Final Post!

Even though it has been a week since I have left St. Petersburg, my exchange semester already feels like a dream from which I had just woken up. I cannot believe that this chapter in my life is over. So much happened, but it all passed in a blink of an eye. Nevertheless, I hope that people who I met will stay in my life and lessons that I learned will come handy in my future. Firstly, I am glad that I found out personally that Russian people are kind, helpful and intelligent, but in their own way. They might not appear that way from the first glimpse, but approaching them is worth a try. I am very disappointed in myself regarding the language, as it was my number one reason for choosing Russia, but I was also not ready for the heavy workload coming from the University. Despite that, I am happy I tried my best, and I did have some real conversations in the local language once in a while. Also, due to two particular University courses at my host University, I discovered a new side in myself, and that is a priceless feeling. I am pretty serious right now about learning more in these fields and who knows – maybe begin my career path exactly in those. Finally, even though being five months away from my loved ones showed me how much I love and miss them, this exchange experience also reminded me of the insanely amazing feeling that one can have when abroad. I do not think it has stopped me in any way, rather than encouraged me to explore this world even more.

After the ballet performance “Giselle”

Before I left to Helsinki and shortly after, I did not post any news about my life in Petersburg. In this post, I will quickly share what happened during my last weeks. So, my two final exams took place on June 7 and June 9, which was long enough time to not worry about them and instead enjoy my time in Petersburg. On May 20, Raphaelle, Barbora and I went to a ballet performance “Giselle”, which took place in the old Mariinsky Theatre. It was the final performance for all three of us, and it was brilliant. I also remember the magical feeling afterwards, when we were going home. It was close to 11 pm, but it appeared like it is around 3 pm. The sky was light and pink, and mood after an excellent performance was so exalted that I almost got chills. In the same group, we also went to the Marble Palace on May 25. We were lucky to be there the same time when a world famous artist Hunt Slonem was opening his exhibition. There was a whole ceremony in his honour, with TV cameras and many special attendees. 

Artist Hunt Slonem 

Before I left Russia, I had to visit several other “must see” venues, which for one reason or other I had missed during my stay. I went to see the famous Russian cruiser “Aurora”, Faberge Museum and on my very last day – the Glavni Stab, which is another building that belongs to Hermitage museum. I went there alone, enjoying impressionist art for more than three hours. It was magnificent, and I recommend this place to everybody. Since the weather in Petersburg improved after Jonas left, I managed to spend a lot of time outside. One day in a group of girls, we went to Pavlovsk, which is located 30 kilometres south of St. Petersburg. It was a sweltering, but beautiful day and our trip was overall quite fun. Besides these events, I also had to attend several “goodbye” dinners. It was weird and sad, but I believe it is part of the experience. My favourite, however, was the one with Raphaelle, where just she and I went to the restaurant “Terrace” located on a rooftop with a stunning view over the city. During this dinner, we celebrated her birthday, our last evening in Petersburg and overall a successful exchange semester. I was so lucky with my roommate because she became my good friend from the very beginning and I sincerely hope that our friendship will continue forever. 

Final dinner with Raphaelle @Terrace

After we had returned from Moscow, the weather was not that good, so most of my plans had to be cancelled. It was also time for me to prepare for the exams finally. Both exams went well, and later I learned that I scored B and A, which was more than I could ask for. I did not prepare that much as I usually would, which is maybe because I was ready for the summer break already. Also, the grading system in Russia is that 50% of my score I had already earned during the course, and in both cases, it was good enough for me to pass. From one exam I even left 15 minutes earlier, without properly checking it, simply because I did not care. I am not proud of it, but it is something that I had never done before. Russia changed me, and I like it. 

