I've created a Photo Book that is a summary of our trip to Russia in 2012. You can find it at:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaNWLdi5buGrw4
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
August 6 -- The long trip home
Tuesday was our last day in Russia. It started with the normal breakfast in the hotel, getting all of our luggage down the scary elevators, and into a van with a driver who didn't speak English. We were trusting that he knew which airport we needed, so we got in and took off for about a 45 minute drive. The airport name matched what we had on our documents, so we piled out and into the terminal.
We were still plagued with signs that weren't in English, but sorted out where we should be and got our boarding passes. This time, it was Paul's passport that seemed to be causing a bit more hassle, but Alan and Joyce were through and had our luggage checked in no time.
Off to security and customs next...actually pretty easy as well. We were all a bit nervous if Alan's replacement documents would pass muster. The agent at the window seemed pretty confused as to why the passport didn't have any stamps, so she called a supervisor over. The supervisor took the passport and reappeared a couple of minutes later indicating that it was in order. The agent still seemed confused as to where to put her stamps, especially on the visa. She turned it over several times, sort of shrugged, and just started stamping. That was good enough for me, so we grabbed it and ran to the security station, which seemed easier than in the US...not exactly comforting.
Of course, we were at the gate with about 2 hours to spare, so we settled in and prepared to just wait.
The trip from Moscow to Frankfort was pretty uneventful, as was the two hour layover, and the flight from Frankfort to Chicago. We always seemed to be just ahead of the darkness, so we flew in the light all day long. The seats were extremely uncomfortable, and it only got worse as our travel day approached 20 hours. Finally, we were at O'Hare, made it through customs with some relatively friendly agents, and collected our luggage.
The parking people were called and told us they would be there in 10 minutes. Another call and 40 minutes later, we were collected, though not in a very charitable mood after the long day of travel and then the long wait. We got back to the van and loaded it for the 2 1/2 hour ride back to Mentone. Alan and Joyce elected to stay with her parents for the night rather than drive the nearly 2 hours back to Lafayette with little sleep in the wee hours of the morning.
We had a nice breakfast with the parents, and Jon and Sandi walked over from their house to join us. We were on the road again in good time and arrived back in Lafayette about 11:30, awake, with all our luggage and purchases, and ready for a break before tackling it all over again!
We were still plagued with signs that weren't in English, but sorted out where we should be and got our boarding passes. This time, it was Paul's passport that seemed to be causing a bit more hassle, but Alan and Joyce were through and had our luggage checked in no time.
Off to security and customs next...actually pretty easy as well. We were all a bit nervous if Alan's replacement documents would pass muster. The agent at the window seemed pretty confused as to why the passport didn't have any stamps, so she called a supervisor over. The supervisor took the passport and reappeared a couple of minutes later indicating that it was in order. The agent still seemed confused as to where to put her stamps, especially on the visa. She turned it over several times, sort of shrugged, and just started stamping. That was good enough for me, so we grabbed it and ran to the security station, which seemed easier than in the US...not exactly comforting.
Of course, we were at the gate with about 2 hours to spare, so we settled in and prepared to just wait.
The trip from Moscow to Frankfort was pretty uneventful, as was the two hour layover, and the flight from Frankfort to Chicago. We always seemed to be just ahead of the darkness, so we flew in the light all day long. The seats were extremely uncomfortable, and it only got worse as our travel day approached 20 hours. Finally, we were at O'Hare, made it through customs with some relatively friendly agents, and collected our luggage.
The parking people were called and told us they would be there in 10 minutes. Another call and 40 minutes later, we were collected, though not in a very charitable mood after the long day of travel and then the long wait. We got back to the van and loaded it for the 2 1/2 hour ride back to Mentone. Alan and Joyce elected to stay with her parents for the night rather than drive the nearly 2 hours back to Lafayette with little sleep in the wee hours of the morning.
We had a nice breakfast with the parents, and Jon and Sandi walked over from their house to join us. We were on the road again in good time and arrived back in Lafayette about 11:30, awake, with all our luggage and purchases, and ready for a break before tackling it all over again!
August 5 -- Metro Tour, the Tretyakov Gallery, and Arbat Street
On Sunday, in spite of the threat of thunderstorms throughout the day, we took off in the morning with Tatiana for a tour of the Metro system. The system is massive with 186 stations and about 12 separate lines that run throughout the city of 12 million people. More than 7 million people are transported on the system each day!
Each station seemed to be decorated even more lavishly than the last. We probably stopped and toured about 10 of the stations. We saw statues, bronzes, mosaics, paintings, chandeliers, and more. Since most were built in the Soviet era, they almost all celebrated the worker and a production society. We were told that Stalin had to be the first to visit the projects to be certain that the 'appropriate message' was being conveyed in each station.
From there, we went to the Tretyakov Gallery, a large gallery of Russian art, started as a private collection and now open to the public. This was another place where Alan had to pay in order to take pictures, and he became the designated photographer for the group.
Each of us probably had a different piece that was our favorite. Alan probably most appreciated a painting by Ivanov called "The Appearance of Christ to the People" a full-wall depiction of Jesus coming to John the Baptist painted in the mid-1800's. A close second was a haunting painting of Jesus praying in the wilderness. Paul was very interested in a painting of Vereshchagin called "Apotheosis of War" and an almost tone-on-tone painting of a night-time river scene under a full moon.
