[proudmommyof 2]

The women are all very attractive there-and always dressed to the 9s, makeup done up. Any of you there in the summer, when they are really dressed to show off? It's funny, too, because there is such a difference in how the young women dress, whereas the older women look like our images of Russian babushkas.

[stephw3boys]

That not only did babushkas worry about children, but ME. On trip one I had at least 2 women tell me (or motion) that I should have a hat on.

Hats ALL THE TIME for kids under 4. (we took a poll). In the heat of the summer all young kids had sun hats on. (except the rude americans we traveled with who did not put one on their child, as if to thumb their noses at teh Russians)...

Someone touched on the spike heels - but seeing a woman dressed like that pulling her child on a sled was really stood out. (sleds, not strollers in Siberia in Feb)

[deere1]

1. The biggest surprise was how much we stood out.
2. How skinny and tall the women seemed to be.
3. How materialistic American's really are and how humble they were in Russia.

[cathvash]

1. I was surprised to see that the hammer and sickle medalians atop the Kremlin spires have been replaced with the original Orthodox crosses...

2. Bathrooms - You thought these were bad? (Try the ones in Africa!) I admit to being surprised at how sore my legs got from having to squat and not sit!

3. Walking by some public port-a-potties, I saw a poor babushka taking shelter against the icey wind, sitting in one wrapped in a blanket, wearing only a light dress. I walked over and gave the woman some money. As I walked away, I was shocked to hear her cursing me!! (Apparently, she was at "work" tending the facilities and I offended her!)

4. I was surprised seeing the Billboard advertising for perfumes and designer clothing as we first drove into Moscow. I remember thinking how Stalin would turn over in his grave!! (It has not been that long ago...)

5. And speaking of Stalin, I was shocked at the reverence he is shown, even though he butchered so many thousands of his own people...People were actually laying down flowers for him...

[LouLouBelle]

We just returned home from trip 1 on Monday. There were several things that surprised me:
1. I've never seen so many beautiful women (especially in Moscow). I'd ride the metro escalators people watching and was amazed!
2. Speaking of the metro...how far underground and how gorgeous the stops were in Moscow.
3. That people wore jeans everywhere.
4. Compared to traveling in Yugoslavia and Hungary in the late 80's, how westernized Moscow and St. Pete's felt!

Can't wait for trip 2!

[hadams]

I was surprised in ’04, by how much had changed since ’01.



There were probably six times the number of small businesses in ’04 compared to ’01. Every single building had a business underneath it out in the residential area I was staying. My building had a pharmacy, the building next door had a nut shop in the basement.

In ’01, there was a much more visible presence of armed guards. The fast food chicken restaurant had a fully armed guard, as did the grocery store. By ’04, there were still “guards” but it was less common to see them in body armor and carrying automatic weapons in plain site.

In ’04, there was a much much much larger variety of goods available. In ’01, there were two or three kinds of pens, by ’04, it looked like Office Depot.

And, in ’01, the demeanor and the attitude of the people was so much more dreary and down. Maybe it was the difference between the seasons, on ’01 we were there in November, but in April of ’04, we saw people cheerfully talking to each other in the streets, and even heard people laughing. That was a huge change since ’01, when everyone had the same stoic silent demeanor.

There had been a ton of new construction. And the number of cars had seemingly doubled. Along with that, traffic had gotten that much worse.

If that was the change in two and a half years, I can’t imagine how today compares to a decade ago.

[DCD]

I was also surprised when you were just driving along and a policeman would just flag you down and stop the car. There didn't even seem to be a reason and you bearly noticed them. Some type of transactions would take place and then you were off. It happened to us twice.

[Micky Rose]

I have traveled to some other foreign countries Thailand, South Korea, etc... where the toilets are just as scary - what surprised me the most was how expensive Moscow was! At a mall they were selling Levi's for over $100! The cost of our hotel and food in the hotel was astronomical. It wasn't till I got back that I read an article that said Moscow was the most expensive city in Eastern Europe.


I would like to warn anyone too - that if you get a porter at the airport make sure you agree on the price before you allow him to take your stuff. On the first trip we paid a porter $20 which we heard for Americans is reasonable. On the second trip my husband got a porter and asked how much he would charge. He said "later, later." Well, when we went to pay him he wanted $75!!!! After arguing we finally got him down to $50 - even the taxi driver was angry that he had cheated us so bad.

[papedge]

how hot the shower water would get!!!!!

in st. petersberg we stayed @ a mini hotel 13 rooms total first trip we were on the first floor and the walls are thin so you can hear when some takes a shower I took one @ night and in the am so did Dh so 4 showers a day, the guys who worked @ the hotel vary nice would always joke with us that amaricans loved russian showers because we took so many.........

[wifeoverne]

In our region they turned off the hot water in the middle of the day; after a really hot morning on the playground with our girls I decided to take a shower; it was colder than you can imagine.
Plus, we were not able to find any kind of pain reliever in Moscow, no aspirin, ibuprofen or advil. It is not readily avialable like in our drugstores.

[lovestruck]

This is a really interesting thread!!