Moscow and St. Petersburg for the non-Russian

[Alla Nedoresow]

A word of warning to anyone preparing to go to either Moscow or St. Petersburg without a reasonable command of Russian and/or very close Russian friends there. My husband and I have just returned from two of the most miserable weeks we've ever spent - anywhere. I speak Russian, he does not and that seems to make all the difference in the world. Tourist, especially American tourist, equals "enemy," thus anything goes, all manner of chicanery. The xenophobic "them" and "us" perspective ruled in Moscow from the airport and its taxi drivers, to the Kremlin and its ticket booths, and everything in between except for the lovely hotel, the Moscow Marriott Royal, in which we stayed thanks to my husband's Marriott points. St. Petersburg proved to be an nightmare from start to finish. The "humanitarian-cultural center" Piligrim that solicited my patronage on March 22 from a notice submitted to this listing:

> I represent the Humanitarian-cultural center "Piligrim" based in
> St.Petersburg. We are specializing in receiving groups and individual
> tourists in St.Petersburg and can provide you with the required services
at
> considerable prices. As for accomodation we can offer private appartments,
> hotels for students and rooms in St.Petersburg hotels (*** to *****).
> You can advise us what amount of money you are ready to spend for your
> acommodation and we can choose the suitable accomodation for you.

started the ball rolling. I made a call to them from Moscow, a few days beforehand, to confirm our arrival in St. Petersburg. No mention was made at the time that "the suitable 'accomodation'" that we had chosen and for which we wired American cash to them as a deposit, alas, could not be rented to us because the owner (suddenly?) decided a longer-term rental would prove more profitable. The apartment on which we had agreed was five minutes walk from the train station. The apartment assigned to us was near the Neva and a good hike from any metro station. The entry was dark and littered with trash, the stairs were in total disrepair and a safety hazard, the closet-sized elevator reeked of urine - everyday during our week's stay there. When my husband mentioned our displeasure with the situation, he also remarked that at the end of our stay, we should not be charged for the ride back to the train station. We heard nothing more from this "humanitarian-cultural center" until the day before our departure. At that time we were informed that "the manager would not let the driver" take us to the train station for free and were given the number of a taxi company. Nadia left the entire task of making the arrangements to us/me after stating some "agreed-upon fee" that proved entirely fictitious, and not in our favor, either! The farce continued up to and including the taxi ride arranged in St. Petersburg with Moscow Taxi to take us from the train station back to Sheremetevo. Theoretically a reputable taxi company, they too stated one fare and charged an entirely different, higher fare. Our sojourn at the airport needs no comment. It simply provided the expected, carnival conclusion to the grotesque nightmare of the preceding two weeks.

Once again, I share this experience in order to forewarn those planning to set off to Russia on their own for the first time. If you have any illusions that you're going to a civilized country, I would like to disabuse you of them. In what western nation can "individual tourists" enjoy the experience of being ushered into the wrong apartment through trash and darkness, up broken stairs and a urine-scented lift? My husband was certainly impressed by all the new experiences Moscow and St. Petersburg afforded him. And for those imagining that this was my first time in Russia, you're sadly mistaken.

Alla

Alla Nedoresow
102 School Lane
Trenton, NJ 08618-5021 USA
alla-n at home.com
+1 609 392-5231

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