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About LinkBacksWhile in Crimea, you may consider ascending the Ай-Петри mountain. I've heard now they even have a rope way there. It's not very far from Yalta.
While in Crimea, you may consider ascending the Ай-Петри mountain. I've heard now they even have a rope way there. It's not very far from Yalta.
ODESSA!
My hotel is located in a suburb of Odessa, close to the sea, but not right on the beach. The first thing I did was go and look for the sea! I got to a beach and saw the Black Sea for the first time! Amazing - and fulfilling a travel wish that I have had since childhood.
This morning I took a tram to the city centre... walked around for quite a long time and eventually found the famous "Deribasovskaya Street. (Дерибасовская)
From there, it was not hard to find the famous "Primorskiy Boulevard". That was featuring in some film I saw as a kid, and the name stuck in my mind. Forgotten the name of the film though.
There is a sort of alley walking path in the middle of the street, all very nice and pretty.
There are some very beautiful 19th century buildings in this area - including public buildings.
From there, you can walk through a public park, which is beautiful, but has been neglected for many years. Eventually you get to a beach.
Black Sea beaches in Ukraine have almost white, very fine sand.
I had dinner (by myself and starting to feel a bit lonely...) at a restaurant with a terrace overlooking the sea. It was almost impossible to read the menu because it was written with some very fancy, ornamented handwriting script + I don't know how to say almost any dishes in Russian. I did not want to be awkward with the waitress, so I just picked something which she said was fish - it turned out to be a nice salmon steak.
Odessa feels very safe and again, people are friendly and helpful but I feel stupid because I can't even thank them properly for helping me. My Russian is really a lot worse than I had thought.
Eee! You are back! I'm glad you liked the Black Sea. I hope Ukraine was not as scary as you believed.
How's your iron hunting going?
I am pleased to report that Odessa passes the Swedish safety inspection!Originally Posted by gRomoZeka
Eee! You are back! I'm glad you liked the Black Sea. I hope Ukraine was not as scary as you believed.
How's your iron hunting going?
I have not come across any thugs etc. People are nice and helpful - they are used to tourists, but not so much to tourists who don't speak Russian. I felt completely safe.
It's really hard to shop in a country that has a different commercial setup than what you are used to.
I think most shops were closed today, so I postponed it until tomorrow - and my clothes are super-wrinkly. Is it true that 2 May is a holiday too? I saw a few signs of shops saying they'd be closed on 2 May.
Odessa song
Please, correct my mistakes, except for the cases I misspell something on purpose!
The wifi is a bit bad at this hotel - I'll have to check the song later.
PS - It is confusing that two alternative street names are in use at the same time; Soviet era ones and new ones. Lots of people seem to ignore the new street names - but maps use these names, and sometimes it's hard to know which name is old and which is new. Also, to add some extra challenge - my map has the names in Russian - but the actual street signs are in Ukrainian.
And on the language issue; there are plenty of T-shirts and stickers on sale on Odessa, saying simply "I am Russian", "Russian is my language" etc, etc. I am not sure precisely what the problem is, but there seems to be an issue.
Could you please post here speedtest.net results for your hotel wifi?
Apart from being slow, the hotels router keeps dropping the connection.
I am trying to only stay at hotels that have free wifi / internet on the room.
A lot of hotels say they have it, but it's often not true.
CROSSING THE ROAD
The further East you get, the scarier it is to cross the roads.
In all the Eastern European countries I have been to now, there have been quite broad boulevards - 3-5 lanes in some cases, just going one directions. The actual lanes themselves are wide too.
Such boulevards are unusual in Western Europe. Romania had put in new traffic lights in most places, so it was ok, just very long waits and walks between the pedestrian crossings. But drivers sometimes took a (legal) left turn, ignoring the fact that pedestrians were in the middle of crossing.
