Wed29Jun16: ...the signs are a'changing...

One thing that neither Kathy or I did before coming to Russia was to study the Cyrillic alphabet.  So, when we first arrived in Russia, the signage at the airport and along the highway into St. Petersburg looked strange.  But also strangely familiar.   Just as the English language has been derived from German and the Romantic languages (viz. French, Spanish, Italian), the Russian language has freely 'borrowed' words and entire phrases - most of them from the English vernacular - and then written them phonetically in their own Cyrillic script.

Our first breakthrough came when we saw the Golden Arches and realised that the sign said "Mcdonalds",

just down the street was another familiar logo and a sign that must be "Burger King",

so that little confectionary store just down the street must be a "Mini-Market",

and the larger one in the next block is a "SuperMarket",

but the most common sign in any neighbourhood is a "Cafe",

although when we're shot on cash there's a "CyberBank" on nearly every corner with an ATM that just keeps spitting out 1,000 ruble notes,

and today our 'teksi' driver said that "Il Patio Restaurant" had very good Italian food and reasonably priced.

So, now I'm on a roll.  Everywhere I look I realise that any tourist can read the signs that may be important for them to find information.

 

If you're a driver, there's a "Stop" sign located under every traffic signal light,

if you're a pedestrian and in need to have a 'pit stop' there's the sign that announces the nearby  presence of a "Toilet".

So, now I'm actively looking at every printed sign I find to see whether I can translate it.

There are several commercial outlets near our neighbourhood Metro station, including this one that advertises a "CopyCentre" for your stationery needs,

and another called "MegaPhone" that deals in cell phones and electronics. 

On the menu page when we had supper at Pizza Hut was this little insert that offered prizes including a "Certificate",

and when we were standing at the railway station looking at the other trains there was this passenger car that announced it was part of the "Nevskiy Express".
Since we didn't bring any Russian phrase or language books from Canada, it's been just a matter of starting with signs that were partially understood, and then guesstimating what the other Cyrillic letters represent.  Eventually we'll learn the entire Cyrillic alphabet, but that will probably occur on the day we depart this fascinating country.