Any Russia Travel Experts?

Parent Cafe
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<p>Hi-</p>

<p>My husband will be travelling on business to Kamensk Uralsky (closest big city is Ekaterinburg) and we are not able to find out anything about the Hotel Kamea where he’ll be staying. :confused: I’m taking a long shot on CC where there seems to be an expert on absolutely everything! Has anyone ever been in that area? What’s it like for Americans - will he be lost without knowing Russian? I don’t think the people he’s working with will be with him all the time outside of work - any suggestions on how to get by? As far as I can tell it seems to be very much manufacturing - no real tourism (although apparently you can get a nice bride if you want :smiley: ).</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>Don’t know the area, but I’d advise learning the syrillic alphabet on the flight over. It makes life easier when you can sound out street names and words like cafe, bar, etc. are the same once you can read them.</p>

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<p>I just checked all the travel forums that I know about and found nothing. Are you sure you have the spelling right?</p>

<p>Here are a few good travel forums:
<a href=“http://slowtalk.com/groupee/?cdra=Y&s=759607521[/url]”>http://slowtalk.com/groupee/?cdra=Y&s=759607521&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://p099.ezboard.com/beuropetogo[/url]”>http://p099.ezboard.com/beuropetogo&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“Fodors.com Trending Discussions”>Fodors.com Trending Discussions;

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<p>There may be alternative spellings for the city but this does seem to be the main one:</p>

<p><a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamensk-Uralsky[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamensk-Uralsky&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>And this is their web site - I can’t tell if there’s anything about hotels - any Russian speakers?</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.kamensk-uralskiy.ru/[/url]”>http://www.kamensk-uralskiy.ru/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I tried using Google translate (I did find the search box!) but couldn’t track down hotels anywhere. There seems to be a lot of sports news.</p>

<p>I am not completely sure of the spelling of the hotel - but can’t find any hotels in the city online - the closest I can come is Ekaterinburg, which sounds a whole lot nicer!</p>

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<p>I was able to find Yekaterinburg (transliteration is tricky). Here’s a link in English to tourist info.
<a href=“http://www.tripadvisor.com/Resources-g298540-Maps-Yekaterinburg_Urals.html[/url]”>http://www.tripadvisor.com/Resources-g298540-Maps-Yekaterinburg_Urals.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>From the map, it’s pretty far into the interior to the east of Moscow.</p>

<p>DH and I were in Russia about two and a half years ago. We weren’t in that region. We were in Moscow and St. Petersburg with some excursions (day trips) outside of each. So I can only give you my impressions, traveling as an American, of those areas.</p>

<p>Having access to a translator is best. English is not widely spoken even in those two big cities, but our guides told us it’s getting more common. Once in the countryside, it’s even rarer. Husband took a language course in Russian before we went, and it did help for small things. English signage is rare. German seemed more helpful to us. Suggestion: Carry a pocket English-Russian dictionary at all times (especially one that contains a section of common phrases). If all else fails, he can point to words or phrases in the book and have people read them (we’ve found this very helpful in other countries where we don’t know the language). </p>

<p>Carry euros. They’re the second currency behind the ruble (which has been getting stronger lately) and generally accepted everywhere; dollars third.</p>

<p>We found that hotel accommodations were very good everywhere, but that may be different in an area that doesn’t cater to many tourists. Even in Moscow, not all hotel staff spoke English and definitely not even cab drivers or transit workers. Things like public pay phones are nonexistent. And yeah… you don’t want to drink the tap water anywhere. Use bottled water even to rinse teeth after brushing.</p>

<p>We didn’t find many typical “touristy” things like cafes in the countryside. In a couple of places, it was surprisingly difficult to find a restaurant open for meals in the middle of the day. Your husband may find things like guidebooks in English in the airport or train station. If he does see any, he should buy them when he sees them as he might not find them again.</p>

<p>I hope he has enough free time to wander around on his own a little. It’s a fascinating country, and we are anxious to go back. I wouldn’t doubt many things have already changed since we were there. Russia is evolving rapidly.</p>

<p>Have you posted on the international students forum here?</p>

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<p>There is a picture of the hotel on the website you posted:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.kamensk-uralskiy.ru/win/foto/bk34/nm1/10/[/url]”>http://www.kamensk-uralskiy.ru/win/foto/bk34/nm1/10/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>It’s also listed in some of the business directories, but only with contact details which I assume you have anyway. But really, it’s an industrial place, there are probably only about 2 hotels there. </p>

<p>I think there is not very much to do in K-U, the only thing I can think it is famous for is manufacturing and the radiation leak many years ago. But if he has a chance, he should go to Ekaterinberg which is very beautiful. I don’t think many people in K-U will speak English, although perhaps if they are working for one of the big manufacturing companies.</p>

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<p>I second learning the cyrillic alphabet, which for most people doesn’t take very long. You may have had the experience of travelling in a country where the language is related to English, so even if you haven’t studied it, you can read some signs and puzzle some things out. Russian has borrowed many words from English (cafe, telephone, and restaurant, differ slightly in pronunciation but are basically the same) so if you can read the alphabet and recognize those words, you’re a BIG step ahead.</p>

<p>Also, since most Russians don’t speak English, learning basic politeness words-- please, thank you, excuse me, etc.-- will at least make them more willing to try to figure out your pantomiming. They do appreciate it when Americans make an effort. I found that saying “izvinitye, ya nye govoroo pa russki” (excuse me, I don’t speak Russian) generally made people more sympathetic. I know some Russian so I’d try to muddle through and then resort to pointing if necessary. Like other posters, I’m not familiar with the city in question, and have only spent time in Moscow and St. Petersburg. But I believe that English speakers are rarer in smaller cities, so learning a few survival words and/or carrying a dictionary is doubly important.</p>

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<p>Thank you all so much! (Especially for finding the photo, tli83 :)) I think it would be great if he can spend a day or two in Ekaterinburg. And we’ll go hunting this weekend for a Cyrillic guide - definitely sounds like he’ll need one. I did already find guides to Russian business etiquette so that’s a start.</p>

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<p>And thanks for the International Forum suggestion - I just posted over there too.</p>