Rien ne va plus, Phil!

Philipp and I know each other for 8 years now and we also lived together over two and a half months in this beautiful city. We shared some unforgetable moments and activities. So, when I gathered my information about his experiences here, I could ask him nearly everything I want.

About the person behind the blogs

Philipp is 23 years old and was born in Vienna. He studies international business relations with a focus on the eastern European market at the Fachhochschule Eisenstadt near Vienna. He’s going to finish his bachelor degree in upcoming July 2018. Philipp started to learn Russian because he had to choose at the beginning of his studies an eastern European language – that was the moment his (our) Russian adventure started.

The Russian journey

Learning a new language is never easy. But Philipp shows a passion for it and improved his Russian enormously with the help of the teachers and staff of Liden & Denz, but also with his new friends who are sharing a similar experience here. The first time he set a foot on Russian ground was this summer in Moscow for an intensive 3-week language course at МГПУ. After a short summer break, he went straight to Saint Petersburg for an internship. The main task there was to write city and language blogs for Liden & Denz. He also had from Monday till Friday 4 hours a day a language course and to say it in his words: ’I learned in the last months more about this language, than in the two years before.’

New familiar faces

This experience was more than just a task given by our university. ‘After a few weeks you start to get to know the people around you and friendships arise. This is more than a language school! It is a place where you get in touch with people from all over the world. Even if you’re not hundred percent keen on improving your Russian, you have the possibility to explore the city with students who are in a similar situation like I am.’, he said.

It was a blast

When I asked him about the two best experiences he had here, he answered instantly: Karelia and the light festival at the Дворцовая площадь – the Palace square.

Karelia

To say it in his words: ‘It was astonishing. The nature, the landscape and the variety of activities you can do there.’ The Republic of Karelia is next the Finnish border and is very popular and well-known for good weekend trips, just to turn your mind off and relax. He said that he definitely recommends going there.

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Philipp enjoyed the light festival at the Дворцовая площадь very much. The combination of coloured lights and fitting music, projected on the Hermitage, is really worth a look. It offered the beauty of Saint Petersburg’s most popular sight and also the creativity of the citizens.

Last words

‘I will never forget this experience I’ve made here. My colleagues at work and from the course, became friends to me. I will miss all them and also hope to see them here at Liden & Denz, in Austria or at their native country again. I strongly suggest you visit SPB and gain your own Russian knowledge. The most important thing is to give it a shot! I’m keen on coming back to this city as soon as possible – till then. Всего доброго. Пока!‘

Posted by Philip Forstinger