We walked to another Metro station and took it to the far end of old Arbat Street (Ultisa Arbat), by the Foreign Ministry building and near the home of Alexander Pushkin. We took a fairly leisurely walk down the now pedestrianized street, stopping at souvenir stores, watching street performers, and letting Tatiana point out other historical sites along the way.
After dinner, Alan, Joyce, Jon, and Paul walked back to Arbat Street to rid ourselves of remaining rubles. We found that we were pretty good bargainers, getting a few items, like a Father Snow painted figure and a white fur hat, for amounts well below the asking prices.
August 4—Tour of Moscow
Our tour today started with a
bus tour of some of the main sites in central Moscow. Our first stop was at the top of one of the
highest points in Moscow with a wonderful view of the city. We were right across from the main entrance
to the University of Moscow. We had some
good discussion about whether Paul might attend here.
Our next stop was at the
Novodevichiy Convent. The Convent was
founded in 1524, with most of the buildings built in the late 1600’s. It is surrounded by a wall that looks
something like the Kremlin wall with towers situated periodically along the
wall. Peter the Great’s half-sister was
forced to go to the convent after her deposed her in 1689. According to legend, Napoleon tried to blow
up the convent in 1812, but the nuns kept blowing out the fuses.
The main cathedral’s interior
walls are covered in fresco icons. The
frescos are the originals and were very impressive. While not as large as some of the other
cathedrals we saw, it was amazing to think about all of the years and
experiences that have happened in this place, especially since it is largely
untouched.
After leaving there, we went to
Red Square. I had some sense of what
this looked like from television, but it
was still surreal to be there. What I
didn’t realize is that Red Square is outside the Kremlin Walls, and Lenin’s
Tomb is actually backed up on the outside of the wall. Several other dignitaries are also buried
there, but we didn’t have the time or the tickets to actually go into the tomb. There are a couple other cathedrals on Red
Square besides the famous St. Basil’s, but St. Basil certainly dominates in
beauty and stature. We got some pictures
of our group, with the adults wearing the ‘Russia 2012’ shirts that Joyce
embroidered, in front of St. Basil’s. 
On the side opposite the Kremlin
wall is a massive department store, GUM.
We had lunch there and did some window shopping. Jon and Paul even found a ping-pong table to
get in a quick game before our appointed 1:00 time to actually go into the
Kremlin.
The Kremlin was the original
fortified portion of the city. In the
Soviet era, it was all locked down and only certain officials were allowed
in. It wasn’t until after Stalin’s
death in 1953 that limited access to the historical areas of the Kremlin was
allowed.
Once inside the Kremlin walls, we stood in front of the State Kremlin Palace, which was the former home of the Communist Party congresses. Opposite this palace was the building that houses the Presidential Guard, a largely ceremonial detail, but also charged with keeping order in the Kremlin. The outside of the building was decorated with canons that had been taken from many of the Russian military conquests. There were several buildings in this area that were under construction. from there we viewed the Tsar Cannon, cast in 1586 and weighing more than 40 tons, and the Tsar Bell, which weighs over 200 tons. It was never rung, as it was still in its casting pit when the Kremlin caught fire in 1737, and the cold water that was poured over the bell caused a large piece to break off.
We next moved to the plaza that contains 5 cathedrals.
I was amazed that these cathedrals had survived more than 70 years of
Communist rule that promoted atheism. We toured three of the cathedrals: The Cathedral of the Archangel, which contains the tomb of Tsarevich Dmitry, the younger son of Ivan the Terrible (who wasn't so terrible, but did have a quick temper, and 'thunderbolt' and 'terrible' sound similar in Russian, apparently); The Cathedral of the Annunciation, which as walls covered in frescoes that were restored after Napoleon used the building as a stable after he invaded in 1812; and the Cathedral of the Assumption, which contains an icon of St. George the Warrior from the 12th Century.
The tour through the State Armoury
Museum isn’t exactly what Paul was hoping it would be. In a sense, this was the Russian equivalent
of the Smithsonian American History Museum.
We saw the coronation gowns of the various Tsarinas, the royal robe used
in all of the coronations, the crown jewels, fine silver and gold pieces,
gifts, 10 Faberge eggs, and on and on
and on (much to Sydney’s displeasure!).
There was a small exhibit of armor and some ceremonial knives, swords,
and guns.
Once we left the Kremlin, we
went back to the hotel and rested for a while before dinner. We had dinner in the hotel. Jon and Alan then convinced the group to walk
back to Red Square, even though there was some grumbling that we had just been
there. The walk was pretty quick, less
than 30 minutes. Once there, we found
some wonderful gardens, shops, fountains, and lots of people at the west end of
Red Square.
Red Square was much less crowded
than when we had been there in the middle of the day, and the light on St.
Basil’s made it even more spectacular than earlier. Tatiana had told me that there was one
American buried at the Kremlin Wall, the journalist John Reed, who had
chronicled the Revolution in the 1917’s with the book, “10 Days that Shook the World”. While we still couldn’t see
the actual graves there, we now had more time to take in many more aspects of
the whole area.
