Seliger 2010 (1)

I made my first visit to Russia ( I transited at the Sheremetyevo airport in 2003). This time I went there to participate in Seliger International Youth Forum 2010, as one of about 3000 participants from around the world. It took place at Lake Seliger, situated about 360 kilometers northwest of Moscow.

In the forum, each participant was counted off into a group and camped with other members for eight days. We slept in tents and cooked by ourselves. Everyday we took lectures, workshops and outdoor sport activities such as cycling, kayaking and climbing.

In this trip, I had a lot of surprises even before the forum. First I took an Aerofloat flight to Moscow and found that their airplane looked totally new. Food and other services were also nice. It was really a good flight. Then I landed at the Sheremetyevo airport in the evening and realized that the airport was also renewed completely. Probably it was Terminal D.

On the first night I stayed with other members of the Japanese group at a hotel near the airport. I trained at the gym in the hotel to have a good sleep, and bought a two-liter bottle of water to prepare for a six hours bus trip from Moscow to Lake Seliger.


On the next day, it was hot and the sunlight was so strong. We went to the airport again and waited for a bus arranged by the official committee of Seliger 2010. We were waiting for two hours. Then a craggy-faced driver and some young volunteers of the forum came up with an dilapidated old bus. They told us we had to wait for a few more hours because there was a traffic accident in the last bus. I was scared.

Almost all the time in the bus it was really hot, but I enjoyed the bus trip. We went through a heavy traffic jam in Moscow and then drove in unvarying landscapes of the suburbs. Once we stopped at a cafe for rest. It was almost 8 o'clock but so light outside. I got Russian breads for my supper and took some pictures of interesting plants and views from there.


After six hours in total on the bus, we got to Lake Seliger, the camp site. The opening ceremony was being held at the main stage with extremely loud music.
First we went through baggage checks (mainly for alcohol) and then an instructor and another member of my group took me to our camp site. My experience in Seliger 2010 started.