As the final note, I would like to mention my big drama that was killing my nerves for more than a week. Maybe also this has to do something with the fact that I did not care about my exams as much, as my mind was somewhere else. So, I went to the main lady at the dorms to ask for my final bill. I requested the bill to be until June 11, as it was the day when I left to Helsinki. I planned to leave my luggage at the dorms and on June 14 when I return from Helsinki, just to pick it up and go directly to the bus to Riga. For God knows what reason, I mentioned this to the lady. Without a hesitation, she began shouting at me like a crazy person. She said that it is not possible and that I have to pay until June 14. I said that I wouldn't do that because I am not occupying any bed and I know several people that have done it before without any problems. We finished the argument with her making the bill for me until June 11 and me promising that I will move all my things by then. I thought that she is just irrational and I will have no problems, but when I start talking with my friends, I realised that I might be wrong. It turned out that when you deliver back all your bed sheets, you receive a special paper that you need to give to the security man downstairs for him to open doors for me and my things. This is because they have no electronic system in place that could help control those individuals who leave without paying. Now in the month of June, they are suspicious of everybody who seems like leaving with a bit bigger bag. Basically, for some reason, I was so scared that I will have problems that I could not stop thinking about it. I could not stop annoying Raphaelle and only thanks to her, I could calm down. This was one of those weird feelings where with my head I could clearly understand that everything is going to be alright, but with my guts no. Of course, everything ended without even a question, and all my stress was for absolutely nothing.

Before the bus

On my final day, however, I could not stop stressing about my luggage even after leaving the dorms. I had so much stuff that I could not even imagine what could I have done if I would leave by the plane. My big luggage weighed around 30 kg, my small one around 15 kg and then I had a backpack, handbag and several small plastic bags in my hands, while several coats on me. Fortunately, Raphaelle helped me to get to the bus station, where I almost missed the bus. It was so stressful. The bus driver did not say anything, but his look was suspicious. Thankfully, he allowed me to take all my things without an extra payment, and we left the station on time. I hoped that this is it and now I would be able to sleep and chill for the next 11 hours until I get home. Wrong! I had to get out of the bus two times with ALL my things on the Estonian and Russian borders. Nobody helped me, and I still have no idea how I managed to move forward with everything that I had. It was a nightmare. When I returned to the bus, I looked like I had just come out of a shower. I never want to go through something like this again.

That is it. This was my last post. One more chapter is closed in my life, and I am getting ready to open the next one. I will start a new blog about my adventures as an intern in Google very soon. 

Bye!

3 days in Helsinki

Lotta from Finland invited Raphalle and me to Helsinki. It was kind of a last minute decision, as we returned to St. Petersburg the same day when I had to leave to Latvia. We went to Helsinki from June 11 to June 14, and even though we were not very lucky with the weather there, we did experience quite a lot. Well, it was not hard because Helsinki turned out to be a tiny city.

We left dorms around 6 am so we could catch our train that departed from the station at 7 am. The train to Helsinki was very fancy. I kept thinking to myself whether we had not made a mistake and ordered tickets in the business class. It was well equipped with drinkable water, nice toilets, electrical plugs, wifi, comfortable chairs and a lot of space for legs. It also only took 3 hours to reach the capital of Finland. Everything went very smooth until the moment when we reached Russian border. The moment I saw Raphaelle taking out her passport and migration card, I realised that I had forgotten my migration card at home. It was simply not acceptable, as we had been instructed to have this migration card on us at all times, and we unquestionably have to have it when going overseas. At the exact moment when I began to panic, an officer from the border control approached me and asked for my documents. Immediately, in a shaking voice, I started explaining that I am a student and my migration card happens to be at home. Fortunately, he did not say a word to me, and it was not even necessary as his face said it all. Anyways, it ended up with me filling in a new migration card and continuing my journey without any problems. As I understand, I got very lucky this time.

We arrived in Finland around 10 am. Lotta was actually in St. Petersburg with her parents that day, and they returned home very late that same night. It was okay for us because we did not have many things with us and we just spent the entire day in the city on our own. In the evening Lotta’s siblings picked us up with a car and took to their home. We first met Lotta in the morning next day. So, when we arrived, we first went for breakfast at the café with outside terrace. The weather was fantastic, and we enjoyed it to the fullest. After the breakfast which cost us the same as the food for the entire week in Russia, we went on a Free Walking Tour. It is crazy how expensive everything felt in Helsinki after my exchange semester. These two cities were so much in contrast with one another, not only regarding the prices but also people and scenery. Both of us could notice right away how friendly, kind, helpful and overall positive were Finnish people compared to Russians. During these three days, we did not meet or see anybody who appeared to be angry or annoyed. The weird thing is that when we said this to Finns, they were shocked because usually everyone is saying the opposite about them. 