On the way back, we came across
an eternal flame memorial to the Unknown Soldiers of World War II. The walk back to the hotel seemed even faster
than when we came, now that we knew for sure where we were going.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
August 3 – Train ride to Moscow:
This morning we ate breakfast, packed and
prepared for our train ride to Moscow. Alan needed to pick up his replacement
Russian visa. He and Masha took off for the appropriate government office and
Joyce worked on including our purchases in our luggage. Since we had completed
most of the packing the night before, it was a small job. The Schaeffers
decided to go out exploring. Joyce was invited to go with them, but she declined,
as she was anxious about the possibility that Alan wouldn’t get the visa so she
stayed in the room. She read a book she brought, wrote some blog entries, watched
the Olympics and exchanged large ruble bills for smaller ones so we would have
the appropriate bills for Masha’s tip. As time went by, Joyce became more
nervous about a possible glitch in getting Alan’s visa. She was very happy to
see him and the visa at about 11:45 a.m. We left for the train station at 12:30
p.m.
During the ride to the train station, Masha asked us questions about what we had liked about our time in Saint Petersburg. We all had a good time talking about our favorite parts, what surprised us and what we learned about Russia.
Our
train was one of the newer high speed trains the covered the distance between
Saint Petersburg and Moscow in 4 hours 30 minutes instead of the 8-9 hours it
had taken Jon and Sandi 15 years ago when they adopted Paul. We said our
good-byes to Masha and boarded the train.
We were immediately in confusion as we didn’t know how to find our seats since we couldn’t read the ticket. Sandi went to a train attendant who point to the appropriate place on the ticket. We still were confused as it looked like we weren’t sitting together. We sort of stood in the aisle and I’m sure the people behind up were thinking “silly (or worse) Americans. It was also difficult to figure out where we should put our large luggage, but we finally figured out that there was some space behind the seats, in addition to the overhead storage.
We were immediately in confusion as we didn’t know how to find our seats since we couldn’t read the ticket. Sandi went to a train attendant who point to the appropriate place on the ticket. We still were confused as it looked like we weren’t sitting together. We sort of stood in the aisle and I’m sure the people behind up were thinking “silly (or worse) Americans. It was also difficult to figure out where we should put our large luggage, but we finally figured out that there was some space behind the seats, in addition to the overhead storage.
We finally figured out Sandi, Paul and Sydney were sitting in four
seats facing each other with a table in between with Jon across the aisle.
Joyce was the seat behind Jon and Alan was seated behind Joyce. Joyce wasn't real happy about the seating arrangements, since both Alan and Joyce had seats next to them, but they were occupied by different people throughout the trip. At least we both had windows and Alan had a lot of time to finish blogging about his own private adventures in St. Petersburg.
There was a lot of interesting countryside to see throughout the trip. The landscape seemed pretty flat for the most part, with a few valleys around some broad rivers, and lots of pine trees of various sorts. The bigger rivers always seemed to have several people swimming in them. We passed a number of villages and made about 4 stops to load and unload passengers. When we came to a town where we stopped, there were often high rise apartments, usually at least 10 stories with several grouped together. They seemed a bit strange and out of place to us. When we did see a small village, the houses looked sort of run down from the outside, but each seemed to be surrounded by a fence, and there was usually a garden.
When we arrived in Moscow, our Moscow guide, Tatiana, was just outside the train, so we didn't have to do much looking. She guided us through the train station, one of several in just a few blocks of Moscow, to our waiting van. We could see right away that the city was different than St. Petersburg. The streets were much wider and the traffic seemed faster, more like the US. Our hotel was kind of on a back street, across from the Ghanian embassay. It was clearly an older hotel, but our accommodations were still quite nice. Even better, they supplied us with as much filtered, good water as we wanted, and the air conditioning worked well! The Schaeffer room was a suite, but it was pretty crowded for them. The Welch's had to haul their suitcases up some steps to get to their room, but the rooms also had internet access provided in them...another bonus.
In Moscow, our travel agent had arranged for meals in the hotel because of the cost of food. It was a nice meal, and afterwards the men talked the women into a quick stroll down Arbat Street, very near the hotel, just to get a lay of the land. Arbat Street was formerly a busy street, but it has been converted into a pedestrian mall, with many vendors, street performers, and of course, souvenir shops!
There was a lot of interesting countryside to see throughout the trip. The landscape seemed pretty flat for the most part, with a few valleys around some broad rivers, and lots of pine trees of various sorts. The bigger rivers always seemed to have several people swimming in them. We passed a number of villages and made about 4 stops to load and unload passengers. When we came to a town where we stopped, there were often high rise apartments, usually at least 10 stories with several grouped together. They seemed a bit strange and out of place to us. When we did see a small village, the houses looked sort of run down from the outside, but each seemed to be surrounded by a fence, and there was usually a garden.
When we arrived in Moscow, our Moscow guide, Tatiana, was just outside the train, so we didn't have to do much looking. She guided us through the train station, one of several in just a few blocks of Moscow, to our waiting van. We could see right away that the city was different than St. Petersburg. The streets were much wider and the traffic seemed faster, more like the US. Our hotel was kind of on a back street, across from the Ghanian embassay. It was clearly an older hotel, but our accommodations were still quite nice. Even better, they supplied us with as much filtered, good water as we wanted, and the air conditioning worked well! The Schaeffer room was a suite, but it was pretty crowded for them. The Welch's had to haul their suitcases up some steps to get to their room, but the rooms also had internet access provided in them...another bonus.
Friday, August 3, 2012
August 2 – Boat tour, Peter and Paul Fortress, Shopping and St. Isaacs
We began our day with a 30 minute walk to the boat for our tour.
After almost a week, things are beginning to look familiar. It a bright sunny
day with the temperature in the mid 60’s which is great walking weather. Our
group was the only group on the boat so we had plenty of room.
