By telling us your country of residence we are able to provide you with the most relevant travel insurance information.
Please note that not all content is translated or available to residents of all countries. Contact us for full details.
Shares
This is not the typical travel story, but let's see may be you will like it. I was about to travel to the beautiful Polish city of Gdansk, located on the Baltic Sea. I wanted to visit a friend of mine who has lived there for a while. I bought tickets, the plan was made and idios Krakow - hello Gdansk. During my stay there, we were planning to visit new country and city - Kaliningrad, Russia. I checked that since July 2019 it is easy to obtain a visa for the Kaliningrad region and for St. Petersburg, Russia. The procedure is free of charge, and it takes up to 4 days to review the documents. We filled in, submitted and waited. The visa was approved for both. We are supper exited to go finnaly to great Russia. On the appointed day and time, we were at the right place and boarded the bus to Kaliningrad. Took us 3 hours to reach the border. We are having good time, taking videos and selfies. We also brought homemade sandwiches, we won't eat expensive food (balkans :D). We crossed the Polish border without any problems. We passed 1 Russian point in a great mood. We had planned what exactly we would see and how we would spend our time there. The bus stopped for a third time. We were asked to get down with our luggage for a final passport check. We ran in two rows and everyone waited in line. When it was my turn, I stood in front of the dark glass, handed my passport and documents, and waited. I've always been embarrassed by such checks. This time it was even stranger, because the only thing I could see was my imperfect reflection in black glass. The woman said something in Russian, and I didn't understand anything. A border guard who held my passport came to me and asked me to go with him. Again a small room, and I'm sitting outside in confusion. My girlfriend passed the check and got the coveted red seal that she had entered Russia. I decided it was standard procedure. Anyone needs to be checked. The customs officer came out with my documents and a single word: "problem." I thought he was joking. In doing so, he showed me the document I had filled out and explained that instead of my last name, I wrote my family name. This makes this visa document invalid and I will have to go back. I started looking around and looking for a hidden camera. I couldn't believe it. My friend came and tried to explain that there was a mistake in filling in and if I could pass anyway. They refused. Well, to tell you the truth, a very dull feeling struck me. They took us to another point of entry. The embarrassment and shock went into laughter and good humor. Now the most important question is: How do we get back to Gdansk? The customs officers stopped the gentleman of our parents' age with a unique white Russian Lada vehicle. He was asked where he was traveling and he answered Gdynia. This was our chance. The man seemed friendly and agreed to take us. As we got into the car, we realized that we were breaking at least 3 of the most important parental laws - don't talk and trust strangers, don't get in the car of unknown. But life is sometimes different from the theory we have taught thousands of times. We started one of the most interesting trip ever. I don't remember the name of our driver, but i remember that his wife is Elena. The music was max, gas on the Zhiguli and a smile on our faces. The gentleman turned out to be quite friendly and talkative. He explain that he has brand new mercedees but he want to travel with style. We didn't understand when the time fly and had to say goodbye to our white vase rescuer. Selfie for goodbye of course. The unsuccessful visit to Russia has turned into an incredible story that we remember with a smile. P.S. Children don't do this! P.S.Russia, I'll be back one day.