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15 August '03
The past few weeks, we've been busy with all kind of preparations for the trip: visas, website, shopping....
Designing the web site, learning how to build one; it is all very obvious until you want something non-standard. Nevertheless, persistent as we are, most of it we got done, though we are still working on some of it.
We have informed ourselves on visas and other official stuff. Not really our idea of having fun but it has to be done and once it is done you feel a lot better. That is, unless you find out that your visa in Russia is outrageously expensive if you want to travel without buying tickets or reserving hotel in advance...
A few words of explanation: For a Russian visa, you have the choice between a classic one month "tourist" visa, wherefore you need to give all your plane and hotel reservations. This is something quite annoying for us because we do not know yet the exact route and the name of all the hotels we will have. Besides, our stay in Russia could last a bit longer than a month, and we have read somewhere that it was hell to have it extended.
Anyway, for all these reasons, we have decided to choose for another type of visa: the "business" visa: much more flexible, period of three months... but more expensive, and you need a so-called letter of invitation from a Russian company... An agency will do that for us; it'll take three weeks, cost teo-hundred euros, but it's the safest way.
The Mongolian visa should be a bit more easy to get. Forty-one Euros for a 1-month-period, and very important, it is valid three months. This means that we have to enter the country before the 1st of December if we obtain it around the 1st of September, which is indeed planned (see the Planning in Russia).
Oh yeah: you probably know that we are going up to Helsinki by car... Cornelia's fantastic car: a 12-year-old Fiat UNO.... since a few months, it is making a strange noise... already been to different garages, but none of the two has found what it was... very strange. We must find what it is because Cornelia is quite worried about it.
Things are really taking shape now and, at about a month from now, we are supposed to be on a world trip. Woaw!
EXPECTED DATE OF DEPARTURE: between 15-20 September 2003
(Belgium) to index
19 August '03
Almost bad news but it is solved. We called the company arranging the Russian visa for us, and they told us it would now take nearly a month for the visa.... and, due to a misunderstanding four-hundred instead of two-hundred Euro!!! NO WAY, we're not going to pay that amount....
We've luckily solved the problem by finding another company doing that much more faster, and for a normal price: 130 euro.... but we can stay only thirty days. It is a Dutch company, with a very small office here in Brussels, and a very friendly employee.... They are called "VISUM" and you can find them on www.visum.be...
Something new for us: we have to choose a maximum of six cities to visit in Russia, and the maximum stay is thirty days.
(Belgium) to index
24 August '03
Almost spent all night to finish this homepage. It'll be very soon online (...still got some pages under construction).
We have decided today the six cities we are going to put on the form to apply for a Russian visa. Small explanation: in the form you have to fill in to apply for the Russian visa, you have to declare all the cities you are going to visit... with a maximum of six (only!!!).
Of course we would like to see more places than that (see our Planning in Russia).
(Belgium) to index
27 August '03
We have just put the homepage online. Everything is working (hopefully). Guest book is working fine, so if you want to leave a message, click here.
(Belgium) to index
29 August '03
Last day at work. We are now on "holiday"... Serious things are now starting...
Just noticed that our emails "...@whereonearth.tk" are not working. Trying to solve the problem ASAP. You can still join us at following addresses: f.vanwoensel@planet.nl, or c.kerstiens@planet.nl .
(Belgium) to index
04 September '03
The past few days we have been working hard! So now, the vaccinations (most of it) have been done and now we have got enough prescriptions to resist all bacteria, viruses.
Cornelia wonders, if you do many vaccinations, will you be mummified automatically (can't believe any bacteria would still want us now!).
We're waiting for the Russian visa, the first boxes are packed and, well, things are getting into shape!
(Belgium) to index
25 September '03
The goodbye party was -correct us if you did not have the same impression- a great success. When storing away the groceries during the preparation of the event, we felt a bit threatened by a prospect to eat sausages and tomatoes until crossing the Ural mountains. In reality only three sausages and one Pain-Surprise (a feature that completely fascinated the Dutch delegation during the party) were left, that is, the last crate of beer was not so much of a problem to face.
The only stupid mistake we made was to forget to make pictures, so no photographs yet on the site. For this we were instantly punished by a large collective contribution to buy a digital camera (thank you very very much to all of you).
