Despite purchasing a Rosetta Stone subscription, I somehow arrived in Russia with very little of the Russian language or Cyrillic alphabet under my belt. (Apparently this knowledge doesn’t just download into your brain automatically when you subscribe — who knew?!) I came prepared with various translation apps, but I still worried about one key thing: the ease of ordering food in restaurants during my 11 days in the country. It’s been a happy surprise that so many of the restaurants we’ve encountered either list an English description of all items or have a picture-book equivalent of the menu to make ordering easier for tourists. Of course, if all else fails, I can always find a bakery and point to a desired pastry. Coffee and donuts are a universal language!
