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Zdravstvoitje!
Word of advise for people who are bringing a string instrument into Russia:
1. The air hosts do not know how to fill out the customs declaration. Don't trust them.
2. Be painfully accurate. You fill out two forms where you check the 'entry' box. On these two forms, one stating the country of departure as exactly that (in my case, Norway, not Denmark where we middle landed). The country of destination is Russia. When you come up to the customs desk, they get both forms. one will be returned to you with a stamp, and you are supposed to return it when you leave Russia, along with a third form, where the 'exit' box has been marked, as well as Russia as your country of departure and the country you're going to (Norway) as destination.
3. Check 'no' in all boxes except 3.4: Antiques and objects of art; and 3.11: Temporarily admitted (exported) goods. Unless you really are bringing 3.2: Weapons of all descriptions, ammunition, explosives; 3.3: Drugs and psychotropic substances; or 3.7: Radioactive materials.
4. Turn the page. Under point 4, describe your musical instrument. Number (are you bringing four violins?), price and description: year it was built, registration number, by whom was it built, where was it built, size, colour...anything that can later be used to identify the instrument.
5. Do not write in red ink. Use black or blue.
6. If you write something wrong, take a new form and start over.
7. Remember to make good time for this. When you come up to the customs counter to deliver the forms, you must open the case and show that the information provided about the instrument is correct.
Now, imagine doing this with the entire string section of a 70-people strong symphony orchestra, non of whom knew how to fill out the forms to begin with. Yeah, we were delayed a bit on our first day.
The reason they're so anal about this is that many people come to Russia with a crap violin, viola or cello, buy a good one cheap, and leave the crap one behind when they leave. To actually bring a musical instrument out of Russia (or at least a string instrument), you need permission from the Department of Culture. I'm not kidding. If it's built before 1920 (I think), they won't give you that permission. Fascinating, eh?
I had a nice trip, though. Might write more sometime later.
Oh, and happy birthday to me. (And my sister Silje, but she's in Paris right now and doesn't even know about my journal, so she just gets a text message at the time being. For the record, she's six years older than me; we're just born on the same day.)
1. The air hosts do not know how to fill out the customs declaration. Don't trust them.
2. Be painfully accurate. You fill out two forms where you check the 'entry' box. On these two forms, one stating the country of departure as exactly that (in my case, Norway, not Denmark where we middle landed). The country of destination is Russia. When you come up to the customs desk, they get both forms. one will be returned to you with a stamp, and you are supposed to return it when you leave Russia, along with a third form, where the 'exit' box has been marked, as well as Russia as your country of departure and the country you're going to (Norway) as destination.
3. Check 'no' in all boxes except 3.4: Antiques and objects of art; and 3.11: Temporarily admitted (exported) goods. Unless you really are bringing 3.2: Weapons of all descriptions, ammunition, explosives; 3.3: Drugs and psychotropic substances; or 3.7: Radioactive materials.
4. Turn the page. Under point 4, describe your musical instrument. Number (are you bringing four violins?), price and description: year it was built, registration number, by whom was it built, where was it built, size, colour...anything that can later be used to identify the instrument.
5. Do not write in red ink. Use black or blue.
6. If you write something wrong, take a new form and start over.
7. Remember to make good time for this. When you come up to the customs counter to deliver the forms, you must open the case and show that the information provided about the instrument is correct.
Now, imagine doing this with the entire string section of a 70-people strong symphony orchestra, non of whom knew how to fill out the forms to begin with. Yeah, we were delayed a bit on our first day.
The reason they're so anal about this is that many people come to Russia with a crap violin, viola or cello, buy a good one cheap, and leave the crap one behind when they leave. To actually bring a musical instrument out of Russia (or at least a string instrument), you need permission from the Department of Culture. I'm not kidding. If it's built before 1920 (I think), they won't give you that permission. Fascinating, eh?
I had a nice trip, though. Might write more sometime later.
Oh, and happy birthday to me. (And my sister Silje, but she's in Paris right now and doesn't even know about my journal, so she just gets a text message at the time being. For the record, she's six years older than me; we're just born on the same day.)