The shopping for this is difficult. Now that funds are abundant, Fabrice's eyes wonder to the more sophisticated, complicated and designer kinds of cameras. Cornelia, however, thinks that three camera's on board (we have a conventional one for the arty side of picture-making and a mini-instant camera for the give-away moments) is already a treat (for Fabrice). So she reasons that the extra money better be spend on a comfortable hotel-night on one of those complete disastrous days future has undoubtedly in store for us.
Not long after the party the cat moved. This was to the benefit of all involved: it eased cleaning and emptying the place while the cat was getting more and more suspicious about the landscape changes that took place. His favourite napping places disappeared in thin air, empty boxes (very exciting) appearing everywhere and to disappear again irregularly and a foul Ajax-spring-flower-smell manifesting itself permanently in his territory after some cleaning sessions.
The goodbye party had had it's own contribution in the story; the cat only came back at six in the morning, having fled the premises at three o'clock in the afternoon after a frightful meeting with so many people cornering him from all directions. This was actually the first time we know of, that even the call for food could not persuade him to come home for supper. Now he lives peacefully at the house of Fabrice's parents.
We also moved. After several days of hard labour, we moved out of our apartment. Fabrice developed his biceps and right foot (gas-break-gear) by moving boxes and furniture, surfboards and more, many more boxes through the entire Brussels and Namur area; Cornelia got impregnated with cleaning agents of all sorts and types and nearly got a repetitive strain injury trying to clean persistent filthy spots. The result: the apartment was never so clean and the remarks of the official checking the state of the lieu was limited to a "You didn't dust off the inside of the radiators I see", which can be more offending than you might think.
Now we're squatting in a house of a friend/colleague in Jette, the other side of Brussels which fits all our needs and wishes; we even have a garden with abundant peer supply.
Our date of departure will be a bit delayed. Visa of Russia and Mongolia have been obtained, and China is in store early next week (29 September 2003). Other paperwork is nearly (but not completely) finished; sometimes we have the feeling it breeds and multiplies while you are not attentive, as did the amount of stuff in our apartment when we were moving. In the meantime we hop from diner to diner, invited by friends and family for a last goodbye.
The final starting day is now set to the 30th of September
(Belgium) to index
All sorts of trouble but also good news
02 October '03
Oops, we are still in Belgium. Fab has got trouble with his new ID card, and his registration in Belgium (as a Belgian, you would expect it to go quite fast and easy, but we must tell you that it was way easier to get a Russian visa than a simple new ID card and a new address). We could just leave now and forget about it but if we do that, Fab could loose all his "rights" and almost his citizenship. So still got to wait a bit for it (already waiting since more that three weeks).
For the rest, we are ready to leave, our backpacks are packed, we got the Russian, the Mongolian and the Chinese visa's. We have one date that we absolutely HAVE to respect: 20th of October, date of entry in Russia.
OOOH, yes, for those who follow us carefully, they should know that we were planning to go up to Helsinki by car. Well, last Saturday, we discovered that the car would never make it to Helsinki: on the highway, the brakes broke, and it would be quite expensive to repair them, so we decided to get rid of it here and now. Still looking for someone interested.
We also bought a fantastic digital camera, so lucky you, you'll be able to see some of our pictures directly on the site.
(Belgium) to index
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05-07 October '03
What's more tiring: two hours standing in a packed train or diner with Cornelia's 4-year-old nephew Felix, who simply has to run when in a restaurant? We don't know, but we did it both on Sunday, and it was lovely to have Cornelia's family all together to say goodbye.
The rest of the time in the Netherlands we spent running ourselves, from bank to official instances, from shop to shop to finish the preparations. Like in Belgium, sightseeing was skipped due to the delays.
On Tuesday night we finally left for the rest of the world, starting in Berlin.
(The Netherlands) to index
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08-11 October '03
We spent three days in Berlin: huge, amazing, and "young" city. We stayed in a great youth hostel and shared the room with crazy Swedes, Americans, Australians (lots) and others.
