getting by

Well, as I think I previously mentioned, I was in England for the past few weeks for training and then traveling around with my mother. I know am back in Moscow, though I still have about a week left before I go back to Siberia. During that week I was planning to go to St. Petersburg, a city I hear is the nicest in Russia, though I have been here a year and still haven't seen it. I tried to buy the tickets (by train) online, though I was informed it was a Saturday and nocouldn'tone wanted to work and get them purchased. So I was forced to go to the train station myself. I figured it couldn't be that hard, I was told the train station to go to (there are a few in the city) and I knew the train already. No problem. I get off the metro and look around. There was a train station to my immediate left, but I couldn't see a name for it. Lets ask the attendant... You say it is over my shoulder to the right? OK, time to walk over there... Oh, here it is... Still no name though... Time to ask again. Well this is when it got a little confusing, instead of them saying "After the fast train?" which I didn't quite understand, it took me another attendant to realize she actually met "through the bistro". See, bistro and fast are the same thing in Russian, its sorta their equivalent of fast food, and became a legacy in France when they occupied the country for a short time. Walking through the bistro, I see a huge sign on the opposite wall with the name of the station I am looking for. I am there at last, and only do I learn there that the service online for foreigners charged about 300% the cost you get if you can go up and ask for it yourself. Talk about railway robbery. I leave for SPB tonight... In a train booth with 4 beds... It's always fun to convince people I am a foreigner, as they never believe me.