
Journey on the Trans-Siberian: St Petersburg - gk1
https://medium.com/@grigoriy_kogan/trans-siberian-railway-journey-st-petersburg-914f4b2d58aa
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weinzierl
This is a good article and St Petersburg is well worth visiting but
technically it is not a destination of the Trans-Siberian Railway.

> The Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR, Russian: Транссибирская магистраль, tr.
> Transsibirskaya magistral', IPA: [trənsʲsʲɪˈbʲirskəjə məgʲɪˈstralʲ]) is a
> network of railways connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East.[1]

Saint Petersburg–Moscow Railway is considered a separate railway line [2].

[1] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-
Siberian_Railway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Siberian_Railway)

[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Petersburg%E2%80%93Mosco...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Petersburg%E2%80%93Moscow_Railway)

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doombolt
I think that the part from Yaroslavl' to SPb is de facto part of Transsib. See
that strange hook the northern route does just before Moscow? That's because
it is continued directly to SPb from its tip via Vologda. The northern route
is designed to be pointed at SPb, the capital at the time.

However, topicstarter didn't traverse this path anyway.

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dekhn
I can't believe he raced through all the museums and historical works. St
Petersburg is near the top of my list for cultural visits. The Russians bought
up a ton of the best artwork in Europe and it resides in the Hermitage. The
palaces look amazing- classic enlightened Russia.

~~~
gk1
Russia is a big place and compromises had to be made.

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gk1
Author here... Happy to answer any questions. This essay covers just the first
two days of a 19-day trip, so there are more stories to come, along with tips
for anyone considering a similar trip.

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reustle
I'm headed to Russia for a month in 2 weeks. Taking the railroad into
Mongolia. Did anything stand out to you in SPb or Moscow that you were really
into? Great cafe or neighborhood vibe?

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salimmadjd
I have been to SPb (or Peter as locals call it) 4 times in the past year. It's
become one of my favorite cities. Peter, has its own vibe, it's still
relatively under-appreciated, it has an interesting street music flavor, the
hermitage museum is excellent and once you become friends with locals, Russian
hospitality is wonderful.

You really want to visit Peter between May till September. End of June to
early July during the White Nights is quiet fun.

My favorite thing is to roam the city on bikes. Peter is a large city and
having a bike gives you a great freedom to take it all in.

Peter has many restaurants. Armenian (Erevan or Yerevan named after the
capital of Armenia is very good but a bit on the pricey side), Georgian,
canteen (soviet style buffet). Many places on or around the Nevsky Street open
late or never close.

SIM card is cheap, Megaphone and MTC is your best choice, but you can't buy
Megahpone at the airport, but there are many locations in the center of the
city. I think I paid like $8-9 for 10-12 Gigs of internet.

Russian language knowledge is very helpful. Though a lot more people speak
English in Peter than rest of Russia, but if you plan to wonder off, Google
Translate (download the Russian language to your phone to be safe) is your
friend.

If you want to learn Russian, learn the polite way of saying hello
(Здравствуйте) it's hard to pronounce at first, but I find it very disarming
and helpful.

Uber has now become Yandex taxi. But you can still use your Uber app which is
what I recommend once you arrive into the airport and want to get to city upon
arrival.

IMPORTANT - If you stay at AirBNB, the host may not register you. So either
ask them to register you or ask them where you can register. Registration is
free, but people doing it will charge you some money. There were agencies that
would do it last year, but with the world cup rules changed a bit.

If you like street music and you want to fit in, be sure to listen to the
music of KINO (with the front man Victor Tsoi) they're a legend in Peter and
you'll hear their music always played in the street.

~~~
felixge
About registration: Do you really think it's important? I had two recent trips
to Moscow where I was staying at Airbnbs and the hosts refused to register me.
I was unable to find another way to register and decided to risk it. Nobody
asked about it during departure. One trip was before the world cup, the other
was during the final. I'd definitely like to follow the rules, but it seems
like a huge hassle when staying at Airbnbs ... (note: both trips were ~5 days,
but world cup rules of ~1 day deadline for registration were in place for both
trips)

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gk1
(Author of the story but not the person you're asking.)

I never got asked to prove my registration, but why risk it? If your host is
unable or unwilling to register you, you can self-register at the nearest
police station.[0]

[0] Please verify this, don't take my word for it.

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doombolt
They need some address to register you at, and I guess they need consent from
the owner of place where you are staying.

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concerned_user
Not really, they hold you at your word, in case you lie or owner of the place
claims he doesn't know you and you never been there it goes in your file next
interaction with police / border control might not be pleasant.

EDIT: Depends on length of stay of course, under few weeks they generally
don't care, over a month they will definitely contact the owner and check
everything.

Owner might not want his address being mentioned too many times, registering
10 random people within 2 months would definitely attract tax office attention
and since renting is income tax needs to be paid on that.

