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St. Petersburg - Miscellaneous |  |
Many thanks to Tell The Truth Traveler Bob93_2 for this write-up of his trip!
Is English spoken
In tourist stores, English is widely spoken. We shopped at places where only Russian was spoken but with gestures it is easy to get the price of something if it is not posted. If I had a question I would stop someone on the street and ask “Do you speak English?” and get the response, "A little." And then we would carry on a conversation. Young people are more likely to speak English. Guided tours will be in about any language you want from Russian to Korean. Our experience with taxi drivers is that they speak a little English, but just in case, carry a card with your hotel name, in Russian, and a map to point to where you want to go.Money/Currency exchange
There appear to be many currency exchanges for exchanging money but I always got money by using the ATMs, these seem to be everywhere we went. Credit cards (Visa, Master Card) seem to be accepted most tourist places but you will pay more if you charge it than if you pay cash. They normally have a sign up saying what something costs if you charge it or pay cash. In the States the credit card companies impel the retailer to sell items at the same price whether charge or cash, but many places outside the States charge extra if you pull out the plastic card.Security warning
Gypsies: My wife was hit by gypsies on Nevsky Prospekt, they took money from her fanny pack before she even realized it. The scam goes like this. There are many, anywhere from 5 to 8 kids that gather around you while you are waiting to cross a street and one stands in front of you with her hands out pleading for money. While you are distracted by her the others take anything they can reach and they are good, you’ll never feel a thing.They hit on me later the same day and I started yelling at them (in English of course) and that did not deter them, but my shouting did bring over a cop who chased them away. The best defense is to keep all valuables under your coat or clothes (like a money pouch) and never carry a wallet in your back pocket. Handbags should be held in front of you and not carried on your shoulder. If a bunch of people gather around you, just walk away because they have a much harder time trying to steal something if you are moving. (Same warning goes for any crowded place, like the metro or a bus, keep your valuables tightly against you).
Traffic: The vehicle traffic seems to follow signs and traffic signals very
strictly. But if you are walking in a crosswalk and the light is against you, WATCH OUT. Cars
and trucks will barrel across intersections at high speed and it is up to you, not them, to avoid being hit. Same
warning goes for jay walking, do it at your own risk.
NOTE: For many of the Websites I have given for St. Petersburg also have a selection area where you can pick Moscow if that is where you are visiting.
Stores
Almost all stores have prices in roubles but many vendors and tourist shops have their prices in dollars or
Euros. We were in one shop and the stuff seemed really reasonable and then the clerk said the prices
were in Euros, so out we walked, because that made everything vastly overpriced.
Streets
Nevsky Prospekt is washed every early morning by water trucks. There are also street cleaners (mostly
women) who are always sweeping up trash. The main streets seem to be very clean and litter does not
remain long.
Canal Boat Tours
There are many companies that have boat tours that cost around $8-10 per person. Some places will only
rent you a whole boat so if you have a lot of people with you it might be worth it, but for us we used one that
priced per head. The tours last around one hour and the commentary is inevitably in Russian! But it is nice to cruise through all the canals.
Online Maps
WhereRussia.com: This is a site I came across, and it is great for an on-line map of St. Petersburg. You can select the
area you want to investigate and zoom in to find every street in the quadrant. It is a little tricky to
use at first but once you get the hang of it, it is one of the best map sites I’ve ever used on the Web. It is
graphic laden and may take some time to download.