Anyways, so around 12 pm we went on a 3 hours long walking tour, where a local guide showed us around and told the most important things about the Helsinki and Finns. I don’t know whether because we were a bit tired, or because he spoke incredibly fast, but not much stuck in our heads. However, almost every story ended with a conclusion that Finns love drinking and they become quite crazy when they do that. During the tour, we noticed a lot of people relaxing in the parks and enjoying the sun. We agreed that this is exactly what we want to do after the tour. So, after the tour, we took the local ferry and went to the Suomenlinna – a beautiful fortress just 15 minutes from the city centre. Unfortunately, when we arrived there it began raining, and it only stopped after several hours. Despite the rain, we tried to enjoy the nature and walk around the islands. I had my raincoat on, and Raphaelle bought a pink umbrella in the local store. It was funny that several tourists that passed us were holding the same umbrella. Apparently, the local store sold only one kind. 

Suomenlinna

It was fascinating to see how green is the city and how much nature surrounds it - another big difference between Finland and Russia. There were so many birds that we had to watch out of them. Unfortunately, no matter how much we tried, both of us became the victims of the seagulls. Raphaelle got pooped on while I got hit by one. Yes, for the first time in my life a seagull run into my head. 

In the evening we met Lotta’s brother and sister, who picked us up from the railway station. They both were so sweet to us, and we could not ask for better hosts.

The next morning we woke up and met Lotta who sneaked in so quietly after the midnight that I did not hear her at all. In fact, I slept like dead throughout the whole night. Unfortunately, the weather was awful from the very beginning. It was pouring rain without stopping until around 7 p.m. So after the breakfast, we decided to go to the science centre Heureka, where we spent more than 5 hours. It was fascinating due to its temporary exhibition called “Animals Inside Out”. It was a very educational exhibit where we could see bodies of real animals, such as sharks, elephants, giraffes, gorillas, bears and others. These bodies were turned inside out, so we could observe the complexity of the muscles, veins and different organs of these beautiful creatures. It was quite crazy because there was even a body of a human. This exhibition alone made the visit worth it. Additionally, we watched three movies in the planetarium. I have never tried it before, so seeing three interesting stories in such a place was a great experience. 

Gorilla inside out

After the science centre, we returned home, where we met Lotta’s parents. They were so kind and welcoming. Lotta’s mom prepared a fantastic dinner for us, and we had a wonderful evening all together. After the dinner, we went to the city for a concert. This was a Helsinki day, so free concerts with very well-known Finish artists were going on the whole day. But due to the weather, we only went to see the last two artists. It was quite fun, and I am glad we did it. Finish language is so cute and hearing the songs in this language was an enjoyable experience. 

On our last day, we woke up very early, already at 7 am. It was because according to the forecast it was supposed to rain only in the afternoon, so we knew we have to use the good weather to our advantage. Lotta’s mom prepared breakfast for us and took us to the train station, which was on her way to work. We went back to the Suomenlinna and walked around there. Lotta showed us more places that we did not see before, and generally, it was a nice walk. Later we returned to the city centre and went for lunch at the market square, where we tried local Finnish food. During the lunch time, an interesting man started to talk to us, and I think we ended up chatting with him for more than an hour.

Helsinki Day. At the concert.

When the weather began turning bad again, we quickly visited some of the must see churches and buildings and then went to the alko shop to buy some decent wine for dinner that night. It was so interesting to learn that people in Finland can buy alcohol from the specialised, state-owned shops only. In the grocery stores, it is not possible to buy anything above 4 degrees. So then they have these enormous stores called alko, where all the liquors are available. Here they hire very educated people, who can answer any question regarding their assortment. For instance, when we asked for the help in choosing the wine for dinner, I did not understand half of the professional terms that the girl used to explain which wine she recommends us for the planned dinner and budget that we have. They are also very strict with checking the documents because even though it was Raphaelle and me who paid, they requested Lotta’s papers as well. 

