Pounding Pavement in St. Petersburg

Rule #3: Embrace challenging

It's noon, it's starting to get overcast, and you've just arrived in a strange city with a strange alphabet. You have two large bags and a backpack. The simple way to get from the train station to your hostel would be a taxi, except that you're America and you don't like to negotiate the price of a cab ride with a Russian who probably won't speak English and wants to rip you off. On the other hand, the signs for the metro aren't in your language. They aren't even in your alphabet. What now?

I went the metro route, which wasn't easy. However, I was rewarded with some of the coolest Soviet-era architecture Russia has to offer anywhere outside Moscow. Pictures soon. In the meantime, there's been a lot to check out.

Moy Moy Helsingfors, Privet Leningrad

I've been spoiled. English isn't obligatory in Russian schools. Russia doesn't put English on their street signs or their underground, especially those around the train station. As much as I've fallen for St. Petersburg, Russia hasn't gone out of its way to make me more comfortable.

A word about Helsinki before I gush about St. Petersburg:

It's hard to get a feel for a city after only 4 days. Understanding a city takes time and I was only in Helsinki for two day, taking into account all the time spent in Tallinn and Suomenlinna. But I have to say the Fins seem to have it figured out. My host Jim spent a lot of time describing the idiosyncrasies of Finnish culture. It's a culture of appreciation and care. Like many European countries which have respect for the individual, Finland maintains an egalitarian system heavy on education and mandated time off. In Helsinki the trains run on time and locations, streets, methods of transport, and signs are laid out logically and clearly. Throw in the unique sense of style: simple, elegant, modern, utilitarian, and you have a very attractive and easy aesthetic. And the people couldn't be more friendly.

St. Petersburg couldn't be less user-friendly. No one seems to speak English well. There's not much English on the signs, which is fine in most European countries, except that Russia has a different alphabet. This made getting around on the underground a real experience.