Has anyone been to St. Petersburg Russia?

Jerry Bransford

Jerry Bransford

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SO stoked, the wife just surprised me with the go-ahead to book a 12 day cruise that includes 2 days in St. Petersburg Russia this coming May. Has anyone ever been there? One night we're even going to the Great Hall to see a major performance by the St. Petersburg Symphonic Orchestra. In fact we chose the cruise date so we'd be there for one of their better concerts.

Only 2 days there so we don't have a lot of time, one key thing I want to see there is their WWII museum. If you have seen the movie Enemy Gates, about a Russian sniper going after a German sniper, his rifle is even in that museum.

I'm interested in how we'll do not knowing more than 2-3 words of Russian lol. I've even received a couple emails in pure Russian that duplicated the English receipts we received. They made the trip start feeling very real.

So stoked.
 
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I've been there. I like St Petersburg more than Moscow however each has their own charm. More than likely you'll be with a group (excursion) since the visa is a bit different on a cruise than going directly there. At least that's what I was told. I was there for business. You'll probably go to the Hermitage and the summer palace but there's much more to see. Walking the city is pretty cool. At 2am all of the bridges raise for ships to travel through so if you aren't on the correct side of the canals you can be trapped until morning.
 
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That sounds like a really fun trip. You wont have any issues communicating with people, almost everybody knows some English. Reading the Russian street signs is a big challenge if you are driving in rural areas. The first time I tried to drive there it was comical, one of us reading a map and the other trying to read the street signs, you can't even sound out the words. In a tour group you wont have any problems.
 
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That sounds exciting! Many years ago I had several employees from Uzbekistan. The most valuable word I learned was "Eta" which means "this". Combine it with some pointing I was able to get a lot of communication accomplished without saying another word. Remember not to smile at strangers as it is not customary there. It will single you out as a tourist which is not always a good thing.
 
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06lj said:
Remember not to smile at strangers as it is not customary there.
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Smiling at strangers is weird and I don't understand why anyone would ever do it. My grandad was Russian, I must have gotten that trait from him.
 
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06lj said:
Remember not to smile at strangers as it is not customary there. It will single you out as a tourist which is not always a good thing.
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^^ I have a few efriends that are Russian (I work in tech, so it's fairly common). They view any pleasantries as unnecessary and they get to the point. Apparently they smile at people they know, but otherwise it's just not worth the time.

My wife was in Moscow a few years back and found that once you break the barrier many Russians will love you because they are interested in American culture and don't have as much access as they'd like and simply want to learn more.

It'll be an awesome trip for sure, can't wait to hear your experience!
 
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I kinda follow Russian culture a bit and learned that they don't smile at strangers some time back. I'll have to remember to tell my wife about that.

With only 2 days in St. Petersburg I doubt we'll be breaking down any barriers with the Russians that'll earn me a smile but ya never know.

What I do know is I'm going to love any of the museums we can get into. I've taken a few virtual tours of them with the Google cardboard VR https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Google+cardboard&ref=nb_sb_noss_2 and they are amazing. At the very least I want to see their WWII museum(s). Maybe some art museums if we get the time.
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
I kinda follow Russian culture a bit and learned that they don't smile at strangers some time back. I'll have to remember to tell my wife about that.
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That's one thing I've always appreciated about the Eastern European folks and something I've always done naturally. Just get to the point, I don't know you, why would I smile? I noticed the same thing with the Dutch and the Polish, at least their military members that I've worked with over the years. I appreciate it. When they do smile at you it means there's a bit of a relationship that's been established.
 
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rasband said:
Oh, another thought: prep your liver for vodka. You’ll win some smiles there ;)
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Dude. I found a hole in the wall Vodka bar in DC where I grew up. Started going there, brought in pics & records of my grandad trying to learn more about where he was from... It was completely run by Russians, probably the mob for all I know, when they saw what I was trying to figure out about my heritage they were totally awesome & welcoming. And by that I mean just pouring shot after shot after shot of vodka. I went there a few times & don't really remember anything about what they told me about the Volga region. I figured it out later on Wikipedia when I was sober.
 
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Sounds like a great trip for you guys !
Remember WWII to us, is the Patriotic War to them.
It is hard to remember that the rest of the world thinks differently than we do.
Have a blast on your adventure! maybe start a routine of a few reps of Vodka shots a day in preparation !:p
 
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I'm on board with not wanting to stand out as a tourist, but I LIKE smiles from strangers, lol. Oklahoma culture is an odd blend of southern and Midwestern, but the friendliness of strangers was something I noticed was much more rare during my time in Colorado, and I'm glad to have it back.
 
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I was in Riga, Latvia, in 2005 on business. A friend was with me who grew up in St. Petersburg, so we went one weekend. Hit the Hermitage. It was December, so I did not want to spend too much time outdoors! Brings a new level to 'cold!!!'
I found the people to be very friendly and had a great time.
Spasebo — spazeebo - thanks
Pozhaluysta — pozzchalutza - please
Do svedanya — dosevedanya — see you later
Priviet — Hi!
Most Russian words have the pronunciation emphasis on the first syllable, if any.
Have fun!
 
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Those words gave me a great start, I've thinking about how to pick up enough like those just to be polite. Thanks!
 
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