Masha guided our attention to the various sights we were seeing. It was fun to see the river/canal side of the different buildings, cathedrals and sights we had either visited or walked past. Peter had intended for St. Petersburg to mimic many of the wonderful things he had seen throughout Europe, and the canals of Venice were one of his favorites. There are many canals and rivers in Saint Petersburg, but the appear to be much wider here than the pictures we have seen in Venice.
We made a circuit through several canals and rivers in about an hour and were back to our starting point, which was near the Church on Spilled Blood, one of our favorite sites in St. Petersburg.
Masha left us and the Welchs and Schaeffers decided to visit Peter and
Paul Fortress. The other family went on an adventure of their own after making
plans to meet for dinner in the evening. The other family will be heading home
on Friday morning so they will not be traveling to Moscow with us.
We walked through Mars Field and the Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier with beautiful flowers, monuments and an eternal flame. We walked across
the bridge over the Neva River which is very wide at this point.
Peter and Paul Fortress contains several buildings and was built as a means to protect the city. It is on an island across from the main palaces. It is really quite a massive complex. Of course, the cathedral is the central and main building.
We decided to tour cathedral and the prison. The cathedral is the burial place for many of the Romanov family.
Parts of it are currently being renovated, which is
an ongoing process here. Many of the building and monuments were damaged during
World War II and restoration is ongoing. There were the usual icons covering every wall, and extreme amounts of gilded cornices, frames, and other pieces of the structure.
There was also a museum for the sculptor, Rodin. Alan and Sandi really appreciated a portion of the massive sculpture, The Burghers of Calais, that was on display.
We decided to tour cathedral and the prison. The cathedral is the burial place for many of the Romanov family.
Parts of it are currently being renovated, which is
an ongoing process here. Many of the building and monuments were damaged during
World War II and restoration is ongoing. There were the usual icons covering every wall, and extreme amounts of gilded cornices, frames, and other pieces of the structure.
There was also a museum for the sculptor, Rodin. Alan and Sandi really appreciated a portion of the massive sculpture, The Burghers of Calais, that was on display.
The prison held many of the political prisoners from the
revolution. We saw several of the cells as well as the punishment room. Many
prisoners spent time in the prison and then were hanged. Many were identified,
but with our limited knowledge of Russian history, even the information we
could read had little meaning to us.
After a short rest and some food, Paul and Jon took off for
the Artillery Museum. Sandi, Sydney, Alan and Joyce decided to take the Metro
to a shopping area in search of a mini USB cable to the cameras. Alan has had
to use one camera to upload pictures to the computer, swapping out the cards.
As we walked toward the Metro, we passed a Burger King. We decided a shake
sounded good. We have visited MacDonald and Burger King in St. Petersburg. The
staff usually speaks enough English to understand what you want. Both places
are very popular in Saint Petersburg and usually very crowded. We enjoyed are
shakes sitting outside in mid 70’s weather with a clear blue sky.
We make it to the shopping area. After searching several
stores we were not able to find a cable. We did some souvenir shopping. We were
walking through the stores on our way out and walked through a fur store. We
came across some fur vests. Sydney has some fun modeling vests of silver fox
and red fox. A store clerk entered the fun and found her the appropriate size.
We make it to the shopping area. After searching several
stores we were not able to find a cable. We did some souvenir shopping. We were
walking through the stores on our way out and walked through a fur store. We
came across some fur vests. Sydney has some fun modeling vests of silver fox
and red fox. A store clerk entered the fun and found her the appropriate size.
After walking back to the hotel and a short rest in the
hotel lobby where Wi-Fi is available, Sandi, Alan and Joyce decided to visit
St. Isaac’s Cathedral which was a block from our hotel.
In this cathedral the walls and ceiling are
covered with gold, icons in gold frames and paintings and mosaics depicting the
life of Christ and Russian saints. The columns supporting the ceiling and domes
are massive. The cathedral was also used as a museum to atheism during Soviet
times. It is beyond comprehension how one could stand in this cathedral and support
atheism. It makes more sense to me for them to destroy it, but I’m very glad
they didn’t.
In this cathedral the walls and ceiling are
covered with gold, icons in gold frames and paintings and mosaics depicting the
life of Christ and Russian saints. The columns supporting the ceiling and domes
are massive. The cathedral was also used as a museum to atheism during Soviet
times. It is beyond comprehension how one could stand in this cathedral and support
atheism. It makes more sense to me for them to destroy it, but I’m very glad
they didn’t. 
In the evening we went to dinner with Alex, Jennifer and
Jay. They had eaten at a restaurant with a medieval theme one night that Alex
really liked so we all went there. The
tables and chairs were large and rough hewn with stuffed animal heads on the
walls. We were greeted with the smokey aroma of grilled meat. Some of our party
tried elk and lamb. Joyce decided to try Chicken Kiev, which was very tasty.
All the food we have eaten in Russia has been tasty, hot and very fresh. You
learn to take your time at a meal because nothing happens very fast. Servers don’t
hover, you have to signal them when you are ready to order or need something.
On the short walk back to the hotel, Alex, Jay, Jennifer and
Sydney decided to go for chocolate pancakes. All three younger members of our
group have gotten along very well. Sydney and Alex have created a special bond.
Alan and Joyce decided to visit an exhibit of bears in the park about a block
away. The bears are about 6 -7 feet tall. The idea is like the frogs, pigs and
dogs in Lafayette. Countries around the world were invited to paint a bear. There
were approximately 100 of them lining the walkways of the park. It was fun to
see what different countries chose to paint representing their country. Alan
and Joyce continued their walk to the Neva River. It doesn’t get dark in Saint
Petersburg until after 11:30 p.m. which leaves plenty of time to enjoy the
flower beds in the park and the setting sun shining on the golden domes of St.
