why St. Petersburg is better than Moscow

Okay, so I could come up with a hundred reasons for this right about now, but the reason of the day is: because St. Petersburg is a port city.

Why does this matter? I'll tell you!

Went to the post office today to send a huge pile of books homeward. In St. Petersburg I sent them "by boat" which although slower than air mail, nonetheless got them there in about 2 months. So after wrapping up my 10 kilograms of books (that's about 20 pounds, incidentally) the lady asks me: so air mail right?
Me: actually by boat please
Lady: Boat? Do you want them to get there?
Me: I know its slower
Lady: They won't get there
Me: I don't understand
Lady: You can either send them by air or by land, and we're not connected to America by land - they won't arrive (ne dokhodiat)
Me: But I want to send them by boat
Lady: what boat? There is no boat.
Me: But in Petersburg I sent them by boat
Old Man waiting in line: There's a port there, that's why you can send them by boat
Me: Oh. That's right

So I sent them by air mail and paid $50 to do it. I'm thinking of just paying for the extra bag again on the way back, because after a few $50 trips to the post office I could pay the $150 for the extra bag!

[note to self - be sure to study geography before going to post office to determine available shipping options - I just assumed that when the land ended they got put on a boat!]