So on the final evening, we enjoyed a fantastic meal with Lotta’s family and concluded our trip there. These were one of the kindest and sweetest people I have ever met. I appreciate their time and effort from the bottom of my heart because they made our stay in Helsinki very comfortable and memorable. 

Holidays in Moscow

Before I even came to Russia, I had some opinions about it already. I imagine there are many people who think of Russia as this city full of crazy, impolite, often angry individuals who have questionable taste in fashion. They might also believe that Russian cities are polluted, underdeveloped and with a visible presence of communism in the architecture, society, and politics. So since St. Petersburg is known as the most European and cultural city in Russia, I was looking forward to experiencing “real Russia” during my trip to Moscow.

I went to Moscow together with four other exchange students, namely Raphaelle, another French girl Caroline, Czech girl Barbora and our one and only man Oskari from Finland. So it was quite fun, every time somebody asked us where are you guys from. Caroline and Barbora took the train to Moscow in the morning, but Oskari, Raphaelle and I flew there in the evening. It was not the easiest flight, as the place for legs were extraordinary small in the Utair plane making the travel a bit challenging for us. But we kept it fun by coming up with this idea of a Gossip Club, where we agreed to share the juiciest gossips with one another and keep them in Utair plane forever. 

After landing, we came up with another fun idea – a mission to get to the hostel as cheap as possible. Even though we were advised to take an express train or a taxi, we did not give up on finding a better (cheaper) way. And we succeeded. Since our hostel was located basically on the Red Square, getting there was not that hard. All public transportation was going that way anyways.

When we reached our hostel, it was almost the midnight. I was quite excited and proud about the hostel that I booked for us. It was in the heart of the city center, and for six days we paid only 45 euros. The reason for this low price was probably the fact that we stayed in a 16-bed room. Since I had never tried staying in a hostel before, I thought this is going to be the best and most hardcore way to start. And it certainly was hardcore…not so sure about the “best” part though.

Hostel. View from my bed.

So when we arrived, we were invited to follow the guy upstairs to the reception. While going up the stairs, we passed several strange looking people eating fish and drinking in the stairway. The room, where we were supposed to sleep was packed with people. Every bed was occupied, and it felt that we will have to sleep head to head with absolute strangers. There was no space for our things, and all of us were assigned the second-floor beds. At first, I thought I would have preferred the first floor, as there you can hide yourself a little better and have at least some sort of privacy. But when I felt how shaky the beds were, I would never fall asleep there being scared for being killed by my upstairs neighbor. It was also shocking to see that there were only two bathrooms and two toilets for the entire hostel, so I became quite worried about my hygiene for the following six days. 

Fortunately, it was a beautiful and warm night, so Oskari and I decided to go and explore our surroundings. This is when I was totally blown away from the beauty of Moscow. The Red Square was magnificent during the night. Since trees and flowers surround it, the fresh smell of lilacs and sounds of birds singing that night were breath-taking. We kept walking, and we could not stop being amazed by the harmony and cleanness of this city. I never imagined Moscow like this. Since it was a Friday night, many bars and clubs were open along the way. We noticed strange scenery with fancy big cars parked nearby with a driver waiting inside in each one of them. How posh. 

Eventually, we had to return and begin the first night at the hostel, which for me was the worst. I could not fall asleep as every time my downstairs neighbor moved, I flew up the bed. But the worst part was the smell and an absolute lack of air. Next morning I could not wait to get out of there and breath normally again. At least I learned that for me to be able to sleep there, I had to tire myself up during the day so much that I cannot move anymore and collapse in the bed until morning.

