6 weeks before trip:
Let me preface this story by telling you that I live in Madrid, Spain, and my travel partner, Megan, lives in Seville. We had to apply for a visa to visit Russia so Megan planned a weekend visit to Madrid so we could go together to the Russian Embassy and apply.
[accordion_tab title=”Russia Tourist Visa Information” default]
Entry Visas for Russia*: To enter Russia for any purpose other than short transit by air (less than 24 hours with no airport exit allowed) or some journeys by cruise ship or ferry (see below), you must possess a valid U.S. passport and a visa issued by a Russian embassy or consulate. You cannot obtain a visa upon arrival, so you must apply for your visa well in advance. If you arrive in Russia without an entry visa, border authorities will not permit you to enter the country, and you could face immediate return to the point of embarkation at your own expense, and possible ban on entering Russia for a period thereafter. For further information please visit the U.S. State Department website via the following link Travel to Russia. *This information is primarily for Americans wanting to visit Russia. If from another country please check with your local or national passport agency for entry requirements.[/accordion_tab]
Simple enough.
Wrong. We arrive to the embassy’s address and ring the buzzer at the gate. A voice answers in Spanish asking, “Who is it?” We respond by saying that we are two Americans and that we would like to apply for a visa to Russia. The voice comes back and says that this isn’t the place and that we must walk two blocks to another location. No problem, it was really close.
We walk to the second location and, once again, ring the buzzer at the gate. A different voice this time, “Quien es?” and we begin our spiel again about us being Americans and that we want a visa to travel to Russia, etc. “But, who are you?” the voice comes back again, “What do you want from us here?” Slightly puzzled by the questions, we respond, “Well, we went to another address and they told us to come here. So, could you please let us inside?” To this, we get an immediate and harsh “NO!” followed by other indiscernible words in a tone that implied that the woman was getting flustered at this point. We look at each other confused. My friend leans into the speaker after a moment and says, “I’m sorry? I didn’t understand you.” The woman retorts in seconds, practically shouting, “Pues yo tampoco!” Then we hear a loud click. Conversation ended.
It apparently wasn’t the address we were supposed to go to.
Eventually we did find the correct place; it was the door next to the first place we rang (go figure). We applied and paid for our visas and were instructed to come back in 3-4 business days to pick up our passports with the visas inside and ready to go.
Step one: completed.
Day of Flight:
My friend and I booked separate flights to Moscow. We would each be arriving at the same airport (Moscow has three!), however, our arrival times were 12 hours apart, myself at 3 PM and Megan at 3 AM. Since I was arriving first, I decided it was best to stay at a hotel near the airport until Megan arrived, that way we could sleep until a decent hour and head into the city where we would be staying at a centrally located hostel.
So, that afternoon I arrive to the Moscow airport, walk the short distance to the hotel and check in. I notice there’s an ATM in the lobby and decide it’s the best place to take out money, since I wasn’t able to obtain any Russian Rubles before arriving. I put my card into the machine, choose the English option, select the desired amount, and click OK. The machine begins to load, and then suddenly a final option appears on the screen. In Russian. It’s a question with two obvious options- Yes or No. Except, I can’t tell which response is ‘Yes’ and which is ‘No’ because it’s written in the Russian alphabet. I take a gamble and choose one. The machine rumbles, I can hear it working. But then it stops. I wait. There’s nothing. No money… just nothing. My card comes out and it’s back at the main screen. I try again, but this time I select the other option of the Yes/No question. Once again, my card comes out and back to square one.
Great.
I walk to the front desk, “Excuse me? Does the ATM over there work? I just tried to take out some money but nothing came out.” The receptionist, puzzled, looks at me and then looks at the machine, “Well yes, it worked this morning. It should work but sometimes it has problems. Maybe you should try it again later.”
I take his advice and go up to my room to rest.
In the meantime, I connect to the Wi-Fi and send out my obligatory, “I made it safely to Russia” texts and emails. Shortly after my message is sent, I receive a text from Megan, who at this point should be in the air to her layover destination, “My flight got delayed 5 hours and I’m going to miss my connecting flight. I’m going to talk to the airline, I’ll let you know what they tell me.”
Awesome.
After a few hours I try the lobby ATM again to no avail. At this point I decide that today is just not going to be a productive day. I go back to my room, eat a bag a peanuts and a complimentary cookie from the hotel for dinner, and go to bed.
Somehow, during my slumber, my friend talked her way into a direct flight to Moscow and only arrived a few hours later than anticipated. We also found a functioning ATM at the train station and were on our way into the city by 10 AM the next morning. Problems solved.
…Or were they?
Step two: completed.
Arrival in Moscow Center
Within an hour, we arrive to the city center. We navigate the Moscow Metro by matching the Russian alphabet symbols to the directions we were given. Nothing is written in English. We somehow manage to arrive to the correct metro stop. We climb the countless escalators to the outside world and before we know it, we are standing in and breathing the Moscow city air. The city is huge!
