my turn and I hand her my boarding pass, passport, visa registration card (with the one stamp from Irkutsk), and I wait. She looks on the computer, types away, looks at my paperwork, looks at me, waits, stamps (yes, I'm feeling lucky!!!!), hands me my documents and I almost run out of the passport control area to freedom!!!
I figure it's smooth sailing from here...I'm leaving Russia and it's bureaucracy behind! Oh boy...
I board the plane almost literally last because it was a bit delayed and people had been standing smashed together for close to an hour. I don't get it, but realize that the anxiety is because you are not assigned a seat, but similar to Asia Air, you select one as you board. If you're a stickler for aisle or row or you're traveling with others you'd like to sit with, then I understand the eagerness. I was solo and didn't care, so I read my book and relaxed in a chair until the line had dwindled down. I naturally ended up in the middle seat, but the flight was only an hour and forty minutes, so it was no big deal.
We departed and landed in Oslo at the same time due to the time change and we flew over Stockholm, which is full of beautiful lakes, and landed in lush, brilliantly green Oslo. The airport was beautiful and clean and I was given priority after the Norwegians and EU passport holders, as Americans don't need a visa to enter any Scandinavian country. It was a slick process, involving no bureaucracy (which should be spelled bureaucrazy) and no sticks.
I walked toward baggage claim, past the Duty Free shop with the Marlboros wearing the "Smokers Die Young" sign. I used the restroom (I'm very detail oriented) and went to get my bag, which showed up seconds after I arrived at the assembly line. I flew through customs, found the bus ticket counter, inquired about where I needed to go and was told to hop on the bus to Storo (I'm feeling at home already!) that was a bit delayed due to an accident and switch to Bus 56.
I headed to the money exchange line and unfortunately got behind someone who appeared to be checking into the exchange rates on over a dozen currencies! I admired his 80s black round sunglasses with the mirror lenses and the leather pads on the sides...do you remember those?!?
When it was my turn, after 20 minutes, I was told they don't accept roubles (I had about 18 USD worth), but was able to exchange my last 100 dollar bill...it was tough to part with Franklin. I was given 611 NOK (Norwegian Kronor) and walked toward the bus, which appeared to be there right on time...and almost leaving! I made it just moments before it took off, plunked my massive bags down, and watched the spectacular scenery go by.
There are miles and miles of green hills, red barns, manicured hill sides - it's an extremely picturesque country. There are also a lot of good-looking people, although I could be biased being from Minnesota, the land of 10 million Scandinavians.
The bus dumped me at Stor-Oslo and I waited, and waited, and waited for Bus 56, which was clearly marked as stopping at this bus stop. Bus 23 came by four times before I finally asked someone - the beauty of Norway is that EVERYBODY speaks English, so you can always ask and get a clear answer from anyone on the street - to be told that the bus wasn't running anymore today and to try to the tram station visible across the street.
I headed over, asked a gal which one to take and before she could answer, Bus 56 showed up! Yeah!! I hopped on, asked the driver where I was supposed to get off, he wasn't sure and said he'd do his best to figure it out. We drove about 5 minutes, he stopped at the bottom of a hill, said he thinks this is the closest, handed me a map, didn't charge me any kronors, and I was left on the residential roadside with no idea as to where I was supposed to go.First I laughed and then I checked out the map. As I didn't know what street I was on to begin with, I walked up the hill to the next stop, down the hill and up again, but eventually I found a street name and noticed I was darn close - hopefully. I took a left onto the street that the hostel is on, found 52C, but was looking for 52B which was nowhere. I was going to knock on 52Cs door when I noticed a pretty view, went to take a look and saw a huge International Hostelling sign below - that's me!!!
I walked down the stairs to the small alley, checked in, was charged almost 10 USD for sheets and a towel, told there's free Internet and breakfast and told to go to room 212 on the first floor of the grey house. There were two grey houses, of course, and I was told at the first one that I wanted the grey building across the parking lot. This has gotten completely old and I just want to put my crap down and sit.
The first floor is the second floor to an American, but I found my room, literally threw my backpack on the bed and sat down. Ahhhhh, it's good to be in Norway!!!
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
I took an incredibly clean overnight train from Oslo to Stockholm and am finding it very easy to get around and communicate in Scandinavia. EVERYBODY speaks English and it’s amazing how easy that makes the life of an English speaking traveler. Although extremely expensive in comparison with Asia, these countries are
incredibly clean and the people are wonderfully helpful and nice. Here's what some guy wrote about his visit to Stockholm...hilarious!I spent my first night in Stockholm in an ultramodern super clean jail. The food was great and I got to listen to classical music piped in on an overhead speaker. In the morning, when I had sobered up, the police sent me over to the Chapman where they had made a reservation for me. You just gotta love the Swedes!I spent the next couple of days relaxing and walking around to take photos of the gorgeous city on the water. I sat at a park with a fountain to read my book and ended up in a conversation with an old-timer on the park bench swilling a beer. He started to tell me Norwegian jokes and said that they banter back and forth and basically tell the same jokes, switching the punch line. I told him we do the same in Minnesota and I mentioned my mom, a Swede, and my dad, a Norwegian. He got a kick out of that.
I enjoyed my time and all of my visits over the past four weeks, but I was also glad to start my journey home through Germany where I slept in the airport rather than haul my backpacks around another city trying to find another guest house. I landed in Minneapolis to the beautiful, smiling faces of my mom, dad, sister and 6.5 year old niece, Madison, holding a sign saying, “Welcome Home, Bella” – life is good indeed!