Isaac’s Cathedral.
Getting a new passport
I was waiting to post this until things were resolved. And now they are! Things are never as easy as they sound, are they? I sort of knew before we got here that "no problem" was a standard response to most any question. Getting a new passport wasn't that hard, but being in a place where you don't know the language or the customs or the city can be a bit daunting.
Oh yeah, I guess I can tell you now that when we were finishing our city tour on Sunday, someone got into my camera bag and took my passport and credit card. I thought I had it buried pretty well in the bag, but when I got back to the hotel, I noticed that the pocket zipper was open and I could see the map and guide book that I had with me in front of the wallet with the documents in it. I had the bag with me the whole time, but I had put it on my back like a backpack since we were mostly walking for about 8 hours that day and it was a lot easier. I can pretty well pinpoint that it was after we finally gotten on the Metro and trolley as the last part of the tour. I immediately tried to report it and since it was 7 pm on a Sunday night here, there wasn't anyone to help me communicate it to the police. We immediately stopped the credit card, which had been used once, just minutes before we called. We were nervous about cancelling it because Joyce and I are on the same account, but we have different numbers (thank you, Purdue Federal!), so it was ok. So now, how to get new documents?
Thankfully Yakov, the person in the US arranging the tour, suggested by email that we should use the driver and the translator for Monday to get things handled. After Natasha and her mother, the head of the local adoption agency here, arrived at the hotel and we explained the situation. We set off for the police station to report the crime, the first step. Well it was a police station and it was nearest to the hotel. After Natasha translated the whole story, they decided we were not in their jurisdiction. So we all piled back into the van to head to the next station.
I don't know that I can really tell you what happened at the next station but I do know that it took about 90 minutes. After Natasha explained to the front desk officer, we waited a few minutes and a young guy that I assume was a detective took us upstairs to an office. He was dressed in fashionable jeans and a T-shirt. He wrote out the report in long hand, asking Natasha several questions along the way, some of which Natasha answered and some that she asked me before answering. Eventually he had 5 or 6 pages of the report that we each signed in several places. Finally I got my receipt that I needed and we were off to the Consulate's Office. Joyce decided to stay with me rather than go with the rest of the group to visit the orphan hospital and a baby's orphanage.
Once at the US Consulate Office, we couldn't get past the door. I was given a cell phone and the person on the other end of the phone told me to come back at 1:30 with passport photos and told me where to get it.
Photo taken and received, we walked around a bit and the waited until 1:30. At the appointed hour we returned, only to have to enter one at a time, emptying all electronics and leaving them in a bin. We found the office and a very pleasant woman helped me with the documents we needed. The consulate on duty was very pleasant and made us feel a bit better about the whole ordeal. In about an hour and a half I had a temporary passport and we went outside to wait for Natasha and the van to pick us up.
The next stop was across town to the immigration information office. It was a non-descript office with few windows and people scattered throughout the waiting areas in no discernible order. Natasha did some checking and told us to wait...not one of our best traits. The protocol here seems to be that people waiting for something gather in a room and when a new person enters, there is some bickering back and forth to see who was the last person to arrive and who follows who. I've observed it several times now. The first time wasn't very fun. We didn't know who was doing what, when anything was going to happen, what anyone was saying, and what any of the dozens and dozens of notices that covered the walls were saying. No one seemed to be very happy. And it was hot.
During this time I talked with a young American who was leaving. He also needed a new visa, but was going to be there for a couple more weeks, and they wouldn't issue the visa until he was within 10 days of departure. He looked over what I had and said that I shouldn't have any trouble. Now, just to get to the window.
At one point, Natasha stepped outside, supposedly to have a cigarette. When she returned, she had a bottle of water for each of us, which caused Joyce to tear up because of her kindness.
Finally, after about 90 minutes, Natasha called me to go with her to one of the windows. She explained my situation to the gentleman there, who told her a number of things that I didn't understand. I showed him the documents that I had, but it was clear that he wanted something more. I listened patiently, and finally, Natasha took a piece of paper and started writing out a list of the things that I needed to do to get my replacement visa. She got to #5 of the list and the man hesitated, and called over the blond young woman, who apparently was the supervisor. By the time she finished, I had a list of 8 items/actions needed. Natasha explained the list to me and what I would need to do to get those items. She also told me that I would need to be back to the "Unfomais" (I'm not sure what the spelling is and it took me a long time to get the pronunciation so that the Russian's would understand what I was talking about!) before 3 on Tuesday as they were not open on Wednesday.
By this time, Joyce had just about hit her limit. Natasha called Masha and we discussed whether she would go with me and have the rest of the group miss Peterhoff or if someone from her office would go with me to get the things I needed the next day. There was no question but what the rest of the group needed to go to Peterhoff, so it was decided and we would go our separate ways on Tuesday.
We walked the rest of the way back to the metro station at the Technological Institute, took the metro a couple of stops, and then left Natasha to go her own way because she had a pre-schooler to pick up from day care. We made our way back to the hotel without incident and then went to meet the rest of the group for dinner.
