Novosibirsk Russia

Although Anna and Chris met each when Anna was living in Israel, Anna grew up in Novosibirsk, Russia. Most people hearing this then respond with "wow, that's far away", on which our standard answer is "well, it's just Siberia".

Novosibirsk actually means "New Siberia", and is a long distance away from the Netherlands where we live. As you can see on the map it's not even close to Moscow. You might not have heard from Novosibirsk yet, unless you're Russian yourself, or you are somehow close connected within the area of science, cause Novosibirsk is actually worldwide well known for their first class scientists and science institutes.

The city has almost 2 million inhabitants, and is therefore very versatile for tourists visiting the city where you will find good public transport, shopping area's, ATM's, etc. However, If you've been recently to Moscow and St. Petersburg, you will see a rather different atmosphere in Novosibirsk which is less "westernized" compared to the previous cities for which the average impression on the street might be looking rather modern and hectic like cities as Amsterdam.

If you want to escape from the city, you can enjoy the wide nature around the city. This is something many Russians do anyway as many of them have a "Dacha", a summer house where they enjoy going to in their spare time. It is pretty common that the people have a green field around their dacha from which they grow their vegetables, and often they escape to their own build Russian sauna ;)

Visa requirements for the Dutch.
For entering Russia, a visa is required for visitors. You can get a tourist visa though, which you will have to arrange yourself, or though your travel agency. Arranging a visa for Russia can be done through the Russian Embassy in The Hague. Besides basically paying for the visa, you need an invitation document inviting you to Russia. To be honest, we do not suggest you to go to the Russian Embassy in The Hague yourself as this might be a slight disappointment: long waiting queues which can run up to hours, and if you're particularly unlucky, you might have to wait longer then the opening hours after which -without pardon- you will be kicked out of the Embassy and be suggested to come back another time! Can you imagine? waiting 4 hours, standing partially waiting outside in the rain, and then figure out they are closing or somebody particular is not available to give you a stamp or visa or something? Well.. we've had these situations... particularly hard if you had to pay a fortune on getting there by train, and taking a day off from work... No, don't do this, but instead get your visa arranged via "het visum bureau". They will take all effort out of your hands for just a little extra money, and you can be assured you get your visa. They even can arrange the invitation you require on your tourist visa.

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