Beautiful gardens inside Kremlin

And it worked. Also, looking back to this experience at the hostel, it was not that bad after all. It was even funny because there were many strange people. I mean it was funny for us, who did not experience them directly, while Caroline had to deal with several. There was one guy who kept going after her saying in his broken English that Paris is not the most fashionable city anymore because now it is New York. When she tried to answer him in Russian that she respects his opinion and that she simply does not care about it, he did not give up to repeat it. From then on, he kept calling her Pariž, so some nights when we arrived very late, and the lights were already off, you could hear him calling through dark “Pariž…Pariž, is that you?”. Then there was another older guy who tried to convince her to marry him. That happened after the midnight in the toilet, and we could hear this conversation in the sleeping area. He was presenting himself as a famous poet, holding a paper bag that said “my poems”, in which we guess he kept his work. Next day this guy was in an argument with other guests, as they were accusing him of ripping apart some rules from the wall. It made sense, because Caroline did remember him disappearing for a second and coming back with a broken piece of paper where he wrote down his address for her. Not that she asked. 

Helicopter parking lot for Putin

Anyways, the first three days in Moscow were fantastic. The weather was sunny and warm, and we were very lucky with every decision we made along the way. So we began with the Free Walking tour, where we learned a lot about the history of Moscow, different buildings, and traditions around the center. As every Free Walking Tour, also this one was educational and very interesting. After we had finished the tour, we went inside the Kremlin. I would say it reminded me a little bit of Vatican. I am not entirely sure why, but maybe because it was also like a city within a city so different from the rest of the Moscow. We learned that guards are the only people that officially live inside of Kremlin, so it was unusual to see fitness area in the scenery together with gorgeous gardens and ancient buildings. Well, and, of course, not far from the “gym” there was also a helicopter parking lot for President Putin. 

We also visited this massive shopping center “GUM”, where the poshest shops are located. Tourists love this place not because of the brands, but because of the beautiful design inside. All the shops were empty, but the hallways were crowded with people taking pictures and enjoying the view. We liked the place as well, but not only because of the design. We also loved the ice cream that was sold inside. Not only its taste took us directly to heaven, but its price did not influence our wallets. It was insanely cheap, only 78 cents. Even in the regular grocery store, the price for ice cream begun from 1,20 euro. So we took full advantage of this mysterious price and ate almost one or two ice creams a day. 

@GUM with my ice cream

We finished our day with a walk on Arbat Street, which is this very long and lively walking street in Moscow. At that point, I realized that St. Petersburg is clearly missing a proper walking street for pedestrians. There is nothing nicer than enjoying a warm evening with your friends in such a dynamic place as Arbat street. There were entertainers and musicians every five steps on our way. And they were often so good that we just kept stopping to enjoy their performance. It was a very magical and positive energy that I got before returning to the hostel and falling asleep like dead. 

On Sunday, we began our day with seeing Lenin’s body at his Mausoleum situated in Red Square. Surprisingly this is something that people can do for free, so the line, of course, was quite long. Yet, we managed to see him in less than 40 minutes, as at one point security divided the two lines in three, and they did it in the middle, where we were standing. So basically we went in front of many people who were theoretically supposed to go inside first. It was a strange experience as he was so visible and close to us. He really looked like asleep and at one point I thought he takes a breath. It was quite unpleasant but at the same time unique experience, which lasted for about two minutes, as we were not allowed to stop and stare, and God forbid – take pictures.

Saint Basil’s Cathedral 

After this, we decided to visit the Saint Basil’s Cathedral which was situated few steps from Lenin’s Tomb. The luck was on our side that day, as without us even knowing, the entrance for students was free that day, allowing us to save almost 8 euros (= 10 ice creams). This Cathedral features vivid and colorful onion-shaped domes of many sizes, which actually belong to 9 different chapels. It was a very impressive visit and something I can recommend to everyone traveling to Moscow. 

The same day we also managed to visit Tretyakov Gallery, which has one of the largest collections of Russian art. Barbora and I took the audio guide, so we spent several hours wandering around and listening to the stories about different paintings and their authors. Listening to these stories made our visit so much more enjoyable. 

