Suzdal Practicalities

ORIENTATION.
The main street of Suzdal is Lenina street, where there are many food shops and some bars. There are many churches around this street. Two central points are the Trading arcades on Torgovaya ploshchad (Trading square), and further - the Red square on the right side, where there's the townhall and the post and phone office. Behind the Trading arcades, further on the left there's the Kremlin buildings. Opposite to the Trading arcades, within 15 minutes walking there's the bus station. Opposite to the Red square, on the left side of Lenina street there are many monasteries and Kamenka river.

COMMUNICATION.
The phone code of Suzdal is 09231. If you phone to Suzdal from abroad, you should dial 00 (for international access), 7 (code of Russia), 09231 (code of Suzdal) and a 5-digit local number. If you phone to Suzdal from Russia, you should dial 8, wait for a tone, then dial 09231 (code of Suzdal), and a 5-digit local phone number. If you phone to Suzdal from a cellphone, dial 7 (Russia), 09231 (Suzdal), and a 5-digit local phone number.
Inside Suzdal you should just dial a 5-digit number, without any codes.
The main post and phone office in Suzdal is easy to find: it's located on the Red Square in front of the white walls of Rizopolozhensky monastery. The post office is opened on weekdays from 8 to 18, on friday from 8 to 17, on saturday from 8 to 15, and is closed on sunday. The phone place is opened daily 24 hours a day.
A letter to Europe will cost around $0.7 US, and will arrive in 3-4 weeks. Aletter sent with courier mail 'EMS' will cost $10 US and will arrive in 5-7 days.
From the phone office you can send a fax for $0.16 US one page + time of connection (usually around $0.8-$1 US a minute with Europe and the States).
You can use the phones there to phone in Vladimir, one minute costs less than one rouble ($0.08).
There is no internet access in Suzdal, but you can send an email from the post office. It costs 22 roubles ($0.8) for a message, you'll be given a special paper to fill in, where you should write the email address of the person whom you want to send the email, your post address, and the message itself. Be careful: when I was checking this service, sending the email to my own address, I had to fill in the paper 3 times, because the operator didn't understand my handwriting. So, I did it all in capital letters, and it was finally sent. I checked my email 1 day after and received the email I sent, so it works allright.
There's also a computer club, 2 minutes walk from the post office, on the corner of the Red Square and Lenina street, there are computers, which you can use to type, or to save data on disquettes, or play computer games. But there's no internet access yet.
The mobile phones of 'MTS' company are working in the whole Vladimir region, with the same price of one minute as in Moscow. So 1 minute will cost around $0.23 if you phone inside Vladimir region, or to Moscow. If you have roaming with this company, you can easily use your cellphone there.

MONEY.
You can find the currency exchange in 'Sberbank' office on Lenina (IAIEIЗ) street, #75 (just after 'Kharchevnya' bar to the direction of the Red square). The currency exchange office works from 8.30 to 16.30 (with a lunch break from 12.30 to 13.30), and is closed on sunday.
The prices for food and clothes in Suzdal are the same as in Moscow or St Pete. Because this place is quite touristic, a meal in a local restaurant will be quite expensive for such small town: around 100-150 roubles ($3.5-$5), unless you know some places where locals go. The price of accommodation depends on the quality: the cheapest bed in a dorm room is 70 roubles ($3.3), the comfiest single is $50 US in Kuchkov's Traktir.

SHOPPING.
There's a photo shop in the center of Suzdal, close to the Kremlin, next to Trading Arcades, where you can buy a photo film, photo accessories, develop and print your film (Kremlyovskaya st., #2). It's opened from 8 to 19 daily. It costs $0.33 to develop a film, and $0.12 to print one photo 10x15 cm (4x6 inches).
There's a food shop on Lenina street, in front of 'Kharchevnya' bar, between the Red square and Trading Arcades. It's called 'Russky Uspekh' which means 'Russian success'. Opened daily until 21.
You can also buy some food at produkty (OOЙUIU?) shop, which is at the beginning of Neteka street. It's opened from 10 to 22 daily, and from 10 to 23 on thu, fri and sat.
A very nice and cozy wine and food shop is located further along Lenina street (Lenina, #130), close to Euthimiev monastery. They sell wines, water, food and snacks. It's opened daily from 10 until 24.
Finally, if you happen to walk around 'GTK' hotel, close to Euthimiev and Pokrov monasteries, on hot summer afternoon and you feel thirsty, you can go to the 'GTK' hotel, there's a shop inside, that sells water and juices.
There's a food market in front of the Trading arcades.
If you want to buy some postcards or local newspapers, try the news stall in front of the Trading arcades.
A local pharmacy is located on Lenina street, in front of 'Sberbank' bank office, between the Trading arcades and the Red square. It's opened from 8 to 18 on weekdays, 9 to 15 on saturdays, and closed on sundays.

WHERE TO EAT.
The most expensive restaurants in Suzdal are 'Trapeznaya' restaurant, 'Pogrebok', and 'Gostiniy Dvor'. The latter two are crappy Soviet eateries, that stink very much, and serve overpriced food. See their exact location in the Lonely Planet guide.
Trapeznaya restaurant is overpriced, but has a very nice location in Suzdal Kremlin, nice wooden interior, and tasty food. You can have a meal there for $5 US.
Much cheaper is the local favourite, cozy 'Kharchevnya' (iЗ?AВI) bar and restaurant on Lenina (IAIEIЗ) ulitsa, #73. Families, young people, old people from Suzdal gather at this place. Sometimes, you can even hear people singing traditional Russian songs, sitting at the table and drinking some beer here.
'Kharchevnya' serves very tasty and cheap meals: you can have a dinner consisting of a starter, a salad, a main course, and a dessert for 60-75 roubles ($2-2.5). If you go there, definitely try their omelet for 10 r ($0.3), baked potatoes (kartoshka) with salad for 10 r ($0.3), baked fish ($1), and pancakes with honey and cream (bliny s medom i smetanoi) for $0.6. They are opened from 9 to 23 daily, the kitchen works from 10 to 22 daily.
Another place, that's not expensive, is 'Landysh' ('IЗIЙ?–) cafe (in the beginning of Neteka street), which is favourite among more upper class crowd. It's opened daily from 12 to 2 in the night.