Question by merc1985: What recommendations are for visiting Moscow / St Petersburg?
I am thinking of traveling in Nov to Moscow and St Petersburg. I fear the cold and inability to read Russian letters. I will also be going alone. Any reasonable recommendations.
Answers and Views:
Answer by AndreasD72
I advise you to learn how to read the Russian letters as soon as possible. Generally, you will almost find no latin descriptions or information in both cities.
November and December are not the coldest month in Russia. the coldest time is January and February. In November the temperature might by about 0°C or above during the day and below zero at night.
Moscow is one of the most expensive cities of the world. St. Petersburg is cheaper and – from my point of view – much nicer.
Avoid to show people where do you have your money.
Avoid dark places out of main roads an be afraid of hooligan kids.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
mixterrr says
I went to Russia about 2 years ago. Had the time of my life there.
I could not speak or read a word of Russian, what I picked up I heard off the street and from my trusty Lonely Planet phrase book.
Going alone depends on your gender and age. It was not long ago a New Zealander woman in her 50s or 60s was killed in Moscow, and she was staying in the Izmailovo Market area, which is the same place as I stayed. Russia can be a dodgy place if you don't know what you're doing. Are you joining up with a tour group when you get there?
Moscow is huge but they have an excellent Metro system (which is in itself a great tourist pull), the Red Square/Kremlin/St Basil's is of course a must. If you have time you can check out the Culture Park of fallen Soviet statues which isn't THAT spectacular. A walk down the Arbat wouldn't go astray either, and nor would a trip to the Cathedral fo Christ the Saviour which was blown up by Stalin but since restored.
Saint Petersburg is a much more beautiful city than Moscow and most of its tsarist treasures have been retained. Of course the Hermitage is a must-see, and you should pick out a couple of the many palaces surrounding the city. The Peterhof and the Catherine Palace are my personal reccommendations. Also pay a visit to the Leningrad Siege Museum. Walking up the Nevsky Prospect is a joy in itself. The best time to go is June/July, during the White Nights.
OK, hope that helps!!
meowser says
Wow! I am jealous… I went over for a month a couple of years ago so hope I can give you some good advice.
Knowing the Cyrillic alphabet will really help, worse case scenario get a print out from the net. Just by knowing the letters you can figure a few things out (like the words pizza, bar and hot dog 😉
It will be darn cold (It starts snowing already in October so by Nov should be a good ground covering) so wrap up warm. If you buy any furry things there make sure the furry stuff is on the inside as it insulates better.
Another idea is to go to a language school for a week to get the basics down (ABA in Puschkin is good), and also you can meet a few people and get over the culture shock…
In St Petes find a club called Fish Fabrique, its pretty good. Also eat some Borsch soup and generally have a good time (remember if your drinking vodka with russians dont down you drink, just sip it, and it wont get topped up. I know its a stereotype but they can drink!) Enjoy!