Ups and Downs or going to Russia - easy peasy

Ok ok. As I could have imagined before, I will NOT be able to leave on Monday. It's so damn easy to go to Russia, believe me.

First you need the invitation.

"Official invitation from an organization authorized to invite business visitors to Russia.
The Invitation to Russia must be from the Russian Foreign Ministry or its regional representatives; The Ministry of Interior or its local offices. The letter must contain: official seal and legal address of the agency, signature and name of official authorized to invite foreigners to Russia. The Embassy reserves the right to request the original invitation."

If you want to go for more than 3 months (in my case 14 weeks), you need a visa for 6 months and the original invitation, a scanned or faxed copy is not enough, plus of course the HIV test.

First I was told, the invitation needs 3 to 4 weeks. Then I was told 7 to 15 days. Luckily I never booked a flight until now... I wanted to leave this Monday, but two weeks ago got the email, that the invitation won't arrive before the 24th of July, then still had to be send, making this impossible.

Oh, but I shouldn't forget: if you ask for this invitation, you already have to say WHERE you do your visa demand. As I am German but still have a Swiss permit, I thought: maybe I'd be able to do it in Switzerland, but was told: you're German, you should do it in Germany. As I thought that it wouldn't need more than 7 to 15 days after my last information, I said: ok then, I'll make the visa demand in the Embassy in Berlin as I will be there for one week.

Of course, the invitation didn't arrive in time. So when in Berlin I decided to go to the Embassy. Great experience. You stand with several persons in front of a large iron cellar door. All five minutes a guy will come, take your passport and leave with it, coming back ten minutes later letting you in. They have their own little prison. I forgot, you cannot enter the Embassy, just the consulate, with three policemen in front, wishing you good luck if you don't speak Russian fluently. True, the guy doesn't speak a word German. When you come in, you have to pass a security check, same as in any airport, plus rechecking your handbag. After the check, you have to wait in front of another big iron door, which will be opened by button when they see you with their camera. You go up the stairs, and then get into two rooms: 10 counters, about 60 people waiting in that room, all Russians, plus of course two other (this time Russian) policemen. Noone speaks German. Everything is written in Russian. You have to get a number like in the post office, but if you ask, noone will tell you where to get that damn number from, the people behind the counter won't talk to you if they haven't called your number and especially not if you don't even have one, but they speak in Russian anyway. I was in there for about 45 minutes, feeling completely out of place, looking everywhere if I could at least understand one of the pannels, to know where to go (of course every counter is for something else). The only pannel in German said 'Nur für Reisebüros', the guy spoke German, but not with me as apparently I am not a travel agency!

After 45 minutes I left completely disappointed, as I only wanted to ask whether I have to return to Berlin to make my visa demand as is written on the invitation.

So I decided to go to the General Consulate in Geneva when I am back.

On Monday morning, the great surprise: an sms telling me that I'll be able to go to the international conference starting on the 26th, as my invitation already arrived one week earlier and would only need 2 days until arriving here!! You cannot imagine my happiness!!

On Wednesday morning I went to the Consulate here in Geneva, kind of same procedure, about 15 people waiting in front of a door, a guy coming and letting three persons in at a time, but even without passport or security check. After two hours waiting, it was finally my term to enter. Here, as we're in Geneva (Berlin is maybe not THAT international as Geneva ;-)), everything was written in French or English, I can't remember, but at least I could understand it, except at the counter for Russian citizens. The guy was really nice, and guess what: he will give me a visa even if Berlin is written on the invitation as I have a Swiss permit!! He just told me to be there early in the morning so that the visa would have been finished at around noon today, so that I can take the flight (as I already wanted to a month ago), this Monday. I was sooo happy, I thought that everything would be cool now, invitation, visa, easy peasy. But, careful as I am, I decided not to book a flight before not having the invitation in my hands, as I should have on Wednesday.

Today we're Friday, I still haven't got it.

As my flight will go from Frankfurt, I cannot go to the consulate on Monday and be in Frankfurt on time. The next flight won't go before next Friday, at least I hope I will have my visa by then. Of course, everyone will be at this conference, rafting somewhere in the mountains, including my room mate, so we'll see how that works.

And now I will get a visa for 6 months, but in the end won't be able to stay longer than 3 months and already miss University...

Oh, and let me talk about the flight. I have a great choice: Either I take the company, who had the flight accident with 150 deads two weeks ago, or the company, which after an article from a Russian guy even the Russians prefer not to take. So?? Well, I decided to take the direct flight with the company that had an accident two weeks ago, how was the thing with the statistics:-) ?

As you can see, ups and downs, if you could imagine all the emotions I have already put into this Traineeship before arriving... I hope that at least it will be worth it...