Taking a taxi
Trip Start
Aug 10, 2008
1
2
59
Trip End
Ongoing
St Petersburg,
Russian Federation
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
There's a group of around 10 of us at the school that have met up for various visits and drinks, and it's been nice to have some company for some places - it's also meant I've been able to have a couple of nights out, and it's an interesting mix with people from France, Italy, Estonia, England and Switzerland.
Last Friday I had my first experience of a Russian Taxi - and wow it was a little different! We'd just been out for a couple of drinks - and of course a customary shot of vodka and there was no alternative but to get a taxi home because the metro finishes around midnight
My school book
. As well as that, St Petersburg is split into various islands by a series of canals and rivers and every night, from about 2am-5am, the bridges to take you across the water are opened to allow bigger ships through. This means, if you are unfortunate enough to live in a different part of town (as of course I do) you have to leave before they are raised of wait until the morning. So at 1.30am I was trying to flag down a taxi to get across before they went up. At this point I still could not speak enough Russian so my friends had to help, and as soon as you put a hand out to wave one down, every car on the road becomes a taxi. A couple of the cars looked too dodgy and one said it was too far, but eventually we got one that called someone he knew to find out where the address was, and my friends negotiated a price of 300 roubles. I got into the scariest taxi ride ever - the driver only spoke Russian and I knew about 5 words that were of no use. The car was just about road legal - at least that's what I thought until I noticed that the speedo didn't work! We drove right across town, navigating the mad drivers and opening bridges, and because I had only traveled underground before, I had no idea if we were going the right way or if he would try to ask for more money (this is common). Despite my nervousness (which I tried not to show), the views were amazing, everything was lit up and there were some amazing sights along the waterways. After about 40 minutes we passed my home metro station and I suddenly relaxed because I knew where I was! The taxi drove me to my door and the driver accepted the money without trying for anything more. Phew.
Since then, I've successfully navigated the metro, suburban trains, buses, mini-buses and boats to get around - quite a variety of techniques and prices are involved
My room
!I won't go into detail on all placed I've visited but here's a summary. I got a student card at the school, and this has provided cheap or free entry to a lot of the places.
The Hermitage - Set in the Winter Palace, this is one of the biggest galleries in Europe - it is huge and you'd have to go back many times to see it as there are over 3 million items. The building itself is worth the visit and the it includes a great number of famous worked from the likes of Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet, Matisse, and many more. We had a tour from a strict Russian guide who called us her 'dear friends' and we were all frazzled at the end of the whirlwind trip.
Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood / Church of the Resurrection - I'd already seen the outside of this but we went back to take a look inside. The walls are covered in elaborate mosaics, that took as long to restore (it was re-opened in 1997 as a museum) as they did to be made.
Moskovsky Station - I was told this was the first station in Russia, and although I'm not entirely sure that's true it was very impressive.
1-My room
. I returned on a different day when we took the suburban train to get to Tsarskoe Selo.Tsarskoe Selo - This grand imperial estate is about 25km south of St Petersburg, and to reach it we took the metro, then the suburban train, and a mini-bus (marshrutky), which was quite a trek but there were magnificent gardens, although unfortunately we ran out of time to enter Catherine's Palace
Peterhof - Another grand palace and gardens - its compared to Paris' Versailles. I went alone, but met a really nice group of Italians as I waited for the bus there and ended up spending the day with them.
As for the course, we have changed teachers this week and seem to be learning so much more, although I am still embarrassed with my pronunciation! We have homework every night and it's a lot to take in but slowly it is coming together (a few sentences at least).
I have booked my train to Moscow for next Sunday (about 8 hours) and also my first hostel - a small place but still a dorm for 8 people so I'll have to see how I get on for the first time.
Until later, Paka Paka (bye bye)