Business Centre

Finally, we ended our day at the Business Centre. We were recommended to visit this area, and I am so glad we did. It was so impressive, with countless skyscrapers in every form and shape. I could not stop being amazed about the designs and heights of these buildings. The warm and pleasant evening made this experience even better. We were also suggested to visit this one restaurant called SIXTY, located on the 62nd floor. When we found it, we first were a bit worried about the way we looked and whether we will be able to afford anything in there. Thankfully, our group was treated nicely no matter the fact that we visually did not belong there. We were seated at one of the best tables with a magnificent view. Before we even made any order, the window in front of us begun opening in a rhythm with a show type of music in the background. We were basically in the first row of this great experience. Fortunately, the prices were quite democratic, and we ended up having a nice dinner with the best possible view, especially because soon after the windows were closed again, a glorious firework began lasting for about 10 minutes. 

Our view from Restaurant SIXTY

The following days were not as amazing anymore, mainly because of the weather and us becoming more and more tired. The hostel with 16 people snoring, farting and moving every day, is certainly not the best place for a good night sleep. Anyways, the beginning of this day was hot and almost humid. We went to VDNKh Park, where people can visit different museums and exhibitions in connection to Achievements of National Economy. Unfortunately, that day everything was closed, but we could still enjoy the parks, including one nearby where everything connected to space was honored. There were many statues with cosmonauts, such as Yuri Gargarin and even with the famous first dog in space – Laika. 

After wandering around the sights, we decided to return to the center and visit a small monastery which the guide in the first day recommended us to visit. It was a place where people from this monastery bake pastry and sell it to the visitors. When we sat down for this mini meal, a storm that was afterward called - the craziest in the last 100 years began. We could see it is pretty bad, but we would never imagine that it took 11 people lives that day. Fortunately, we were sitting in the holiest place at that point, and we felt very safe. When the weather calmed down a little bit, we decided to split, so while Raphaelle and Caroline went for some touristic activities, the rest of us chose to go home and have a nap. 

The next two days were rather calm and slow as well. The weather continued to be shitty but at least not as bad as the day before so that we could keep up with our touristic activities. On May 30 we went to a small city called Sergiev Posad, located about 1.5 hours away from the center. It is an ancient town known for the 14th-century Holy Trinity monastery complex. I am so glad we went there because it was a very special place. Very calm and at the same time so impressive with a rich history behind. On May 31, our most important visit was the Armoury Museum located inside the Kremlin. It was an interesting museum to visit and learn more about the history of Moscow.

Sergiev Posad from a distance

On the final day, we all split. Barbora and Caroline went home with the train before the noon, Raphaelle stayed at the café to complete her online examination, and Oskari was dealing with severe food poisoning back at the hostel. So I decided to take the hop on hop off bus and hear more about the city. It was a bit of a failure, as at first I was stuck in a traffic jam for about half an hour and audio guide kept talking about the things that we have not yet even seen. The traffic in Moscow was quite crazy, so I am glad it was my only time when I had to move through it. Drivers were kind of aggressive and kept hitting their horns to one another. Anyways, I then decided to jump out and see the famous Pushkin Museum, which took me around three hours in total. When I was done, I could not locate the bus stop anymore, so I ended up walking all the way to the point where I started. It was raining like hell by the way. But since it was not that far, I was all right. I decided to take another round and surprisingly the circle was very short. I felt like taking this bus was not worth my money and time, but at least I am glad that I saw the Pushkin Museum. Well, I am happy I saw the new part of it with one of the largest exhibitions of works from such artists as Manet, Van Goh, Monet, Picasso and many others. 

I was also trying to enter the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the tallest Orthodox Christian church in the world. But it was simply impossible. We had been trying to do it already days before, but because of some religious festival, the entrance was not possible. The guards around kept sending us further and further until we gave up. On my last day, I was hoping that the festival will be over, and I can finally enter this mysterious place, but because of the infinitive lines, I gave up. And it was also kind of the time for me to return and go to the airport.

At the airport, we arrived rather early, so it was definitely not a pleasant surprise to learn that our flight had been delayed for 4 hours, meaning we were stuck in an airport for 5.5 hours in total. We were all exhausted, and the thought of the small, uncomfortable plane which would only take off only at 1 am was unbearable. So the trip did not end on the most positive note. Yet, I will remember it as a fun, mind-blowing experience, which I can sincerely recommend to others.