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S. Petersburg
5 days - February 2005
For
more about Russia (Moscow, N. Novgorod, Yekaterinburg, Samara,
Kazan) visit also my Russia 03- 04 travel
INTRO
Kind
of travel: A
wholly independent travel
When:
February 2005
How
I moved: by metro, tranvaj, minibus and a lot on foot!
Where
I slept: in a expensive prebooked bleak hotel in the
city centre (I almost didn't pay it obviously :-)
How much: it's not that cheap;
on the opposite, even minimasing the expenses, like sleeping in
some shitty place in the outskirts, your daily budget could hardly
be below 40 euro
Baking
or freezing?: in february definitely freezing (-10C)
and hardly you're gonna to peek for the sun through the clouds;
the snow and the ice have its charm though.
Dangers:
we haven't had any problem, but drunks loitering around could
sometimes jeopardize your serenity
What
I liked: needless to say, the well known Palaces with
their huge parks outside the city and the endless frozen layer
of the Baltic sea
What I dislike: the city itself didn't charm
me particularly. I had bigger expectations considering my previous
experience in Russia: the Moscow metro is definitely more typical
and cities like Kazan, felt to me more exotic. Maybe just 'cause
they lie further east.
What
you do need: if you learm some cyrillic it will be easier
and funnier, otherwise just don't forget to wear warm!
IMPRESSIONS
Due to my
precedent experiences travelling in Russia
I could't help comparing San Petersburg with what I already knew
about Russia: the former Leningrad turned out fitting with the
rest of the country but definitely by softer tones. I mean I felt
being in the western Russia both in the appearence of the town
itself and in the attitude of the people. This if it could make
your staying less "exotic" as well it will make it easier:
for instance a lot of writtings are translitterated, quick formalities
at the dogane, people are more used to deal with foreigner
hence they seem more helpfull (always by the Russian standards
anyway),...
In short even if
you are a new comer in Russia you shouldn't have difficulties
here, apart getting your wallet emptied.
The last but not the least, even if you aren't particularly
fond of art and so on like me, you couldn't avoid but being charmed
by the beauty of the famous Palaces.
Alby
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