Vyborg 2017 | ESTLIKE MTÜ

Thanks to the BK program, new friendships had formed for us, and in 2017 the dance group Straighters received an invitation to Vyborg from a circus school operating in St. Petersburg, Russia. The race took place in the first days of June that year. The trip was headed by a 19 member society - 14 children, dance teacher Karin, teacher Mare, bus driver Toivo and our two Gail and Riina.
As in the good old film The Incredible Adventures of the Italians in Russia, countless adventures happened to us.
The first adventure started as early as a few hours before the outing to Vyborg as it turned out that more than two months earlier we still do not have the accommodation promised to us. An alternative sleeping option had to be available for us in one of the fortress rooms and it was recommended to bring "matties" and sleeping bags. Fortunately, we have a smart age, and the quick fingers of our own children passed on to other children the message that whoever could bring sleeping bags. On our own, however, we looked up all the possible inflatable and folding mattresses and as many sleeping bags as happened to be in either home. At the same time, the only available accommodation retrieved through Booking became in store for the same period on the campsite for six people. 
We all gathered in the parking lot outside the school, packed our folklore, personal necessities, sleeping bags, mattresses and other equipment on the bus and the ride could start at midnight.
The bus ride passed peacefully. The crossing of the border also went incredibly smoothly, we didn't have to take anything out of our taken-away equipment from the bus, it was enough to pass passport control at the border crossing point.
The only challenge on the way to Vyborg became finding the right place for a "technical stop". Nowhere was it possible to find a free-to-visit toilet. The most incredible thing for us felt like to visit the toilet, every child had to buy something from the cafe. The cafeteria staff were also not suited by what we offered to buy something for all children at once. Only with each separate check was it possible to visit the necessary space.  
Before arriving in Vyborg, a dam several kilometres long and a tunnel of more than one kilometre were impressed. We don't see one of these already!
We arrived at the fortress of Vyborg for lunch. 
Followed by .....


With our midnight arrival at the school car park, the incredible adventures of Straighters in Russia came through. All that came to the parents waiting for us was to hand over their weary but experience-filled children and also to go home to rest on adventures.