Vienna-Berlin-St.Petersburg ウィーン＝ベルリン＝サンクトペテルブルグ

From Vienna via Tegel airport in Berlin to St.Petersburg. A female staff at the Air Berlin counter was very unfriendly. Well, I remember that I saw a lots of women like that when I was in Berlin. As soon as our airplane landed at St.Petersburg airport, group of people sitting behind me started to clap their hands and woos.... well this is the second time to see, the first time was at Fiumicino.


ウィーンからテーゲル経由でサンクトペテルブルグ。エアベルリンのカウンター、ねーちゃんが本当に愛想がない。そういえばベルリンではこういうの沢山見たな。サンクトペテルブルグに着く、着陸時に後方の乗客一団から拍手と喝采が。。。これを聞くのはファウミチーノに着陸したときについで２回目だ。

I exchanged 400 Euro at the airport. 360 Rubles per 10 Euro. I have to memorize this rate. I took a route bus from the airport which was mentioned in an email from the person in charge in the apartment I booked. Four Italian guys where talking with their guide book open and I did not have to take mine out of the bag. Transportation fee is 16 Rubles and 100 Rubles for penalty, (it was read "strafe" as same as in German) I suddenly thought that I have to pay when I get in the bus as soon as possible but there are lots of people behind me and cannot go forward. Maybe it is all right to pay when I get off the bus.

空港で早速両替、４００ユーロを替えてもらう。１０ユーロあたり３６０ルーブル。この感覚は憶えておかねば。空港からアパートの管理人からの指示のメールに従い路線バスを見つけて乗る。隣にイタリア人４人がガイドブックを見ながら話しているのを聞き、これならわざわざガイドブックを出す必要がない。ロシア語で料金（ストーリィ）１６ルーブル、違反（シュトラーフェと書いてあるからドイツ語と一緒だ）は１００ルーブル払えと書いてあるようだ。違反があるなら乗るときに払わないとおかしいなと思うが、人が一杯で前にいけない。まぁ下りる時で大丈夫だな？

Including Italian tourists, lots of people with suitecases got off at the busstop near a subway station. Maybe it is written that we have to pay without change, but I have just exchanged money at the airport and I do not have small coins like 16 Roubles as many others didn't. The bus driver just wave his hand mentioning we have to get of quickly without paying. The first time to ride without payment.

イタリア人の彼らも含め、沢山のスーツケースを持った人が地下鉄乗り場のあるバス停で下りていく。多分つり銭のないようにと書いてあるらしいが、こっちは空港で両替したばかり。他の旅行客も状況は同じだろう。１６ルーブル払うはずが運転手のおじさんはもういいからさっさと降りろと手を振る。コインなどあるはずがない。初めて公認無賃乗車をした。

At the subway station I bought a ticket, or correctly saying a plastic coin for the subway. It looks just like a toy coin. Very easy to make a fake? It will be gathered and there is no chance to make litters and it might be nice maybe. On the platform of subway station there are doors to prevend passengers' dropping in. (maybe to prevend suicide or for drunkers?) New subway likes in Tokyo are the same. So I expected that they can stop the cars exactly at the door, but they did not. There were no signes shown in the car which station they would stop, and it is not possible to watch from the car which station I was then; only through the opened door and the one on the platform I was able to see the platform. If there is no sign seen through the door, I had to count the number of stations I saw or listen to the announce very carefully. Fortunately I was able to recongize which station I was and I was told how many stations I have to pass until I should get off, so I did not have any problem but without Russian, it seems to be very hard to travel completely alone here.

地下鉄の駅で、チケットというかコインを買う。おもちゃみたい。これなら簡単に偽造できるんじゃないの？まぁ回収性だしゴミが一切出ないからいいのかもしれないけど。地下鉄の駅は、ホームから人が落ちないように（もしかして自殺防止、もしくは酔っ払いの転落防止か？）が入れないように乗車口のところだけに扉がついてる。これって東京の一部の地下鉄と同じ。毎回寸分たがわず同じところに止める技術があるのならと、車両を期待して待ったが、期待は裏切られた。もちろん車両内には電光掲示板はないし、そもそも電車の中からはホームがホームの側の扉を通してしか見えないから今どこの駅に着いたのかは車内放送をあてにするか、それともホームの側の扉から駅名表示の看板が幸運にも見えなければいけない。一応いくつ目の駅で下りるか数えていたし、車内放送の駅名も聞き取れたから問題なかったが、これはロシア語がまったくだめだと独りで旅行するにはかなりハードルが高い。

Then I got off the station and then follow the street along the channel to the apartment. When I went up stairs, I felt that I might have come to a wrong place. But at the fourth floor I felt somehow relaxed; There are four rooms and a shared living-kitchen. There is a wash machine in bathroom combined with toilet, and also another room with shower and toilet. They told me that another travelers would come in two or three days.

あとは指定の地下鉄の駅でおり、運河沿いをひたすら指示通りにアパートへ。アパートの階段を上がるときには一瞬まずいところに着たんじゃないかと思ったが、４階に上がって一安心。４部屋とキッチンリビングが共通。風呂とトイレにある部屋に洗濯機、もう一部屋はシャワーとトイレ。ＷＧの感覚か。２，３日したら別の宿泊客が来るらしい。

The lady in charge of the apartment did not understand English, but she spoke German, French and also Italian, then there was no problem. Another woman just spoke Russian. I greeted her in Russian and it make her somehow happy. She told me that there is milk, butter and jam in the fridge and I can take what I want. These were the words I had just learned ! It looks like that many German people would use this apartment. It costs 40 Euro per night. It is as same as in Paris. Well here is the touristic city. WLAN was available but my laptop is very old which I bought when I left Japan 6 years ago. It would not work at all. Only for two weeks I can forget emails. But maybe it was time to buy a new one.


管理に当たっている女性は英語がだめなようだが、ドイツ語もフランス語もイタリア語も分かり、これなら何の問題もない。もう独りの女性はほとんどロシア語のみ。少しばかりロシア語で挨拶をしてとても喜ばれた。冷蔵庫に牛乳と、バターとジャムがあるから好きに使ってくれと言われた。牛乳、バターにジャム。丁度憶えたばかりの単語だった！ドイツ人がかなり利用するところらしい。宿泊は一晩４０ユーロ。パリでアパートの一室を借りたときと同じ値段。さすがは観光都市。WLANが使えるようなんだがこっちのラップトップは最後に日本を出るときに買ったかなりの年代モノ。（Pentium3!）どうも使えない。たった２週間だからたまにはおとなしくするか。でもやっぱりそろそろ新調しなきゃいけないかな。