Saint Petersburg in Russia is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Every year we welcome more than 7 million visitors who come to enjoy the museums, theaters and the royal vibe of the city that used to be the capital of the Russian Empire for more than 2 centuries. In summer it can even become difficult to walk down the main street Nevsky prospect as numerous tourists stop to admire the historical buildings and make pictures.
Saint Petersburg was created to be the window to Europe by one of the most prominent Russian emperor’s Peter the Great. Yet a lot of my friends who visit the city complain about the language barrier - they say that it can be sometimes very challenging to make yourself clear to Russians, get the information needed and figure out what you should do. Russians are friendly and eager to help, I heard my friends say, but they do not speak English! So this is one of the things I care about while contributing to Google Maps - I want to make the city more friendly to visitors.
When I go for lunch or grab a coffee I always ask the staff whether they have their menus available in English as well. I think that this can help a traveller who is tired of deciphering the Russian alphabet and just wants to have an English menu. If the place is hidden and it is not obvious where the entrance is - I will always mention that in the review.
If you look through my reviews you will find that I write in 3 languages - when abroad I can pick Russian to help Russian visitors who might want to check out the place, when in Russia I often choose English so that the review is useful for foreigners, if the place has something to do with the Netherlands - I might go for Dutch. And sometimes I write reviews in 2 languages and mention that in the first line of the review. Of course I am aware that the reviews can be automatically translated and I see that the translation is steadily getting better (probably high time to start getting scared for my job as a linguist), but the first reviews you see are the ones that are written in your own language - or, at least, the language that you phone has.So, this way I hope to promote Saint Petersburg as a tourist friendly destination and help expats as well. I have travelled a bit and I know that sometimes it can be very frustrating when you cannot read or speak the local language. To my mind this is exactly one of the main points of Google Maps - create the world with less borders and build bridges for human connection!
If you have any questions about visiting Saint Petersburg, please, feel free to drop a comment below! I work with tourists from time to time and love travelling myself, so maybe can give you tips if you think of visiting Russia at some point in the future!