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Published: June 24th 2012
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The grammatical topics are just two of many extremely difficult elements of Russian language. One year of formal classroom studies was a great introduction to the most complicated language I’ve ever studied but practically a lifetime is necessary to understand all of its intricacies of which there is no shortage. Of course it was far better to have studied Russian than not because since St. Petersburg and Moscow I’ve been in the Siberian boondocks where very little or absolutely no English is spoken. Currently in Severobaikalsk at the north end of Lake Baikal. Tomorrow will hop on a train for 27 hours to Krasnoyarsk where I will spend 4 days before heading due south to the Tuva and Altai Republics near Mongolia and Kazakhstan. Mid-July I fly to Kazan in European Russia (precluding a 36 hour train ride) followed by another long train ride to Volograd and a return trip to the Black Sea for 6 days which I am really looking forward to as this pace has been taking its toll.
Kudos if you manage all of this blog's 135 photos.
$US ≈ 33p. (Russian roubles)
Saint Petersburg
Accommodation and food I stayed at a
different place than last year. It was MIR Hostel right on Nevskiy Prospekt. A room in a 10 person dorm was 750p. which was a great deal except for the incessantly snoring Brazilans. All rates include a decent breakfast of cereal, toast, and spreads, WiFi, PC with internet, and laundry. But what really makes this hostel stand apart (aside from the extrememly hospitable staff and vodka parties) is the bottomless pot of freshly brewed coffee since good coffee anywhere in Russia is relatively expensive. In addition to satisfying guests' caffeine addictions, MIR's location can not be beat. It is very close to the Hermitage Museum and my favorite St. Petersburg restaurant Stolovaya No. 1 (promoted at the hostel) where soup, salad, main, side, and dessert still goes for ~$7. There is another stolovaya near the hostel but the best directions I can give are to cross the street out of MIR, turn right, walk one block, and look for the dude with the sandwich board advertising 'Столовая.' Basic but tasty and filling set lunch, or 'abyed,' was 135p. Knowledge of Russian extremely useful in all stolovayas but not necessary.
Transport Getting from the airport to town is easy and
cheap. Take the bus (not the marshrutkiy, or minibus, which cost more and charge for baggage) for ~25p. to Moskovskaya metro station where you can get to any other metro station for another ~25p. I left St. Petersburg for Moscow on an overnight train in 3
rd class, or platzcart, departing at 00:40 on the dot and arriving in Leningradskiy Train Station on time ~9:50 am. I think platzcart is fine for this route as everyone sleeps, the carriage is very quiet, and the price can't be beat. I paid $34 booked a few weeks in advance (max. 45 day advance purchase on all Russian trains) as platzkart regularly sells out. We'll see how 3
rd class goes on the long Siberian train rides and from Kazan down to the Black Sea via a 24 hour stop in Volgograd, a.k.a. Stalingrad.
Hermitage Museum I lucked out on my visit to the renowned museum as June 7 was the first Thursday of the month with free entry saving me 400p. (200p. extra charge for taking pictures which I did not). Pretty crowded any day but free Thursday was especially so. Managed about 4 hours seeing all the rooms but allow much more
if you are into art. I think the paid tickets are valid for 2 consecutive days. Backpacks are not allowed but can be checked for free at the coat room. Don't think for a minute that you can take pictures for free as there are guards all over the place and will ask for the photo permit if they see you snapping away.
Петродворец (Peterhof Palace) Beautifully maintained park and fountains for which 400p. admission is charged. There are many other buildings with separate entrance fees including the palace museum (550p. but I think not worth it after the Hermitage) and bath museum which I skipped. The fountains are turned on with much fanfare at 11 am on weekends and 10 am during the week. Can also be crowded. Getting there is easy first to Avtovo metro station then on one of the frequent marshrutkiy ('Peterhof' painted on windows for easy identication) for 70p. Takes a little over an hour total or the hydrofoil from in front of the Hermitage will zip you there in 30 minutes (700p./1000p. one way/round trip).
Монумент героическим защитникам Ленинграда (Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad) Built in 1975 on the 30th
anniversary of the end of WWII. It is a tribute to the victims and survivors of the blockade of Leningard which lasted from September 8, 1941 to January 7, 1944 an exact period of 872 days during which an estimated 1,500,000 Russians died many from starvation. Lots of wartime paraphernalia and a collection of short movie clips filmed during the siege. Getting to the momument is easy - just a short stroll south of Moskovskaya metro station. Entrance is 100p. Closed Wednesdays.
Moscow
Accommodation and food For the second year in a row I stayed at the well run Godzillas Hostel located a 20 minute walk north of Red Square and the Kremlin. There are two 10 bed dorms costing $16/night booked on hostels.com which is a bargain for Moscow. Smaller dorms run to $28/night and there are private rooms available. There are several kitchens, a TV lounge with an infinite DVD selection, free PCs w/internet access, free WiFi, cheap laundry, and free calls to the USA and Canada which is nice. Close to Godzillas is Grabli, an upmarket stolovaya, where a multi-course meal should cost well under $10 and from 10-11 pm everything is half price.
Not too shabby… For good coffee (always expensive in Russia but especially so in Moscow) there is a minimart just north of the hostel serving cups of freshly brewed coffee for 29p. or there are kiosks in the park across from Grabli selling slightly more expensive joe. Grabli also slings excellent java but it is dear – 100p. for a no frills americano.
Transport Getting to Godzillas from the St. Petersburg train station (Lenningradskiy Vokzal) is straightforward and costs a mere 28p. on the Moscow metro. Enter the metro at Komsomolskaya station just after exiting the train station and take the red line 2 stops south to Chistiye Prudy. Transfer to the lime green line northwest and alight at the next stop, Trubnaya, but exit from Tsvetnoy Bulvar, the transfer station. It’s a bit complicated but the metro stations are one of the few places in Russia where English names are written on maps and signs. Leaving Moscow I flew 5½ hours on an S7 Airlines red-eye to Irkutsk precluding an excruciating 88 hours on the Trans-Siberian Railway. S7 has some incredible deals if booked a month or more in advance. I paid $224 through Orbitz for the one
way flight which was substantially cheaper than 2
nd class on the train and only a bit more than 3
rd class. There are 3 public transport options to Domodedevo Airport (DME). There is the express train from Paveletsky train station (Paveletskaya metro station) leaving 1 or 2 times per hour, taking 45 minutes, and costing 320p. Cheaper options are the buses and marshrutkiy departing from Domodedovskaya metro station approximately every 15 minutes. Marshrutkiy cost 120p. and charge 10 or 20p. per large piece of luggage but the bus is 100p. and doesn’t charge anything for bags. Allow 2 hours from the center of Moscow to DME if using the minibus or bus. Similar systems are also in place for Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo Airports and transport information for all 3 airports is posted on their respective websites in Russian and English.
Kremlin Armory A very popular tourist attraction that sells limited tickets for 4 entries/day (700p./200p. discounted for students, etc.). Tickets go on sale about an hour before the entry time. A free audio guide is included. It is not actually an armory but a museum stocking an insane amount of treasure including the most silver and gold you ever saw
in one location outside of Fort Knox. Backpacks are not allowed but can be checked near the ticket office for 40p.
Кольцевая Линия (Ring Line) The Moscow metro ring (koltsevaya) line is famous for having some of the more elaborately designed stations. 28p. to ride the whole line for a couple of hours, trains run every 2 minutes.
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Bill Cusworth
non-member comment
Peterhof
This place looks amazing! Thanks for sharing.