Re: jaunt into Russia?
Branden Robinson wrote:
After doing a bit of web surfing and talking to Lars Wirzenius about this,
I thought I'd come to the list with it.
I'd be interested in arranging a little side jaunt into Russia after
DebConf for myself and my wife Michelle, and any other attendees who'd like
to join me (someone who is bilingual English/Russian would obviously be
invaluable).
That would be very greet! I live in Russia and can accompany you and
anybody who would like to join us.
Long story short, Russia's always held a fascination for me, particularly
as a U.S. Cold War kid. There is apparently twice-daily train service
between Helsinki and St. Petersburg. The trip is about 5.5 hours
(including about an hour stopped at the border while the officials check to
see if your papers are in order), and costs about EUR 50.
That's the point. I'll go by Helsinki - St.Petersburg train 2005-07-18
15:42. I have not booked tickets yet, since I'm waiting for my visa to
be done (presumably 23 June, but hope to get it around 10-15 June), but
I already asked a visa with this timeline, so 2005-07-18 is the last
date I should leave Helsinki. So, if you'd like, you may book this
train, I'll go by it with a big degree of certainty.
I was thinking about traveling out on Monday morning, 18 July, spending the
night, and returning in the evening of 19 July. My travel schedule is not
very firm yet, so I might be persuaded to wait until 20 July to come back,
but I want to see some of Helsinki, too. :)
Returning 19 July is not a good idea. Let me invite you to see
Novgorod-the-Great (http://novgorod.ru/english.php) - the city I live
in. It's for about 3 hours way from St. Petersburg by bus or train (6
euro for one way ticket). It's imposible to stay here less than one day
without regreat, but you also need a day for St. Petersburg, etc, I see
you got a point :-)
The downside is that apparently Russian visas are really slow to process,
at least for U.S. people. I'd need to apply probably a month in advance.
Start it now. I can send you an invitation if you need one, but it will
take a while to arrive. Check whether you actually need it.
If no one else at all is interested in this, I still might do it, but I'd
be much more comfortable traveling in a group. If nothing else, I might
need the assistance of a strong person to help me lift Michelle's
wheelchair over the inevitable unfriendly steps and ruts. :)
All my contact information is available http://martchukov.com web site.
Anyone intrested in this post-debconf Russian trip feel free to contact me.
Regards,
Anton Martchukov
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