I'm going to try to sum up the coolness of this trip for you all in a not-too-long post because I am very tired. I really just recommend you apply for your Visa and explore this place yourself because it is just NUTS.
So, here we go:
The trip started with a lovely overnight boat ride to ye old town of Helsinki, Finland. The rumors are true, this is not exactly a tourist destination. Pretty city, similar to Sweden, lots of double consonants in the language, nothing too special. The Mcdonald's was top quality though which we found out due to Cara's extreme hangover!
The streets of Helsinki.
We had a long lunch and went to a really awful Museum about the history of Finland, don't go
all museumed out..
At 6 o'clock (more than enough time in the city), we said adios to Finland and hopped on a train to Moscow. Due to really scary border guards, a bumpy train, and rock solid narrow beds, not much sleep was had on this train.. but it was an experience!
The Moscow Express!
Russian borders are the most intense passport checks I have ever experienced in my life. You get frowned, stared, and grunted at, your passport gets stamped about ten times and read cover to cover, and you are not allowed to move from your cabin for about 2 hours in the middle of the night. Fun!
We all got reaaaalllly close.....
At around 9 am we arrived in Moscow to a train station full of frowns. With a huge group of greasy haired, exhausted students we hopped on a bus for a painful (but still interesting) bus tour of the city. It was great because Moscow is SO huge and complicated to get around so we covered all the sites and figured out what we wanted to explore further.. By the end the tour guide was talking to 40 people all fast asleep, including myself.
Finally able to use the washroom during the bus tour...
this was actually a stinky hole in the ground, glad camp gave me good aim!
So, Moscow was unreal. We made some awesome new friends, watched the sun rise, and saw amazing sites. Finally that ninth grade social studies unit on Russia has paid off!! Here are some photos:
St Basil's Cathedral at night
Tour crew made up of : Mexico, Aus, Norway, NZ et France!
les filles!
Subway Station in Moscow! AMAZING! This isn't one of the bombed ones, but we did go in to one... sketch!
Victory Square
The three days we had in Moscow were most definitely my favorite of the entire trip. The vibe of the city was different then anywhere I have ever experienced. Although I was mistaken for a Russian once or twice (due to my ukrainian perma frown) , we were stared at by everyone for being the obvious foreigners that we were. This is definitely not a city to go to for relaxation, but still a must see!
At midnight on the 3rd day, we hopped on to an even dirtier train than the first to head to St. Petersburg. Without any walls between bunk beds, we clenched our money and passports and enjoyed a sweaty stinky night with Russian travelers.
At midnight on the 3rd day, we hopped on to an even dirtier train than the first to head to St. Petersburg. Without any walls between bunk beds, we clenched our money and passports and enjoyed a sweaty stinky night with Russian travelers.
I will be a-ok if I never experience a train like this one again.
Now some photo's from St. Petersburg, a beautiful city (and capital of crime!) with a much more European feel than Moscow.
Off the train, and back on a bus tour..
Church of Spilled Blood (I'm pretty sure that was the name anyways)..
I don't think they put quite enough detail into the design of this building.
Me being cute
Just being cute again!
The Hermitage (I am museumed out for a looong time)
Thibault at St. Peter and Paul's Fortress
From St. Petersburg we hopped on a bus to Tallinn, Estonia to Finish off the trip. This was probably the most painful bus ride of my life (although i managed to not throw up so maybe not the MOST painful). The bus driver kept the temp. of the bus at about 100 degrees and we spent about 3 hours crossing the extreeeemely tight border back into Estonia. Apparently they are essentially responsible for monitoring who gets to enter the whole of Europe, so they take they're job VERY seriously. For example, being a Mexican with an Egyptian visa means you are going to take a very very long time to get across!
Tallinn was a cute city, nothing extraordinary after being in Russia, and we were all exhausted from the bus so we strolled around and enjoyed some Estonian cafes. 
Ye medieval town of Tallinn.
Ye medieval town of Tallinn. Okay, you are all probably as bored of reading this as I am of writing it. So, because I hate long goodbyes I will finish like this. Great trip, great friends, great fun! Time is flying though! I get to see mom and dad soon and I am so excited to show them around, especially now that the snow is gone in Stockholm.
Flight is booked home for June 26th. See you all then!!
XOX
ps. I think my English is getting worse from hanging around so many foreigners, so my apologies for confusing sentences.
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