Raw reports from my Tver excursions will be added here.
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Nov. 24 Couldn't get the car repaired today and am thus staying for the second night. The "Room of Rest" at the train station was not available. Checked into the Zarya hotel. Only 1500 rouble (just over $50US) room was available. Not much of a room but no specific complaints. The location is superb however. A few steps from the Hertzen Library, which has an Internet room, and the Tver Universal Bank. Both are on Tverskoy Prospect. This info will be added to the Tver page of www.staritsa.info. Also next door to Telenet office, which appears the only place where you can buy an internet access card. (NB. Put "P" in front of the access number to make it dial pulse rather than tone.)

The Zarya hotel services the needs of the city authorities and does not have the usual casinos and other sources of noise.

On finding things in Tver. People are grotesquely unaware of what's where. After Moscow and especially St. Petersburg you will have expectations that locals know their cities. Not so in Tver. Get a map of Tver.

Speaking of maps, something like the Tourist Information Center has opened, a month ago, at the same building as the Zarya hotel.

Bought a digital camera at the Mir Elektorniki store on Tverskoy prospekt. It is Olympus with 40X zoom. So, once again, I welcome orders for realistic photos of the apartment you plan to rent or or Russian women you want to marry.

Speaking of purchases or services, at the moment Tver is well supplied while the people are still willing to take time to tell you about the product (as in the case of my buying the camera) or double-check their work (when getting the car repaired).


The salesman spared no trouble to tell me of his cameras. He took them out and made test pictures to show how it really works - something him Moscow colleagues would not do. The store is called "Mir Elektronniki", Tverskoy Prospekt 9.
Nov. 23, 2004 The car, having accomplished its mission in Moscow (a quick visit to the US Embassy and to the Ministry of Foreign affairs to facilitate the receipt of documents for a client heading into a Russian marriage) finally quit in Tver. Since there are no service facilities for probably the most popular car in Russia in Staritsa I decided to stay in Tver. (Business opportunity seekers make a note of the fact that Russian car owners in Staritsa, population 10 thousand, have them serviced in Tver, and those with foreign makes have no real choice but to take them to Moscow, 170 miles away).

Catch of the day:

By far the best accommodation deal is the "Room of Rest" at the train station. 500 roubles get you what amounts to a small apartment. See the Tver page on www.staritsa.info (up soon).
October 10, 2004 Started systematically documenting my visits to Tver. The plan is to generate 10-15 pages to give you a sense of being here.

Found a few place to eat. Cafes, restaurants, food shops etc. will be listed here.

Discovered an ATM machine which worked. Expect to be charged extra. Also, if you deal with a teller, they will take 3-4% for cash advances. See Banking.