A long way home, or leaving Russia in Corona times

I love Russia. I have been living in St. Petersburg for almost two months, and after travelling all around the world it feels like I have finally found a place where I would see myself settling down. The inexorable beauty of the streets, the architecture, the importance of art and culture, the water canals, the numerous coffeeshops and Russian designer brands…but above all, the presence of all the European cultures in the architecture, looked over by the Russian spirit gave this place the little extra which makes me want to call it « Home ».

For this reason, as the Corona broke out in Russia, and especially in St. Petersburg, I decided to stay, even if I have to pay the price of staying confined on my own for the next month. Indeed, my “home” was a little studio next to Nevsky Prospekt, which was perfect for having dinner and wine with friends and falling asleep alone. However, when Putin announced the confinement would now take the same dimensions as in France, meaning only being able to go out to do groceries, I realised that this would be too much.

The German and French consulate kept on calling me, warning me I had to leave and would be much safer in one of my home countries. I therefore took the decision to let them put me on the list of the repatriation trips. However, it was already too late to catch one of the repatriation flights organised by them, as the last one left on the day before. The German consulate informed me of possible buses, which could eventually bring me to Helsinki, and let me take a flight from there to Frankfurt. However, three problems were put in my way: I only had my French Passport as I always thought I would not need two passports from the European Union, I was not on the priority list (I am neither old, nor a child, nor do I have a family here), and finally, I had to get on a bus soon enough, as long as there were still international flights leaving from Helsinki Airport. Also, the Russian government had forbidden buses with over 8 passengers to pass the border. Nothing to say I was stressing out a little bit.

As I was walking out the consulate on Wednesday morning with my provisory German Passport in hand, a tear ran down my cheek. On the street next to the park I used to go running in, images were competing between memories of my arrival flashing back and the imagination of being almost imprisoned in a small studio in a country I can barely understand the new rules of. All I could do was wait.

It was 18h on the same day when I had a call from the consulate. The next day, at 8h in the morning I would go on the bus to Helsinki. It was by feeling the relief of these news that I realised how much I wanted to go. I started packing and called my friends for our last “dinner and Georgian Wine” session at my place

Needless to say, I did not sleep a minute. Gave up on trying at 5h, and left my apartment one hour in advance, when I actually only needed fifteen minutes to reach the rendez-vous according to Google Maps. However, Google Maps did not calculate me forgetting my Russian SIM-Card in my room and realising it after having already given the keys back. I therefore had no maps, nor could I call the Taxi. I started running down the streets in St. Petersburg with luggage twice my weight, asking people in the street where I had to go. After 45minutes of running around, I found a taxi and jumped in. After 2 minutes of driving, he realised I was not the person that called him on Iandex and abandoned me in the middle of the street. I continued running and finally arrived five minutes before the bus left.

I was in the bus. I was so happy. They said we would need 4-5 hours to reach Helsinki. We stopped in beautiful places, and I could finally see Russian snow.The more we headed north, the more the nature was beautiful.

We then stopped in Viborg, which was our last stop in Russia before heading to the Finnish border. Until then, the road was empty, and I was optimistic we would soon arrive at the airport, but that is what I thought.

The road leading to the frontier is about 30km long according to the chauffeur, with multiple Russian checkpoints. Who is on board, why and where we are heading to was routine. Passport and trunk checks were naturally all done. Two of the passengers traveling with me had an expired visa, which also let the stops last even longer. Finally, we arrived in Finland, passing by never ending roads with trees and forests, and got to the airport. We were not allowed to leave the transit zone, and therefore had to spend the night in the Hilton at the airport. I checked in the hotel and tried to sleep but my fear of missing the flight which would leave the next day at 7h30 kept me awake. As I got up at 5 the next day, a wonderful spectacle was awaiting me, as snow was falling down in the dark night. After a few hours of waiting in the empty airport, me and 5 other passengers entered the plane and I was almost home.

Posted by Kim Schierke