Thread: Travel Blog; CIS/ex-USSR countries (i.e. Russian speaking)

Many thanks to you, Hanna, for posting about your travels, best wishes for a safe and enjoyable trip.

From Basil's, post, some things famous in other circles: literature by Pushkin and opera by Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky stayed at a place in Ukraine, museum there. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamiank...kasy_Oblast%29
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%...D1%82%D1%8C%29

Mazepa Ivan Mazepa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Мазепа, Иван Степанович — Википедия

Poltava Полтава (поэма) — Википедия
Poltava (poem) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Opera by Tchaikovsky: Mazeppa (opera) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Originally Posted by Basil77

You can't get to Red Square at 9 May without invitation ticket and they are not for sale. Only for special guests.

I thought so. Can you go watch the performance in the evening?

Originally Posted by Ann

I thought so. Can you go watch the performance in the evening?

Yes, AFAIK usually it's open perfomance for everyone, you just have to pass the security check.

Originally Posted by Basil77

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.

Похоже, в Минске парад проводят не на площади, а на каком-то шоссе:

KIEV - ELEGANT CAPITAL OF UKRAINE!

Greetings from Kiev, to which I arrived this morning; by train of course. If anyone is interested about hearing about my experience of travelling by train in this area, then just say!

When I arrived I quickly discovered that ALL public signs are in Ukrainian, and official announcements on the railway station. I assume that Ukrainian is can be understood by native Russian speakers, just like I (Swedish) can understand Norwegian and Danish. BUT for someone who can barely manage in Russian, the sudden switch to Ukrainian is very confusing. I am not saying I dislike Ukranian... but since I am trying to learn Russian, I would have liked it better if the signs were in Russian. When speaking between themselves, and addressing strangers, people in Kiev seem to use Russian though.

The Kiev train station, like the one in Odessa, is very nice looking and elegant inside. There is a very modern part on the other side - nothing special about that though - it's the usual steel and glass.



At first, I could not understand where the metro was, or even which exit lead where... (It would be good if they had tourist info booths on these large stations). Anyway, I bought a map and left my luggage in the luggage storage room.

Time to look yet again, for the illusive travel iron (my old one broke, I really need it, and I was not able to find it in Bucharest, Kishinev or Odessa....) All my clothes are wrinkly! I decided to try "ЦУМ" the large department store.

When I finally found the metro (not linked to the actual trains station, you have to go out, cross a small piazza, and then you see, it; it's marked "При[something] Вокзал - very nice building".)

I took the metro to a station called Khrestachyk.... Walked out and immediately saw a very large elegant plaza, with a very tall elegant sculpture on it, called "Мать Родина". [edit, no it was not that, it was something else, a women, gold and on a very high pedestal] There are several other sculptures and fountains, one of some Vikings!



This area is full of architecturally interesting and beautiful buildings, from the 18th and 19th century, Stalin era, later Soviet and some contemporary. There are parks everywhere. I saw the square where the "Orange Revolution" took place - it was almost empty apart from some crowd control barricades.

I could not see anything that looked like a department store, so I asked some old ladies. They were also tourists, so shouted out to a guy. He said he was going there too, so I walked with him. It turned out that he was visiting the city from Minsk (Belarus) and was catching a train back this evening.



We made it to the department store, which was very big, and open despite the (Christian) holiday today. The style and layout of this department store reminded of Soviet style, but naturally, all goods were modern. At the top floor I found it! A Rowenta travel iron for 350 gryvna. Hurrah, now I can look civilised again!

The Belarussian guy and I enjoyed each others company, despite the communication problems, and ended up going for a walk around town, having lunch and coffee, sightseeing some churches and seeing the river Dnepr. To me, this is a cool river to see because it's where the Vikings sailed when they visited Russia etc, and sailed to Istanbul. We also took a ride up a little funiculaire, to a large Orthodox church.



Kiev is very beautifully planned; lots of large squares, sculptures, memorials and best of all - plenty of public parks! Most houses in the city centre are good looking in one way or another - just pretty, or architecturally interesting.There are cheap and relatively clean public loos available everywhere, which can really make a difference when you are walking around sightseeing.



