Little Shops

En route to my favorite grocery store, just a few minutes away from the academy, are two tiny little shops that prove true the saying that one should never judge a book by it's cover. They're some of the city's many tiny little hidden gems, a few of which which I have just begun to discover. This is a part of exploring this city more as a new resident than a visitor that I am enjoying; in my search for shops and places that make day-to-day life easier rather than prioritizing visits to the most notable and famous destinations, I am seeing the city through a different lens that is introducing me to places and things that I would have completely overlooked otherwise.

The first shop is the Russian equivalent of a dollar store. As the sign on the front of the shop states, (almost) everything in the store costs 38 rubles, about $1.20. There are a few exceptions to this pricing, but the vast majority of those are items that are two for 38 rubles instead of just one, so it's still a good thing.

I wasn't expecting too much when I entered the shop for the first time, but it quickly has become one of my favorite places to go when I have a little spare time (or really need to buy some toilet paper). Squashed into a tiny space that I don't think can be much more than three times the size of my dorm room, this store has a mind-bogglingly vast assortment of goods. A surprising number of the things they sell are quite useful (think toilet paper and soap), but there is, of course, a fantastic assortment of bizarre and rather unnecessary items. I think that it is the mixture and ballance that makes me love this store so much.

To set the scene, here is a panorama taken from inside the back end of the shop. It is set up so that you walk in a loop from the door to the back of the shop to the cash register, which is right next to the door. There are things to buy on the walls, on shelves, on the counter with the cash register, and even in boxes set on the floor. It is a tight squeeze, so traffic is mostly single-file and has to keep moving in one direction.

They have candy, dried and canned foods, socks, tools, underwear, soap, toothbrushes, costume jewelry, hair clips, iPhone cases and screen protectors, pasta, gum, chocolate bars, souvenirs, Tupperware, eating utensils (plastic and metal), knitting needles, yarn, bobby pins, thread, notebooks, glue, miniature sets of watercolor paints, fuzzy socks, just about every kitchen nicknack that you can dream up (including hard-boiled egg slicers), head scratchers... And, yes, all of it (except some large souvenir plates- the type that are meant to be put on the wall) costs just 38 rubles. 

The other shop shop I like is just two doors down from the first. It's a tiny little store, so small that it's name, translated, is nothing more than "groceries." They have only a few items- just some candy, some chocolate bars, a freezer for ice cream, some beverages, and a small assortment of dairy products. In one corner are a few shelves with bread products, including some loafs and pastries which are baked fresh, either in the back of the store or somewhere nearby. I made this discovery just today when I picked up a loaf of bread that was still warm from being baked. I couldn't resist buying it, maybe just so that I'd have something warm to carry home with me through the chilly St. Petersburg evening.