Driving a city crazy

First and foremost Nikki and I love our apartment mostly because we love our location, and we can walk to most things we need. It is a very refreshing experience coming from the states where we drive everywhere to going days without touching the car. However we met our match on Friday when our final shipment arrived and we found ourselves saddled with 12 cases of wine and spirits we shipped from the states (Really, what were we thinking,,, Like there is a shortage of alcohol in, of all places Russia.....) But there is a shortage of inexpensive quality wine and Whiskey has a street value on par with girl scout cookies on an Army outpost in Iraq,,, as in how much money do you have in your wallet? So we felt justified with the 12 cases. But now we need a wine rack, or wine bar, or just a really sturdy shelf to store these bottles in.

That meant a trip to the Ikea.... the source of apparently all furniture in Russia....

We had spoken to a friend who said one time it took him 7.5 hours to get to and home from Ikea... and to plan the trip carefully... by the map the Ikea we choose to go to (there are 2 in/around the city) is only 9 miles away as the bird flies..

But a Jeep Grand Cherokee is no Bird... and the streets of ST Petes are no open rolling sky... Nikki and I left the house at 9am, Ikea opened at 10, so an hour must be plenty of time to get to the Ikea. Then we met...

Complete Lack of Understanding and/or total Disregard for Street Lights

Two things of interest occur in this photo, first the T at the bottom of the street light, Nikki and I think they mean something to the Trams/ street trains that run on the tracks, because they certainly mean nothing to us.

(Sidebar on Licensing)

By the way we are fully licensed to drive in Russia, which involved paying some fees, stamping some papers and realizing that we had the 15$ International Drivers License from AAA, so all must be ok...? certainly nothing of the "dummies street signs of Russia Class", Luckily (or unfortunately depending on your perspective) they use most of the street signs of europe, and knowing them has only inhibited my ability to drive anywhere as I may be the only one doing what the sign says at any one point in time, to my demise.

But I digress so, Back to the Picture

Second and perhaps most important. Notice that the truck on the other side of the road has stopped/parked to be blocking the only streetlight facing the oncoming traffic. We sat here for almost two iterations of this light before we realized that the oncoming traffic was not, not stopping out of complete disregard for the light (as would not be surprising) but because they had no opportunity to see the one and only light facing them.... The driver of the large truck is sound asleep in his cab, He must be waiting for someone who he said he would meet at this intersection. Perhaps the intersection will be easier to find if there is a Multi-car pileup at it from blocking the light. Not to mention there are countless other poles/ wires to hang another streetlight from... but again I digress...

On to Another Rule learned with Trucks, and this one is somewhat in our favor with our large American SUV...

Like on the Sea the Law of Gross Tonnage Applies to driving in ST Petes...

To set up this photo it is important to know that Left Hand turns are strictly prohibited unless expressly authorized by Streetlight left hand arrow or blue passageway signs above the intersection. To compensate for the lack of abundant left hand turns, U turns in the middle of roads, away from intersections, or three right hand turns in rapid succession at intersections are the norm. With that said notice this Truck is turning left, from the middle lane, with cars at both his right and left, at an intersection that does not allow left hand turns (see the blue signs at the top of the picture) , while the Light is red..... Awesome... better yet in the second picture you see he is actually making a U-Turn... blocking the entire intersection...

Another Observation,


Feel Free to Drive on the tram tracks as a third lane, unless the tram happens to be occupying them.
Two things about this photo, First Notice that again the only street light facing us at this intersection is on the other side of the tram tracks,, you can barely see the top of it over the tram.

Second there is no distance or buffer space between the Tram and traffic, not terribly dangerous , just odd to us. Other than the lack of traction from our tires on their tracks when we do venture into the "third lane" the tram tracks provide a relatively easy alternative to sidewalk driving in congestion.

Even if you could see the lane designators on the asphalt, a lane is merely a recommendation, like NASCAR when you need to get ahead three wide is the way to be.

The street cleaner you see in the front right of this picture brings me to another interesting topic, It has snowed here on average every other day about 1-4 inches depending on the day. But there is a noticeable lack of huge piles of snow in Parking lots or at street intersections like you would see in Wisconsin or elsewhere in the states. These trucks solved that mystery for us, here is a close up.

These trucks carry the snow on the street to the river or canals where they are dumped, hence the absences of large piles of snow, and maybe the reason we are strongly discouraged from eating products form the local fisheries.

Anyhow when it was all said and done we made it to Ikea and got our furniture to store our booze. By the way we are not alcoholics, but driving everyday in ST Petersburg could totally drive you to drink.

The alienating experience of getting to the Ikea was only rivaled by the strange experince inside the Ikea, maybe Nikki will indulge a post about that shopping experience, as it was equally as strange as the driving for us.