There are plenty of good restaurants and cafes around.I wish there was one that made soy milk or rice milk lattes, but that may be asking too much. This part of the world basically does not cater much for people with allergies (I have a rather bad allergy for milk products).

Eventually I parted ways with the Belarussian guy (I might call him when I get to Minsk - I still haven't got around to buying a SIM card though) Would have preferred to email instead, but he said he did not have email.... is internet unusual in Belarus?)

I collected my bag at the station, and headed for the metro again, to travel to the station Dvoretz Sporty. However I could not work out how to change trains, because the Kiev metro has almost no metro maps on display.



Just as I was standing there feeling confused, I noticed that VI Lenin was looking down on me from a massive bronze face on the wall, lol! The Kiev metro (as mentioned by forum members earlier) is very impressive, very deep underground, and very impressively decorated. It would look A LOT better without advertisements though - they ruin the effect. Each station has its own theme and style. It takes several minutes to rid the escalator up or down.

Again, a guy came to the rescue! He ended up helping me with my super heavy bag all the way to the hotel. I am in a hotel up on a hill, overlooking a large sports stadium that seems to be under construction. Since I am on the 9th floor I have a nice view of town - to bad I didn't get a room on the top floor, I'd say this building is 30 floors high!

Kiev has 5.5 million inhabitants. Bigger than all the Scandinavian capitals put together! I had no idea it was so large!

Originally Posted by BappaBa

Похоже, в Минске парад проводят не на площади, а на каком-то шоссе:

Thanks for checking that! The celebrations in Minsk are big enough for me. I like this CIS holiday because I have always liked the songs. And nowadays I don't consider [Russian] army intimidating, so would not mind seeing a parade - and it's such a big holiday to Russians and other CIS people. I'd like to experience it!

Originally Posted by Basil77

joined Karl XII at the battle of Poltava. In modern Ukraine he is considered kinda hero (at least it was so at Yushchenko times).

Yes, I've read in Swedish papers, that Ukraine ordered statues of him. Which was surprising to Sweden because Karl XII has become a hero to extreme nationalists etc (neo nazists etc). Nobody in Sweden was aware that he was a hero in Ukraine.

He used to be a big hero in the past, for taking on Russia... But by doing that, he caused the downfall of Swedens little Baltic empire, so really, I actually don't know why anyone considers him a hero. If he had not challenged Russia, we might still have Finland, and Norway (+their oil...). But that's why Sweden has almost completely stayed away from wars, ever since then. Everyone was incredibly fed up with endless wars, and the loss to Russia was completely devastating.

Is this kind of thing (as the crowd in this clip) invitation-only too? Or is it normal people, did they pay to go?



Yeah, I know this kind of stuff is a bit cheesy.... but it's fun! In Sweden we have sing-along peoples parties too, but not on such a large scale as in Russia! They can be such fun though - everyone singing nice songs that all know.... we have them in the late midsummer nights, when the sun is still shining at night. Also, we have no big dramatic event, like that, to celebrate...

If he had not challenged Russia, we might still have Finland, and Norway (+their oil...). But that's why Sweden has almost completely stayed away from wars, ever since then. Everyone was incredibly fed up with endless wars, and the loss to Russia was completely devastating.

Это неправда. Финляндию Швеция потеряла в результате войны с Россией в 1809 году. Норвегия принадлежала Дании во времена Карла 12 и была передана Швеции после Наполеоновских войн, а независимость получила в 1905 году. В 18 - начале 19 века Швеция только с Россией три раза вела войну.

Originally Posted by Marcus

Это неправда.

Yes, that's true when I think about it... Sorry about sloppy mistake! You are very knowledgeable about history! Generally, that war is considered to be the biggest failure in Sweden's history and I didn't want to get into it too much, or double check on Wikipedia. But right should be right! Next time I'll check my facts.


Wow - I have never seen such fast internet in my life!

Originally Posted by Hanna

When I finally found the metro (not linked to the actual trains station, you have to go out, cross a small piazza, and then you see, it; it's marked "При[something] Вокзал - very nice building".)

Приміський вокзал = Пригородный вокзал (по-русски) = suburban train station

Yes, I've read in Swedish papers, that Ukraine ordered statues of him. Which was surprising to Sweden because Karl XII has become a hero to extreme nationalists etc (neo nazists etc). Nobody in Sweden was aware that he was a hero in Ukraine.

