Singer Building (left) overlooking Nevsky Prospekt
When I stepped off the plane in St. Petersburg, Russia, I really didn’t know what I was getting into. Other than booking transportation and a place to stay, I normally don’t plan or research much in advance when I travel. I prefer to make decisions once I arrive and let things unfold naturally.
That being said, Russia was a place unlike anywhere I’ve been before. Though I know St. Petersburg isn’t fully European, there were so many things that surprised me and were different than what I’ve experienced in any other country. Here are a few of those things!
1. Cost
Though I hadn’t been to Russia before, I have been to several Nordic countries: Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland. These countries all have many things in common, one of those being the fact that they’re insanely expensive. Though Russia isn’t considered a Nordic country, St. Petersburg is only a hundred miles from the Finland border. So I was expecting prices to be more on-par with what I’d experienced elsewhere.
Luckily for me, St. Petersburg was a really affordable place to visit! I learned that $1 USD = ₽65 Rubles, and the first thing I bought was some M&M’s in the airport. That set me back about $0.50, which isn’t too bad for buying something at the airport. The bus from the airport to downtown St. Petersburg cost about the same. I don’t think I’ve ever taken such a cheap, longish-distance bus ride before! It was just a taste of the things to come on the trip.
Even Starbucks, which I visited to buy my friend Laura a collectable mug, cost slightly less than it would in the U.S. That’s definitely not the case for most countries! And I can’t forget to mention that my hostel – which was located in a great area off Nevsky Prospekt – cost about $5 USD per night.
2. Metro
Even though I take the metro in Madrid multiple times every day, I was surprised by the differences in the St. Petersburg metro system. I didn’t ride it extensively – really, only going to and from the bus stop for the airport – but I still got a good taste of it. First of all, the escalators go on forever. I sometimes get annoyed by the number of short escalators in the Madrid system, but in St. Petersburg, it will be one or two suuuuuuper long ones. This is because St. Petersburg has the deepest metro system in the world! So it’s necessary to go that far underground.
There are also only five lines and 67 stations, compared to Madrid’s 12 lines and 300+ stations, but SPB’s system is busier every day. In fact, it’s the 19th-busiest in the world. For this reason, trains run consistently every three minutes; there’s no need to wait and wonder when the next train will arrive. Also, at some of the stations I visited, there was what’s called a “horizontal lift,” which means you can’t see the train as it’s arriving. Instead, you wait until the “elevator doors” open, which are synchronized with the train doors, and there you can step in.
3. Buses
Not only was the bus really affordable to take, but it also featured a unique payment system that I’ve never seen – and I’ve taken the bus in at least 10 different countries. Instead of paying the bus driver or a machine upon entering, there is an attendant that walks the aisles and collects payment from the passengers. The attendant has plenty of change, which is actually pretty convenient, and after paying the attendant gives you a ticket that functions as your receipt.
When I got on the bus with my cousin Gillian, we entered in the back. She has a pass, so she scanned it, while I told her I was going to the front to pay. After standing awkwardly near the bus driver for a while – and seeing nowhere to put my money – I worried that it was almost time to get off the bus so I made my way to the back again and told Gillian I hadn’t paid. She told me she thought I knew what to do and explained the attendant policy to me. “Every bus has one, and they’re really good at their job! They never miss anyone.”
“They missed me!” I said, as we got off the bus. OOPSIE.
4. All the bookstores
Within an hour or two of being in St. Petersburg, I had taken note of the high volume of bookstores I’d seen. Gillian mentioned it to me as well! I’m not sure if it’s because it’s always so cold there, but maybe in Russia, the thing to do is stay inside with a good book. Though you can find many smaller independent shops, the most well-known bookstore in St. Petersburg is on Nevsky Prospekt, across from Kazan Cathedral.
It’s called Dom Knigi or Дом Книги in Russian, which means “House of Books.” This name couldn’t be more appropriate! Housed in the famous Singer Building, there are multiple floors with stationary, souvenirs, and books in all different languages. On the top floor is Singer Café – a great place to relax with your new purchase and get a great view of the street below.
House of Books
Nevsky Prospekt 28
St. Petersburg, Russia 191186
Open daily from 9am-midnight
5. Friendliness
In addition to the man dressed as the zebra from Madagascar who hugged me immediately upon stepping foot on Nevsky Prospekt, I found Russians to be extremely friendly. That’s not to say that I thought they wouldn’t be – it’s just that they exceeded my expectations. I must have looked sufficiently like a local, since I was alone most of the time and completely bundled up just like they were, but many, many people came up to me and started talking to me in Russian.
They weren’t just people trying to sell me things. They were mothers with young kids striking up conversations as we waited to cross the street, and old ladies in bookstores who wanted to know everything about me and what I was doing in St. Petersburg. And their English – once they realized I don’t speak Russian – was actually pretty good. More strangers talked to me in my few days in SPB than probably in my entire time in Madrid so far.
Do any of these things surprise you about St. Petersburg? Let me know in the comments!
-Cathy
Originally Published on December 20, 2018.
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