After a few moments to take everything in, we consult our directions once more; “Take the metro to the Тверская stop. Go out the exit on the right. When you exit the station, the hostel is located next to the metro.” We look around for the neon arrow and lights surrounding our hostel. Unfortunately, we see nothing. “Well, it says that it’s located next to the metro… it can’t be far, let’s walk around and look for it.”
We walk to all the doors on the block, carefully looking for some indication that our hostel will be located inside. Without any luck, we decide it’s about time to ask. We walk into a McDonald’s and try to flag the attention of a worker. Ignored.
An approachable woman is standing by the counter, waiting for her order. I decide to ask her, “Excuse me, do you speak English?” She responds, “Yes, a bit.” I continue, “We are looking for our hostel at this address, do you know where it might be?” She looks over the information, takes out her phone and looks up the address. “Well, according to my map, we are at that address so it must be inside this block. Have you checked all the entrances?” We respond with a yes. “Well let me call the number for you and ask.” We thank her profusely as she dials the number. She puts the phone to her ear and within an instant removes the phone. “It seems like this number is out of service. I’m sorry. Maybe you should try walking behind this building; sometimes there are entrances there. Good luck.” We thank the extremely kind woman and head on our way.
As recommended, we walk to the backside of the building and find many entrances to what seems like the residential access. This has to be it.
We walk to each door and look at the list of names and doors. Everything is in Russian. Nothing remotely looks like the word hostel. And there is no sign of any business located within the walls of any of the doors. We start to lose hope. “I hope we haven’t been scammed!” is a thought going through my mind.
We begin to approach every person in sight. “Do you speak English?” “Do you know where this hostel is?” An elderly woman, convinced she understands us, responds several times with the same phrase, “Da” (Russian for ‘yes’) and pointing to a corner of the building, says, “home”. We thanked her and moved on, unable to understand her advice. Another man speaks decent English and directs us again to the same corner, although there are two doors and he’s not sure which one. We ring the bells for both. Our fingers are crossed. Nothing.
As the two-hour mark of our search approaches, we are running out of steam. We don’t know what to do. We decide try and find a place with Wi-Fi and go from there. As we are about to leave, a young man is walking towards the building we believe our hostel is located in. “Excuse me! Do you speak English? Can you help us please? We’re looking for a hostel.” The desperation in my voice must have been evident at this point. He smiles, “Oh yeah, follow me, that’s where I’m headed.”
What. A. Relief.
He rings a hidden (…why?) doorbell and the door immediately opens. We hop in an elevator to the 7th floor and, as the door opens, we see a huge sign on the wall in front of us, “Welcome Home”.
Home. The elderly woman was right after all. We made it.
Step 3: completed.
The Rest of The Trip
Despite all of the problems we had getting there, if you ask either my friend or myself about our trip to Moscow, the stories above are the last ones you’ll hear. We’d start first with the beautiful snow covered city we woke up to on our first day, the enchanting tours inside the Armoury, the Kremlin, and St. Basil’s Cathedral. We undoubtedly will mention Dasha and Sveta, two girls born and raised in Moscow that knew Megan from a summer camp she worked at, who showed us the nooks and crannies that you’d never find within a Frommer’s Guidebook.
We will show you the pictures from the one day when the sun came out. You’ll hear a detailed description of Moscow’s beauty during that short period of time when the sun was reflecting off of the golden dome on the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. We’ll also talk about the last minute tickets we received to the sold-out Russian Ballet at the most famous Bolshoi Theater, thanks to our Russian friends.
You’ll hear about the outdoor market where we haggled and bought the coolest souvenirs that now sit on our shelves at home. And you’ll hear about the 12 hours we spent in St. Petersburg. The amazement we felt when we saw the infamous Winter Palace. A place I dreamed of visiting as a little girl thanks to the countless times I watched Anastasia.
Oh, and the Russian baths. What an experience! That’s a whole other story all on its own.
We spent a total of eight days in Russia. Eight magical days.
Of course we encountered a few problems. You would be considered extremely lucky if a few problems didn’t cross your path on an international travel adventure. But that’s what makes it an adventure. The problems can (and will) always be solved. The problems we encountered, we now look back on with tears of laughter and amusement. As a matter of fact, you will feel so proud of yourself for solving them. It’s absolutely amazing the things you’ll learn you are capable of doing.
So stop reading and get out there and experience new places -and the problems that come with them. You’ll be glad you did.
Bon Voyage!
[accordion_tab title=”Graduate Correspondent: Caitlin Fournier” default]
Caitlin Fournier is a native of Stafford, VA who graduated in 2012 from Ferrum College with a B.A. in Spanish and minor in International Studies. 