If you’ve been reading my posts, then you would know that I signed up for a trip to go to Russia. I found out about this trip through Uppsala University’s International Students Facebook page; however they do no organize the trip. If you plan on coming to Uppsala and have an interest in travelling around the region, then I would recommend joining the Facebook Group, which alerts you on every possible trip for International Students. Its also good to check with the International Student office which also has information about trips.
The trip I signed up for was only to St. Petersburg Russia; however there were other trips that were going to both St. Petersburg and Moscow, but I could not choose those trips because they were two weeks long, and unfortunately I have important classes that I cannot miss. My trip was from the 4th-9th November. It cost me approximately 395 Euros to get a place on this trip, which I thought was a good deal. 325 Euros paid for round-trip transportation between Stockholm and Finland (including a 4 person cabin), round-trip transportation between Finland and Russia, 3 night hotel stay in Russia (double occupancy room + buffet breakfast each morning), guided sightseeing tours in Russia and other fees. On the other hand, 70 Euros were required for me to obtain a Russian Visa for my UK passport (fees differ, depending on your nationality). The longer trips which also went to Helsinki, Finland and Moscow cost about 590 Euros. The entire journey was very interesting; whereas we took an overnight ship from Stockholm to Finland, then drove from Finland and crossed the border to Russia. I never thought in a million years that I would take a road trip to Russia, but I did! Now I could brag about it to all my friends, because not many people get to say that 
It took us about 6-7 hours to reach the Russian border and about 1 hour to get through the passport checks. It took us another 4 hours to drive from the border to the hotel; that’s probably the longest drive I ever experienced in my life! Luckily we got to take bathroom and food breaks at the nearest gas stations and restaurants.
During the 3 days in Russia, we got to visit many historical buildings in St. Petersburg, experience a Russian Folk Show and taste Russian food. We also frequented the Russian subway, which is probably the deepest subway I’ve ever been in. However its sad that I went to Russia and didn’t drink any vodka, but its not my fault….I’m not really a vodka person. I still managed to get me a bottle of Bailey’s though.
I had a great time and met so many other international students on the trip, who were from Uppsala University and other Swedish Universities. Persons came from Mexico, Canada, the United States, Germany, France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Australia, Italy, Austria, Iceland and more! I could go on and on. We even made a Facebook group so we all could stay in touch. If you decide to come to Sweden, then the Russian trip is a must! Russia is a place, where if you plan to visit, it is recommended that you travel with a large group of people to ensure safety; hence this would be the perfect opportunity to be surrounded by a large group and make valuable friendships.
In other news, Uppsala received its first snowfall. I think the snow followed me from Russia. But its funny how one day of snowfall in Sweden is more than the amount of snow I’ve ever seen during my time in Keele. This is what real snow should be like
Until next time…..Hejdå!
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