We walked around in the city like real tourists, visiting the Berliner Dom, the rests of the Wall, Brandenburger Tor, etc. Although the wall is gone, you can still notice the differences in the two former parts of the city: buildings, streets, atmosphere and sometimes people are really different.
It was quite amazing to see how many memorials of its past Berlin counts - mainly recalling the WWII and the division of the city.
In all cases, for nightclubbing, going out or simply having a drink, Berlin is the place to be - lots of clubs, discos, bars everywhere and for all styles.
On Saturday morning, we managed to find cheap bus tickets for Copenhagen...
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12-13 October '03
The walls are covered with climbing plants that are discoloured red and pink; the sky is clear blue, pinned down by the green roofs of the little towers that enrich Copenhagen. The whole day we have been strolling through the streets of the city. Though not as large as Berlin, we're grateful for the free bicycles that can be found in the city (if you're lucky); it allows you to do large stretches far more comfortable than by foot (according to Cornelia).
We peddled all the way to Andersen's little mermaid but unfortunately she was absent: hospitalised after someone thought it necessary to blow her off her footing with dynamite or something (see picture).
Apart from the amount of bikes here, there are more things that remind of Amsterdam: Christiana was declared a "freetown" when homeless and artists, weirdo's and dropouts set home there in 1971. Cannabis is sold openly (tolerated by the government) and tourists are not allowed to take photographs, so no picture of this. But the atmosphere is lovely, come and see it for yourself!
We're planning to leave for Sweden on Monday (tomorrow) or perhaps on Tuesday.
(Denmark) to index
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14-18 October '03
Departure from Copenhagen by bus on Monday night. Arrival in Stockholm at 7 AM.
After checking in the hostel, we immediately went to a clinic for inspection of Cornelia's foot, that was hurting since Copenhagen. Swedish doctors are very expensive but you get good value for your money: they'll you enjoy their waiting rooms (more than one) for hours.
Diagnosis: nothing serious and one week of complete rest; no walking. Crutches were organised and Cornelia was stuck in the Hostel most of the Stockholm time. Luckily they had TV!!
The old centre of the city is located on Gamla Stam, with palaces and guards. We had one guard parading twenty meters back and forth, exclusively for us to show off his parading skills.
While Cornelia was resting her foot (but above all her muscle aching arms due to heavy crutch walking) in the hostel, Fabrice went on his own to visit the main attractions of the multi-island city.
The Vasa Museum was very impressive. The ship "Vasa" was built in 1628. It was the biggest war vessel of the world at that time, but unfortunately for the very proud Swedes, it sank after only thirty minutes of sailing, just outside the port of Stockholm, due to a design error. In the 1950's they recovered the boat from the sea bottom and made a museum around it which is unique because it is the only ship we have nowadays from that time.
On Saturday the 18th of October, we left Stockholm on the "party" ferry towards Helsinki. We will tell you this about the ferry of the "Viking Lines": it is the largest ferry we have ever taken. Onboard there are three restaurants, one English type Pub, one disco-bar with live bands, a huge nightclub and more than one-thousand drunken Finns and Swedes of all ages. In the pub, we have enjoyed ourselves listening to Karaoke in Suomi for which the Finnish passengers would line up. Due to budget restrictions we ended up sleeping on the floor in a corridor on the 10th deck.
(Sweden) to index
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Helsinki (Helsingor)
18-21 October '03
After a not so comfortable night, with drunken people running everywhere, we arrived in the port of Helsinki. We followed the flow of tax-free alcohol and cigarettes bought onboard, and took the bus to our youth hostel.
Helsinki is a world of difference with the well-organised Stockholm. Influence of Russia and its past domination was noticeable. It was also getting colder; the first (three) snow flakes fell down.
We did not spend a lot of time in Helsinki. Apart from the Suomenlinna island, we did not see much, but walking around was a real pleasure. We were happy to be back on Euros after all kinds of Crowns but unhappy about having to use so many of them; the dorm-bed record has been set to twenty-two euros! Besides, boys and girls were separated, which was also the reason why we did not go to the sauna.
We feel we should revisit Finland for a proper look later on, which is confirmed by stories of other guests of the hostel.
On Tuesday the 21st of October (nicknamed adrenaline day), we left for Russia by train.
(Finland) to index
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