Moscow Travel Forum

i can speak and read russian quite well- ill brush up and im guessing i will improve more when i start to speak to locals

but
how do the rest of you guys manage???

i have trouble with technical language - i can manage at the conversational level but listening to the news for instance is really guessing one word in 20 at times!

how do you guys glean so much information about the sights- are you just reading guide books? do you hire english speaking guides and make notes?
im assuming there are no audio guides for around the museums etc that come in different languages

is there, for instance, a hop on and off bus in moscow and st petes? like the ones in london and other european cities?
otherwise is there a ready supply of brochures explaining sights to tourists? things you can pick up at the tourist bureau or airport or a hotel?

how tourist orientated is russia in the main?
i have heard that there are guides hanging round the major sights at times

are these legit people or can anyone be a guide ( and make up their own russian history?)

im trying to read all of your posts but of course there are so many stories and versions to digest before our trip

i dont want to take my guide books this time- so heavy and i will be packing a lot more of the warmer clothes for this trip ( immaking notes on paper, stapling and will discard as i leave each city - will make copies to leave at home of course)

Hop-on, hop-off bus:

http://www.hoponhopoff.ru/

I think you will find audio guides are available in many museums. This page lists them. Clicking on each name will bring up the relevant website with info etc:

http://www.russianmuseums.info/

The hop on/hop off bus we took in St Petersburg was excellent - the English language commentary was interesting, not just facts and figures but lots of anecdotal stuff as well which tends to make things register more than dry facts . I can only assume to Moscow one is the same. There are also good water tours around SP's canals with similar commentaries.

Audio guides are available at lots of the museums. Brochures and leaflets aren't common. Have never used a casual guide so couldn't say what their qualifications are.

Whilst I neither read nor speak Russian, I just about know the alphabet and can work out metro stops and street names but I feel quite confident about finding my way around on my own in the centre of Moscow. I'm in the fortunate position of also having contact with local people in both St Petersburg and Moscow plus my husband has been travelling to Russia for a couple of weeks every two months or so for the last few years so is very familiar with the place and his confidence rubs off on me so that when he's working all day I just get on with doing what I want to do.

When it comes to recalling what I've seen , having a pretty retentive memory helps and I take lots of photos, quickly, not fussing about perfect shots but just shooting off and then focusing on what's around me. I find them a great aide-memoire when it comes to writing. I tend to read guide books before, and more importantly, after, I've been somewhere rather than whilst I'm actually at the place, and only go to places that catch my imagination, rather than thinking I must see everything.

Writing tips - I rough out a list of what I want to write about, post up the photos I want to use and then write to the photos. Essential information - opening hours, room rates, fares etc - is checked with the institution's website if they have one to ensure that information is current. I think it's this final act of writing that really cements what I've seen and done in the memory. and the more you do it, the easier the whole process gets.

thank you so much for your replies guys!
good to hear there is a hop on and off bus in russian cities!