[ST. PETERSBURG] Budget and Itinerary

TUESDAY: 4 July 2017

Rossiya (Kaliningrad - St. Petersburg) - 5,340.00

Airbnb (1 Night) - 1,245.00

Bus 39 (Pulkovo Airport - Moskovskaya) - 40.00

Metro 2 (Moskovskaya - Nevskiy Prospekt) - 45.00

Mama Roma (Carbonara w/Potato Wedges & Coke) - 575.00

RUB7,245.00

[ST. PETERSBURG] The River Ain't the Best Place to Find a Sinner

So the church is where I go. Three today, in fact. I’m as surprised as you are that I didn't burn to death. If there was a ceasefire between the forces of good and evil, I wasn’t informed. But let’s give me a break now? I’m so in tourist mode today and St. Petersburg is really kind to camwhores. I feel like if I woke up here Hangover style without any recollection of how I got here, I would’ve thought that I were somewhere in Central Europe, like Budapest or Vienna.

[KALININGRAD] Budget and Itinerary

MONDAY: 3 July 2017

Aeroflot (Moscow Sheremetyevo - Kaliningrad) - 5,715.00

Airbnb (1 Night) - 815.00

Bus 244e (Khrabrovo Airport - Victory Square) - 100.00

McDonalds (6 pcs. Chicken Nuggets w/Fries & Coke + Sundae) - 293.00

Tram 2 (Moskovskiy Prospekt - Victory Square) - 20.00

McDonalds (Double Cheese + Nuggets w/Fries & Coke + Sundae) - 456.00

RUB7,399.00

[KALININGRAD] Russia with a P

If you’ve ever looked at a map of the Schengen area, you’d probably find it a bit odd that there’s a small country in the Baltic region that was snubbed. Like, what did that small country do for the European Union to go Mean Girls and give it the YOU CAN’T SIT WITH US treatment, right? Well, it’s not even a nation-state to begin with. It’s called Kaliningrad, a Russian oblast which was once the capital of an empire called Prussia. Prussia? Russia? Königsberg? A lot of names to digest in one sitting. Let’s clear that up.

[MOSCOW] Budget and Itinerary

SATURDAY: 1 July 2017

Invitation Letter/Tourist Voucher (iVisa Online) - 3,000.00

Visa (Russian Embassy) - 8,500.00

Air Manas (Bishkek - Moscow Domodedovo) - 7,800.00

Airbnb (2 Nights) - 2,500.00

Burger King (Baconizer w/Fries & Coke) - 699.00

Marshrutka 308 (Domodedovo - Domodedovskaya) - 120.00

Metro Green (Domodedovskaya - Teatralnaya) - 55.00

Registration (within 24 Hours) - 600.00

Convenience Store (Mineral Water x2) - 100.00

RUB23,374.00

[MOSCOW] The Other Kremlin

I had several options for the second day and the most popular one was returning to St. Basil’s and sitting on one of the benches behind it. People watching. All day. Not a bad thing to do because it somehow gives me a semblance of tranquility. Don’t ask me how. But that didn’t happen in the end. In fact, I never went back to the Red Square anymore. I looked for alternatives on Wikitravel and one itinerary seemed interesting. Apparently, there’s another Kremlin no one talks about that much. It’s called Izmailovo.

[MOSCOW] Touchdown Russia

Russia almost never happened. If you read my blog entry about the visa application snafu at the Russian Embassy then you would know why. But you know, it’s not the end of the world if you don’t get it your way. If it doesn’t happen, then maybe it’s just not meant to happen. But the circumstances leading to the visa grant seemed to defy all odds and now that I’m finally here in Moscow, I’m glad that it did. That doesn’t mean that it’s the end of your Russian bureaucratic nightmare, though.

[VISA] Russia (Single Entry)

There are two venues for Russian visa applications in Manila. The first one is at the embassy itself inside Dasmariñas Village. Rumor has it that you can apply there ONLY by invitation, and there are a lot of anecdotes on how strict that village is granting entry to outsiders. For us ordinary mortals, we have to go to their office at Rada near Greenbelt. Applications can be lodged MWF from 10 AM to 12 PM. You don’t need to schedule an appointment. Just walk in with your requirements.