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Old April 17th, 2004, 08:09 PM
devil
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Default rec.travel.europe FAQ

On Sat, 17 Apr 2004 13:34:17 -0400, GG wrote:


"Yves Bellefeuille" wrote in message
...
Archive-Name: travel/europe/faq
Posting-Frequency: Monthly
Last-Modified: 2003-12-07
URL: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/travel/europe/faq



Regarding the following topic:

33. Can I drink the tap water in Europe?

Tap water is safe to drink everywhere in Europe except Turkey. (However,
concerns have been expressed in the group about tap water in Russia,
especially St. Petersburg, and in the Canary Islands). In some cases,
the water may be "harder" (contain more minerals) than you're used to or
it may have an unusual taste, but it's still safe to drink.

I believe a much stronger statement should be made about drinking tap water
in St. Petersburg, Russia. Most guidebooks and people in St. Petersburg
advise using only bottled water for drinking, toothbrushing, and washing
fruits and vegetables to be consumed raw. The risk of acquiring giardia is
very high.

From the U.S. Consulate website: "Drinking Water: Tap water in St.
Petersburg is considered unsafe to drink. Boiling water (3 to 5 min.) will
kill most viruses, bacteria, and parasites such as Giardia Lamblia, which
may be in the water."


I can attest to that. I came back from St Petersburg with giardia. Even
though I did not drink tap water and I thought I was careful. Best guess
is that I might inadvertently rinced my toothbrush, or perhaps from hotel
food.