The next day I met Masha's secretary, also Natasha. She told me that her spoken English wasn't so good, but she was very good with written English, so I knew we'd be OK. Masha called the Consulate before we left to be certain of what we would need, especially since one of the items was a more complete statement from the police than the 'receipt' I had from them. I was nervous about that because I didn't know where the police station was that I had filed my report. Masha left is that the Consulate would call Natasha when they got resolution about what I needed. In the meantime, we set off for the things I needed. I sort of felt like I was on an 'Amazing Race' scavenger hunt!
First, we went to pay the 'tax' for the replacement visa. That was to be done at a local bank, so we walked to the appropriate one not far from Nevsky Prospekt, maybe 20 minutes from the hotel. This station only had the equivalent of ATM's (very sophisticated ATM's from what I could tell), but the attendant there couldn't instruct us how to get to a place in the program that we could pay the 600 ruble tax. We needed to find a location that had real people. Off we go!
After a couple of false starts, we found the facility a few blocks off of Nevsky Prospekt. I was actually the one who spotted the sign, and Natasha was quite relieved because hadn't been to this location previously. Once inside, another line. This time it seemed much more orderly, though there still seemed to be some confusion every time someone new entered the office.
After about 15 minutes, it was our time at the teller window. The tellers were all behind solid glass walls with just a small tray below to talk and send documents back and forth. Natasha explained that I needed to pay the tax, but the young woman teller just kept saying 'nyet'. Finally Natasha called Masha, and they talked for maybe 5 minutes or more while we were at the window. Suddenly, I was sending the money through the tray, and we had our receipt and were on our way.
Next to get more passport photos. We found the first location near Nevsky again and somewhat close to the Cathedral on Spilled Blood. It was off the street and through an inner court yard. Again, I was able to identify the signs, which made me feel like I was doing something that was helping the process. But also again, this place did not do photographs. But they did tell us where to go, which was in a big department store that was also with the Gostiny Dvor Metro station. We located the kiosk, got my picture, and a bathroom break. By the time we returned to the kiosk, my picture was ready (6 of them this time for the same money). The Consulate still hadn't called, so Natasha called them. Now she was writing out a new list.
By the time Natasha had gotten a new list, there were 7 or 8 items on it, and some of them didn't match what was on the other list. There really wasn't a choice but to trust that I was going to have what I needed. So we got on the Metro and took off toward the dreaded building.
I had tried to memorize the route back the previous night, but this Natasha took a little different route. I knew we were headed in the right direction and I knew what it looked like. We actually got directly there without any incident.
Natasha determined which window we were to go to and established us in the pecking order of all the people in the room. I noticed that they took a break from 13:00-14:00, and it was now about 12:30. I resigned myself that we would be there for some time. In the meantime, there was the application form, written in Russian, of course, that needed to be completed. Natasha took the form, asked the questions of me that I didn't have on any of my documents, and was about 2/3 finished when it was our time at the window. It was about 12:55.
The blond woman who I assumed yesterday was the supervisor was at the window. She asked for the documents one by one, and I was happy that I had everything she asked for. She took the application and wrote in a few things that were missing and indicated which others needed to be filled in. By now, it was well after 13:00 and I assumed that we would have quite a while to finish things up during their lunch break. Natasha kept copying away and I helplessly sat by. Another woman was now sitting in front of our window and she was asking my blond supervisor to process a stack of forms a couple of inches thick, presumably a set of visas for a group.
We were finished with the form, so I took pictures of them for proof with my phone, to Natasha's amusement. Natasha interrupted while the new customer was signing the big stack (evidently, interrupting someone else who is getting service is also the thing to do here), and thankfully, my blond supervisor accepted my application and documents, stamped them with her stamp (a glorious sound I had been waiting for!) and told Natasha that I should return to collect the visa on Friday morning. Our train is scheduled to leave at 1:45. Nothing to do but wait. I feel so Russian!
Now it is Friday. I've been joking that if my visa doesn't come through, maybe I can get a job with a local folk show (read another post for that story). Yesterday, "I'll be home for Christmas" was playing while we were eating breakfast (lots of American music here, from all eras and genres), and I said maybe that would be my theme song. Masha had told me yesterday that she would be going with me to the "Unfomais" today, so I met her at 9:15, and off we went.
We took the Metro from the station nearest the hotel, and she seemed to be a bit surprised that I knew what I was doing. I knew that I could find the building, but once inside, I didn't know what to do. We arrived a little before 10, and Masha did the line dance to find out which line and where in the line we were located. Of course, our first line was not the right line, but that was sorted out fairly quickly. Natasha told me that it was open after 10, but apparently it opened at 9 and we were well down in the queue. Masha and I had quite a good talk about Russian alphabet, recent Russian history, the attitude of the Russian people toward the different recent eras, family structures, and more. After about 45 minutes, Masha did some more checking and found that there were a number of people in front of us. She didn't say so, but I think she was worried if I would get through in time. She did the Russian thing and pushed in while someone else at the window as signing documents and my favorite blond supervisor pulled over a stack that had my picture on top! I have never been so happy to see my face! I quickly signed where she told me to sign, took the precious greenish document, and stuck it safely away with my passport.
And we were off! It was about 11:00. On the way back to the metro, we stopped at a couple of stores to try and find a pesky USB cable that needed to be replaced to charge one of the cameras and get photos taken off, but still no luck. They were quick stops and we were soon back on the Metro for the hotel.
While I would not advise anyone to come to Russia and get your passport stolen, at least I had a chance to learn so much more about Russian life than I would have as a 'mere' tourist. I also really enjoyed the one-on-one time with my three guides, the Natasha's and Masha. But then again, maybe being just a tourist wouldn't be so bad!
