Axel Witsel says he is gradually adapting to life in Russia since joining Zenit St. Petersburg in a €40 million move.

The Belgian midfielder became most expensive players in Russian history along with Brazil forward Hulk when they signed for the champions last month.

Witsel is joined by his girlfriend Rafaella Szabo, which he said had made settling in easier.

“We’re happy to be here together in St. Petersburg,” he said in an interview posted on the Zenit website Wednesday, adding that the couple would bring over their two dogs from Belgium soon.

“We’ve been around the center a little bit. I saw one beautiful museum, near the river, four stories high. What’s it’s name? The Hermitage, I remember now.”

“It looks really nice. But we haven’t been inside yet. I’m working on getting settled down here first. We`ve just moved into our own house, and we have to get set up there.”

Witsel said he often socializes with fellow Belgian Nicolas Lombaerts despite the fact that the defender counts Flemish as his first language, while Witsel's is French.

Witsel has only played three times for Zenit after he was hampered by a hamstring injury he picked up on his debut.

He already has 31 caps for Belgium at the age of 23 and has scored five times for his country.