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Lessons Learned

Way to Russia Talk Lounge Forum Index -> Russian Visa Forum

Author	Message
Mike-H Just Starting Joined: 14 May 2004 Posts: 7 Location: Heidelberg, Germany	Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2005 11:45 pm    Post subject: Lessons Learned I am in the US Army and stationed in Germany. Having been to Russia twice before, I thought I'd go with my kids. We eventually made it happen but learned a few things the hard way. 1. Military personnel cannot get expedited visas at least in Germany. Expect at least two weeks to process the visa. 2. The Russian consulate closes in the early afternoon in Bonn. Plan on being there in the morning and don't be surprised if the procedures seem to change on where you get your visa and make payment. Do a mapquest search for the address since its actually on the outskirts of Bonn. 3. There are a number of travel agents in Bonn who seem familiar with the visa process. Talking to some of them I understand they will assist individuals for a small fee 10 - 20 Euros. That could be a bargain if you don't have to travel to and from Bonn from most US bases. (However, note that the Russians may be opening a new consulate in Frankfurt). 4. I came with my visa application for US citizens completed but they made me also fill one out using the German form. I would tak both and don't expect anyone at the consulate to speak English. 5. Don't EVER expect the consulate to contact you if they have any questions or issues. 6. Absolutely ensure that the visa invitation will cover the entire length of your trip and I strongly recommend adding on a few extra days on each end to cover changes in flights, etc. In my case I thought that the invitation to my hotel in Moscow would authorize me for a 30 day visa -- stupid assumption on my part. The Russians completely disregarded the dates requested in my visa but, noting point 5 above, they did not contact me by phone, email, fax, or letter -- they simply gave me the three days listed for my hotel that was on the invitation. 7. I booked my hotel (Rossija[Kremlin views were INCREDIBLE]) with a service that offered a free invitation but make sure they note the start and end dates of your travel so they can give you time to go to other places and to have some travel flexibility. 8. Flights into Riga, Latvia from Frankfurt Hahn and London Stansted are cheap on Ryan Air and there are both train and Aeroflop connections in Riga. However, after booking my flight, committing to my room, Aeroflop simply said they decided to cancel my return flight, making me lose an extra day of my already limited stay. 9. Make sure your coats have a strip sewn in on the back inside collar that will allow the coatchecks to easily hang your coat up. I had forgotten this advise from my first trip and saw a number of surly coat checkers who had to hang my coats up. 10. Kremlin visits currently require rental of a audio tour guide device or hiring a guide. If you find some other English speakers you may be able to go together to get a better rate. Also don't be afraid to bargain with them. The kiosks are on both sides of the entrance to the Kremlin with one side for guides the other for the audio devices. We actually got a better deal when we moved over to the audio guide side and although we ended up paying more for a guide it was much quicker and we were able to ask questions. 11. Look for metro maps that have the stops in both English and Russian languages. I had one map for the Metro in Russian and a city map in English -- it's not always easy to figure out which is which when going between the city and metro maps. Despite the troubles and extremely curtailed trip, we enjoyed ourselves. Things have changed a great deal since the Soviet times and even in the past 10 years.
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