There are some pictures of the police station, the Consulate, and other relevant sites on this adventure posted on the picasaweb site, in case you were wondering why they were there! Just be assured that I now have my visa and it is safely put away with my passport!!
Oh yeah, I guess I can tell you now that when we were finishing our city tour on Sunday, someone got into my camera bag and took my passport and credit card. I thought I had it buried pretty well in the bag, but when I got back to the hotel, I noticed that the pocket zipper was open and I could see the map and guide book that I had with me in front of the wallet with the documents in it. I had the bag with me the whole time, but I had put it on my back like a backpack since we were mostly walking for about 8 hours that day and it was a lot easier. I can pretty well pinpoint that it was after we finally gotten on the Metro and trolley as the last part of the tour. I immediately tried to report it and since it was 7 pm on a Sunday night here, there wasn't anyone to help me communicate it to the police. We immediately stopped the credit card, which had been used once, just minutes before we called. We were nervous about cancelling it because Joyce and I are on the same account, but we have different numbers (thank you, Purdue Federal!), so it was ok. So now, how to get new documents?Thankfully Yakov, the person in the US arranging the tour, suggested by email that we should use the driver and the translator for Monday to get things handled. After Natasha and her mother, the head of the local adoption agency here, arrived at the hotel and we explained the situation. We set off for the police station to report the crime, the first step. Well it was a police station and it was nearest to the hotel. After Natasha translated the whole story, they decided we were not in their jurisdiction. So we all piled back into the van to head to the next station.
I don't know that I can really tell you what happened at the next station but I do know that it took about 90 minutes. After Natasha explained to the front desk officer, we waited a few minutes and a young guy that I assume was a detective took us upstairs to an office. He was dressed in fashionable jeans and a T-shirt. He wrote out the report in long hand, asking Natasha several questions along the way, some of which Natasha answered and some that she asked me before answering. Eventually he had 5 or 6 pages of the report that we each signed in several places. Finally I got my receipt that I needed and we were off to the Consulate's Office. Joyce decided to stay with me rather than go with the rest of the group to visit the orphan hospital and a baby's orphanage.Once at the US Consulate Office, we couldn't get past the door. I was given a cell phone and the person on the other end of the phone told me to come back at 1:30 with passport photos and told me where to get it.
Photo taken and received, we walked around a bit and the waited until 1:30. At the appointed hour we returned, only to have to enter one at a time, emptying all electronics and leaving them in a bin. We found the office and a very pleasant woman helped me with the documents we needed. The consulate on duty was very pleasant and made us feel a bit better about the whole ordeal. In about an hour and a half I had a temporary passport and we went outside to wait for Natasha and the van to pick us up.
The next stop was across town to the immigration information office. It was a non-descript office with few windows and people scattered throughout the waiting areas in no discernible order. Natasha did some checking and told us to wait...not one of our best traits. The protocol here seems to be that people waiting for something gather in a room and when a new person enters, there is some bickering back and forth to see who was the last person to arrive and who follows who. I've observed it several times now. The first time wasn't very fun. We didn't know who was doing what, when anything was going to happen, what anyone was saying, and what any of the dozens and dozens of notices that covered the walls were saying. No one seemed to be very happy. And it was hot.
During this time I talked with a young American who was leaving. He also needed a new visa, but was going to be there for a couple more weeks, and they wouldn't issue the visa until he was within 10 days of departure. He looked over what I had and said that I shouldn't have any trouble. Now, just to get to the window.At one point, Natasha stepped outside, supposedly to have a cigarette. When she returned, she had a bottle of water for each of us, which caused Joyce to tear up because of her kindness.
Finally, after about 90 minutes, Natasha called me to go with her to one of the windows. She explained my situation to the gentleman there, who told her a number of things that I didn't understand. I showed him the documents that I had, but it was clear that he wanted something more. I listened patiently, and finally, Natasha took a piece of paper and started writing out a list of the things that I needed to do to get my replacement visa. She got to #5 of the list and the man hesitated, and called over the blond young woman, who apparently was the supervisor. By the time she finished, I had a list of 8 items/actions needed. Natasha explained the list to me and what I would need to do to get those items. She also told me that I would need to be back to the "Unfomais" (I'm not sure what the spelling is and it took me a long time to get the pronunciation so that the Russian's would understand what I was talking about!) before 3 on Tuesday as they were not open on Wednesday.
By this time, Joyce had just about hit her limit. Natasha called Masha and we discussed whether she would go with me and have the rest of the group miss Peterhoff or if someone from her office would go with me to get the things I needed the next day. There was no question but what the rest of the group needed to go to Peterhoff, so it was decided and we would go our separate ways on Tuesday.
We walked the rest of the way back to the metro station at the Technological Institute, took the metro a couple of stops, and then left Natasha to go her own way because she had a pre-schooler to pick up from day care. We made our way back to the hotel without incident and then went to meet the rest of the group for dinner.
The next day I met Masha's secretary, also Natasha. She told me that her spoken English wasn't so good, but she was very good with written English, so I knew we'd be OK. Masha called the Consulate before we left to be certain of what we would need, especially since one of the items was a more complete statement from the police than the 'receipt' I had from them. I was nervous about that because I didn't know where the police station was that I had filed my report. Masha left is that the Consulate would call Natasha when they got resolution about what I needed. In the meantime, we set off for the things I needed. I sort of felt like I was on an 'Amazing Race' scavenger hunt!