In Moldova I walked for almost a kilometre, several times, just to cross the road. They had underpasses instead of pedestrian crossings. In the underpasses were lots of little shops. These areas were not dangerous (in most of Western Europe, such a place might be taken over by drug users or homeless people. But in Moldova, normal people use them).
In Central Odessa there are pedestrian crossings where you press a button and wait. But outside that area - No! People take huge risks to cross the road, and the cars do not slow down at marked pedestrian crosses, even if someone is waiting.
Also, all drivers are driving much faster than I am used to. It feels a bit scary.
Another safety risk: Trains in Romania were driving with the some of the doors open! Sometimes because people were smoking, and sometimes for no clear reason at all.
ABOUT SPEAKING RUSSIAN
I am not speaking Russian in the hotels, because the staff speaks English, and they actually WANT to speak English, (definitely not listen to my apalling Russian.) Old ladies are the best people for listening to poor Russian - several have even tried to teach me grammar or words. I really like the people here, they are very cool. And I have decided to sign up for a Russian course, as part of this trip.
ABOUT THIS HOLIDAY:
This is definitely the funkiest holiday I have had in my whole life - particularly after passing through Pridnestrovie (nice country - support their independence!). Going alone (first time ever I do that, apart from for work).... Only going by train, no flying (ecological, and better for seeing another country as it really is). I actually went by train, all the way from London, to Odessa.
Because I am practicing Russian at the same time, and experiencing another culture, it's a bit "intellectual", not just pleasure or adventure. Although I am staying at reasonably good hotels, I am not doing anything else extravagant or very expensive, so it isn't costing a fortune. For the train trip through Europe, I bought an adult Interrail card. (valid in all European countries for unlimited travel over a certain amount of days, the ex-USSR countries are not included in this setup though - you can choose 1 or 2 class, then the duration of days you need it for).
After seeing Kiev, I will try to find a 2-4 week course in Russian, in some nice town in Ukraine or Belarus, where everybody speaks Russian (not the local language) and there are not a lot of English speakers around. If anyone knows of a course that fits the bill, please let me know!
UA
Am I right to think that Hryvna (UA currency) means "crown" - that's what we call the money in Scandinavia too ! (krona) and... Ukraine is the only country other than Sweden that has a blue and yellow flag.
I'm not sure about Ukraine but in Russia these days only the May 1st is the holiday but since it coincides with a weekend day according to Russian rules one day of the forthcoming working week is announced as a free day too (May 2nd). But, once again, in Russia (at least in Novosibirsk) all the shops are opened both 1 and 2 May for the people to spend their money.I think most shops were closed today, so I postponed it until tomorrow - and my clothes are super-wrinkly. Is it true that 2 May is a holiday too? I saw a few signs of shops saying they'd be closed on 2 May.
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
Oh dear.... I finally made it to the MegaMaks shop.... Thanks to a nice old lady.
She thought I was the stupidest person ever to put her foot in Odessa, no doubt.
She had a right go at me for not wearing warm enough clothes, for trying to get around town without speaking adequate Russian, and finally not realising that 2 May is "an important holiday". She said it's a day for having picnics. I had no idea. I thought it was only 1 May - in fact, I thought even that might have been dropped.
MegaMaks was closed, and it started raining. The lady said "You are a very lucky girl, that you met a nice babushka like me!" (Sweet thing to say, and age wise extremely flattering for me that everyone assumes I am a university student).
I will try again in Kiev..... SIGH!!!!
There are some old catacombs in Odessa that I'd like to see; some kind of underground tunnels that were used during WW2. I am hoping to have time for a guided tour of those.
Right now I am online trying to research train times to Kiev. I can't understand the info at the train station.
Russian is spoken in Odessa, isn't it? There are no many English speakers, are there?I will try to find a 2-4 week course in Russian, in some nice town in Ukraine or Belarus, where everybody speaks Russian (not the local language) and there are not a lot of English speakers around.
