Welp I actually set the alarm this morning to get up in time for a ferry ride out to the islands. So took a shower while Craig made a business phone call. Unfortunately, the call and subsequent work arranged things so that we didn't get our to the ferry until 1130. The timetable for the day was such that we wouldn't be able to get back until after the time needed to get Filip to his tennis practice.
So we ended up instead heading towards the "old town" of Gothenburg, where some of the older buildings were located. apparently though, instead of being like Stockholm's old city, it was mainly older foundation with newer building on top where a large immigrant population was located. We ended up eating at a little Persian lunch spot and heading back to get Filip.
While Filip was in practice, we packed up all my extra crap and shipped it out Oregon (howdy Janie!). Then grabbed some booze at the state run store (you can't buy anything over 3.5% alcohol elsewhere) and drove around checking out parts of Gothenburg.
Picked up Filip, picked up Lovisa from work, then drove back to the house. Lovisa took Filip to his tennis tourney at 6pm while me, Craig, and Lukas headed out for some nearby pizza. Lukas got a kebab pizza, Craig something with shrimp and artichoke hearts, while I got a bacon/ground beef/olive/ mushroom pizza. They give you a coleslaw like side, except its oil, vinegar, and a bit of sugar and seasonings. Its a Swedish thing they do at pizza places.
Anyhow, slow day at the homestead. Just packing and getting ready for the train trip to Stockholm and then the cruise to Helsinki. I'm seriously thinking of changing my travel plans though. The problem I have is that my Russian visa is from Sept 28 to Oct 7. The Belarus visa is from Sept 8 to Sept 12. I talked to the gal at the Russian visa place in Seattle and she said it wouldn't be an issue in transit. I had planned to take a sleeper train and wake in Minsk.
I'm reading a LOT of things that say differently. Worst case scenario either of the two.
A) The sleeper train to Belarus is not over the border by midnight. Belarus border kicks me off the train (they have done this to people apparently). I am now in Russia a day longer than my visa. I now am stuck in Russia until I can expedite an emergency leave out of Russia, which takes three weeks. I would have to pay for three weeks of lodgings while it happens.
B) Worse scenario. The sleeper train is over the border prior to midnight. I am now in Belarus illegally. If you are in Belarus without a valid visa, you CANNOT legally go to any hotel. Basically, I'm homeless in city where I can't leave for three weeks - same as Russia. A place with a mild to high crime rate where the US is picking a fight with (we have sanctions on them and they kicked out 30 ambassadors so we have only 5 left).
So yah, Russia I'm not that worried about. They get tons of tourists and I've heard many nice things. Belarus is supposed to be a nice place, but the price of failure might be too high. I contacted my inviting tourist company and I'll see if I can get an extension of my visa so that there is a day overlap. If not, I might bite the bullet and go to Riga in Latvia. Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania all have open borders with the EU and no visa requirements for US tourists.So not even going close to the Belarus border. Instead taking a sleep train to Warsaw from Riga instead of Minsk. This would mean me being out about $600, but if I get screwed we are talking many thousands to get out of there. I'll do some research but I might be taking Minsk off my itinerary.
Also good news is hotels are cheap in Riga and its a friendly place on the Baltic sea.
Huh, Hostelworld shows I can get a private hotel room in the old city for between 30 to 50 euro a night (weekdays are cheaper). That's dirt cheap. Our government site says its a democracy and fairly safe.
It also says its not uncommon for government officials to search your things in your Belarus hotel suite.
This choice is now starting to sway closer to Riga.
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