First, we went to pay the 'tax' for the replacement visa. That was to be done at a local bank, so we walked to the appropriate one not far from Nevsky Prospekt, maybe 20 minutes from the hotel. This station only had the equivalent of ATM's (very sophisticated ATM's from what I could tell), but the attendant there couldn't instruct us how to get to a place in the program that we could pay the 600 ruble tax. We needed to find a location that had real people. Off we go!
After a couple of false starts, we found the facility a few blocks off of Nevsky Prospekt. I was actually the one who spotted the sign, and Natasha was quite relieved because hadn't been to this location previously. Once inside, another line. This time it seemed much more orderly, though there still seemed to be some confusion every time someone new entered the office.
After about 15 minutes, it was our time at the teller window. The tellers were all behind solid glass walls with just a small tray below to talk and send documents back and forth. Natasha explained that I needed to pay the tax, but the young woman teller just kept saying 'nyet'. Finally Natasha called Masha, and they talked for maybe 5 minutes or more while we were at the window. Suddenly, I was sending the money through the tray, and we had our receipt and were on our way.
Next to get more passport photos. We found the first location near Nevsky again and somewhat close to the Cathedral on Spilled Blood. It was off the street and through an inner court yard. Again, I was able to identify the signs, which made me feel like I was doing something that was helping the process. But also again, this place did not do photographs. But they did tell us where to go, which was in a big department store that was also with the Gostiny Dvor Metro station. We located the kiosk, got my picture, and a bathroom break. By the time we returned to the kiosk, my picture was ready (6 of them this time for the same money). The Consulate still hadn't called, so Natasha called them. Now she was writing out a new list.
By the time Natasha had gotten a new list, there were 7 or 8 items on it, and some of them didn't match what was on the other list. There really wasn't a choice but to trust that I was going to have what I needed. So we got on the Metro and took off toward the dreaded building.
I had tried to memorize the route back the previous night, but this Natasha took a little different route. I knew we were headed in the right direction and I knew what it looked like. We actually got directly there without any incident.
Natasha determined which window we were to go to and established us in the pecking order of all the people in the room. I noticed that they took a break from 13:00-14:00, and it was now about 12:30. I resigned myself that we would be there for some time. In the meantime, there was the application form, written in Russian, of course, that needed to be completed. Natasha took the form, asked the questions of me that I didn't have on any of my documents, and was about 2/3 finished when it was our time at the window. It was about 12:55.
The blond woman who I assumed yesterday was the supervisor was at the window. She asked for the documents one by one, and I was happy that I had everything she asked for. She took the application and wrote in a few things that were missing and indicated which others needed to be filled in. By now, it was well after 13:00 and I assumed that we would have quite a while to finish things up during their lunch break. Natasha kept copying away and I helplessly sat by. Another woman was now sitting in front of our window and she was asking my blond supervisor to process a stack of forms a couple of inches thick, presumably a set of visas for a group. We were finished with the form, so I took pictures of them for proof with my phone, to Natasha's amusement. Natasha interrupted while the new customer was signing the big stack (evidently, interrupting someone else who is getting service is also the thing to do here), and thankfully, my blond supervisor accepted my application and documents, stamped them with her stamp (a glorious sound I had been waiting for!) and told Natasha that I should return to collect the visa on Friday morning. Our train is scheduled to leave at 1:45. Nothing to do but wait. I feel so Russian!
Now it is Friday. I've been joking that if my visa doesn't come through, maybe I can get a job with a local folk show (read another post for that story). Yesterday, "I'll be home for Christmas" was playing while we were eating breakfast (lots of American music here, from all eras and genres), and I said maybe that would be my theme song. Masha had told me yesterday that she would be going with me to the "Unfomais" today, so I met her at 9:15, and off we went.
We took the Metro from the station nearest the hotel, and she seemed to be a bit surprised that I knew what I was doing. I knew that I could find the building, but once inside, I didn't know what to do. We arrived a little before 10, and Masha did the line dance to find out which line and where in the line we were located. Of course, our first line was not the right line, but that was sorted out fairly quickly. Natasha told me that it was open after 10, but apparently it opened at 9 and we were well down in the queue. Masha and I had quite a good talk about Russian alphabet, recent Russian history, the attitude of the Russian people toward the different recent eras, family structures, and more. After about 45 minutes, Masha did some more checking and found that there were a number of people in front of us. She didn't say so, but I think she was worried if I would get through in time. She did the Russian thing and pushed in while someone else at the window as signing documents and my favorite blond supervisor pulled over a stack that had my picture on top! I have never been so happy to see my face! I quickly signed where she told me to sign, took the precious greenish document, and stuck it safely away with my passport.
And we were off! It was about 11:00. On the way back to the metro, we stopped at a couple of stores to try and find a pesky USB cable that needed to be replaced to charge one of the cameras and get photos taken off, but still no luck. They were quick stops and we were soon back on the Metro for the hotel.
While I would not advise anyone to come to Russia and get your passport stolen, at least I had a chance to learn so much more about Russian life than I would have as a 'mere' tourist. I also really enjoyed the one-on-one time with my three guides, the Natasha's and Masha. But then again, maybe being just a tourist wouldn't be so bad!
There are some pictures of the police station, the Consulate, and other relevant sites on this adventure posted on the picasaweb site, in case you were wondering why they were there! Just be assured that I now have my visa and it is safely put away with my passport!!
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