Word of the day: citizen
This is my ticket to get into Peterhof and it’s one of my favorite souvenirs from this last Russia trip! Can you guess why? It’s not because of the pretty image of Peterhof on the front of the ticket, it’s because of that special word on the back of the ticket: граждане. (See the red arrow?)
As I mentioned in the last post about Peterhof, муж and I are cheap, right? And it is not uncommon in Russia to find two sets of prices: 1 for Russian citizens and 1 for tourists. Now is it just me, or is this completely unfair?!
So when I saw this was the case at Peterhof, I decided that I would like to pay the Russian citizen price. So, I got exact change ready for 2 tickets at the citizen price (which was 260 rubles total, as you can see on my ticket. I really wish I could remember what the tourist price was) and when I got to the window, I said as assertively as possible, and in my very best Russian, “2 tickets, please.” (and avoided eye contact).
I know I almost ruined it with the “please”! Believe me I was very nervous. I don’t normally do things that are this dishonest and rebellious. ; ) So the lady took my money and gave me the tickets. I was so excited! Best 260 rubles I ever spent.
Have you ever faked being Russian to get the cheaper ‘citizens’ price?
By the way, граждане is one of those irregular plurals, so I guess the word of the day is actually citizenS. The singular form is гражданин.