Not to say he is a hero but Mazepa hoped to use him to get independence from Moscow. So nowadays his statue is a memory of the hope for independence of Ukraine.

AFAIK Karl XII was a great general, who won many battles. But as a ruler he was unable to make use of his victories and his first defeat turned into a complete disaster.

Originally Posted by Hanna

Wow - I have never seen such fast internet in my life!

I heard that internet in Eastern Europe generally surprisingly faster than in Western Europe because infrastructure was buit recently and more modern equipment was used.

Originally Posted by it-ogo

AFAIK Karl XII was a great general, who won many battles. But as a ruler he was unable to make use of his victories and his first defeat turned into a complete disaster.

It's unbelievable that he continued to wage war against a much bigger country with an advanced army, almost unlimited space and many more people.. Of course that would never work out, at least in a longer perspective! Because of him, we are not a big and important country, but an unimportant country in the outskirts of Europe, and some territories that ought to be Swedish are now Finnish. I really don't know a lot about this period in history, but it seems pointless to blame Russia for more or less simply defending itself. I am definitely not interested in going to Poltava - would be totally depressing.

Он будет вести войну против целой коалиции стран, но так бывало раньше. Швеция много раз побеждала Россию и другие могущественные государства. Шведская армия считалась самой сильной в Европе, по храбрости и умению шведские солдаты не знали себе равных. Под Полтавой у них почти не было шансов, хотя в какой-то момент им удалось склонить чашу весов на свою сторону, у них было вдвое меньше солдат, 4 пушки против 100, и они атаковали укреплённые позиции.
Если что-то непонятно, спрашивайте.

Originally Posted by Basil77

I heard that internet in Eastern Europe generally surprisingly faster than in Western Europe because infrastructure was buit recently and more modern equipment was used.

I think I failed and maybe the pony express is faster....

If anyone is interested about hearing about my experience of travelling by train in this area, then just say!

If you tell us all your impression, everyone will be glad.
You can practice your Russian in the EU, in Latvia or eastern Estonia. There are fully Russian cities, like Narva (you will be glad to visit this city because the Swedish defeated big Russian army in 1700 there). I wonder what would be there on the ninth of May.

Originally Posted by Marcus

There are fully Russian cities, like Narva (you will be glad to visit this city because the Swedish defeated big Russian army in 1700 there).

But four years later we've got our revenge for that defeat

I wonder what would be there on the ninth of May.

Probably another Waffen SS march.

Originally Posted by rockzmom

I think I failed and maybe the pony express is faster....

Rockzmom - Move to Kiev! Extremely cool city for lots of different reasons. Fantastic buildings, nice parks - quality shopping, cheap shopping, good food, seems completely safe - and a ride on the metro is 10 cent USD. People are mostly friendly and cool...

No just kidding, but what is going on with your internet connection? Have you only got dial-up, not broadband? If that's supposed to be broadband, then you are being ripped off! There are quite a lot of things you can't do online, with such bad speeds.

The hotel I am staying at has run out of rooms (I wanted to stay 1-2 days more, without moving hotels). Surprising, since it is an absolutely massive hotel. (Hotel Rus - warmly recommended - great value, great breakfast buffe and general clean, nice and friendly - not the most stylish but who needs that?)

For that reason, I am thinking that I might head to Belarus earlier than I had planned. Fingers crossed that they are both writing and speaking in Russian! (Kiev is not actually a great place for a student of Russian, Ukrainian language is the only one used in writing, on town - that's a contrast to Odessa).

I have been very impressed by Kiev though. It's got everything: Interesting architecture, great churches (St Sofia Cathedral and many more). It is probably safer even than Paris, definitely more safe than Madrid and Milan, to name a few cities where I felt a lot more unsafe than here in Kiev.

Today I took it easy because I was feeling a bit unwell - there are more sights left that I would like to see; Museum of the Great Patriotic War, possibly the Chernobyl museum and then there are some parts of town I didn't see. Maybe also do a river cruise on the Dnepr.

The distribution of income here is pretty obscene. There are a fair number of designer clothes shops in central Kiev, and shops selling expensive jewellery, Swiss watches etc. