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May 17, 2005
St Petersburg and Moscow pictures from last week
The great rivalry in Russia since 1703 (when Peter the Great founded St. Petersburg) has been Moscow vs. St Petersburg, and it continues today. Consider:
- Moscow is wealthier but St. Petersburg is more worldly
- Moscow's clubs are more exclusive but St Petersburg's are more fun
- Moscow has more strip clubs and prostitutes but St. Pete... well... has fewer (take your pick which you prefer--personally, the working women can be very annoying)
- St Pete is strewn with litter but has more sights
There are some similarities, too. The mafia is a problem in both cities, with the airport cabs a particular problem. Bribery is also common, though we were more successful in bribing people in St Pete than in Moscow. Both cities also use roubles, but by the time we got to St Pete, we started calling them "pesos" since "rouble" in Russian is written "p." There are also a lot of drunkards, though I was accosted by many more drunks in Moscow than in St Pete's (5 times vs. once). The tie-breaker for me is the tourist overcrowding in St Pete's. Busloads and shiploads of Germans, French, and Finns make for long lines at the tourist sites--long enough that it may just be worth $200 for the group to bribe a guard to cut the two-hour line and go through the back door (which is exactly what we did). So I cast my vote for Moscow, which is still delightfully untouristed, though its palaces and castles (except the Krelmin) can't shake a stick at St Pete's.
I have posted here a set of pictures each from St. Petersburg and from Moscow. It's not necessary to sign-in to view them, and I encourage you to view with captions. (To view without signing in, use the blue button on the lower left of the ofoto front page.)
Posted by adrianjo at May 17, 2005 12:00 AM
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