Any city in Belorussia suits. And most Ukrainian cities: Киев, Харьков, Днепропетровск, Севастополь и т. д. fit too. The most Russian city in Ukraine is Sebastopol. You have already seen that people in Odessa were not satisfied with status of Russian language.
Какое прекрасное время вы выбрали для путешествия - начало мая! Тепло, всё цветёт. 9 мая вы увидите празднование Дня Победы, в Москве по этому поводу, наверное, будет большой парад. Всё, что я пишу, понятно?
Да, понимаю, без google!
Yes, right now is a holiday season in the CIS countries.. I hadn't considered that. But there was Easter, then 1-2 May, and then Victory Day (or Peace day as some call it).
9 May Russian style - Now, this is a very cool holiday from my perspective! I'd love to hear "Slavjanka", "Smugljanka Moldavanka" and see some marching and tanks! That still happens, right?
Moscow is probably the place to be for the best "show"... but I don't think that will be possible due to the visa situation.
What happens in Minsk on 9 May, for example?
I would have loved to go to Yalta, but I am saving that for another time. My Russian is so apalling that I feel I can't do a lot more travelling in this area until it's improved. The babushka (see above) was right....
I am sorry I sounded so suspicious about Ukraine earlier. All the information I had was completely incorrect.
I will post a separate thread about that in this forum, just to explain this to native English speakers and fellow Europeans. I am not the only one who has heard the "wild east" rumours.
In my work I have come across policies where all credit card transactions from a Ukrainian IP address are categorically denied (due to percieved risk of cyber crimes). This also contributed to making me worried, the prospect of ending up empty-handed and alone in a country where you can barely make yourself understood, is rather scary.
People here have in fact been a great deal nicer and more helpful than they would have been in an equivalent situation in most Western European countries. They are warm, straightforward people. Everyone from old people to kids have been sweet to me. Nobody has tried to cheat me at all (touch wood).
I feel silly now, that I made such a fuss of it.
Some times ago there were attempts to eliminate Russian language (or even totally wipe it out) in Ukraine, as a tesult there were protesters. But these days the things calmed down (though I have no information from the first hand).
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
То же, что и в Москве, но в меньшем масштабе.What happens in Minsk on 9 May, for example?
You can't get to Red Square at 9 May without invitation ticket and they are not for sale. Only for special guests. In Minsk there is also military parade on 9 May but I dunno if you can get to the main square without invitation or not. You always can take a position at some nearby street and watch the passing troops though.
Please, correct my mistakes, except for the cases I misspell something on purpose!
If anyone reading this is in Minsk and wouldn't mind watching the celebration with a foreigner (Swedish) then drop me a note!
So, it's not a people's holiday, right? Just for the select few...
Watch for example last year's parade at youtube and you'll understand that your remark is just stupid. Half of Red Square is occupied by music band (last year it was more than a thousand military musicians from more that 15 countries). The other half is for marching troops. There is not much place for the guests left. Red Square is rather small - they didn't plan huge squares in middle ages somehow. Besides, most of the guests are veterans from all over Russia and other countries. I think it's fair. People who like to watch this live and not on TV are standing at nearby streets.
Please, correct my mistakes, except for the cases I misspell something on purpose!
That's not quite so. "Grivna" was the name for a coin in Kievan Rus and it derives from the ancient Slavic word for "neck". Nobles were used to wear golden chains (necklaces) around their necks and they often used the pieces of these chains as payment for goods.
Your reply reminds me of this picture hehe (no offence, fellow Ukrainians). It refers to Ukrainian Hetman Mazepa who known in Russian history as "traitor" because he was at first allied with Peter the Geat at Northern War but then betrayed him and joined Karl XII at the battle of Poltava. In modern Ukraine he is considered kinda hero (at least it was so at Yushchenko times).and... Ukraine is the only country other than Sweden that has a blue and yellow flag.
Please, correct my mistakes, except for the cases I misspell something on purpose!
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