It is not often that you get something for free. So imagine my surprise when Andrey asked me if I wanted free mineral water. Normally it is expensive so how was this possible? It happens that Russia has a lot of mineral water and in most towns you will find a special place where you can drink hot or cold water for free. You can also take your bottle and fill it up – for free!
How do you know where to find these places. Well, there are no signs so I guess the easiest way is to follow people who carry water bottles. If you look at the first photo I wouldn`t have guessed that this is a place for free mineral water.
Once you are inside the Gazebo you will see a water fountain in the middle of the floor. There are various taps and you can fill your bottle up here or drink from the tap. It gets very hot and humid at the sea and this is ideal to quench the thirst. The open gazebos don`t have operating hours but you do find the ones that are only open certain hours.
One of those we found in Svetlogorsk. It was a beautiful glass building and again I wouldn`t have guessed that this is a place to drink mineral water. At the one in Svetlogorsk we had a choice between cold and hot water.
In Svetlogorsk we couldn`t help ourselves and was served by a lady behind the counter.
After a couple of delicious glasses of ice cold mineral water we were ready to hit the road again!
I asked Andrey if you find free mineral water all over Russia and he wasn`t sure. We haven`t seen any places in Moscow or in St. Petersburg. But like I have said before, there are no signs and you have to know where the places are.
Where: Kaliningrad Province, Russia
When: May,June,July and August 2012
oh i definitely wouldn’t say no to free mineral water, nelieta. it’s risky to drink water that’s not distilled or purified here in the philippines. so we buy mineral water. and oh, lovely photos by the way! i do hope i could go to russia someday! so many interesting places to go that i discovered from your blog! <3 🙂
That is sad to hear Irene! In South Africa we could always drink tap water but I agree in most parts of the world it is impossible. I am happy that you liked the photos 🙂 Well, if you need any info and tips for travelling to Russia, you know where to find me 🙂
How I wish we had places like that here. Mineral water is so expensive. The gazebo’s are BEAUTIFUL. Thank you for sharing.
I was so surprised to see these places, Lisa Marie! Yes, even here in Argentina we pay a fortune for mineral water. I loved the gazebo`s! Thanks a lot for visiting and commenting!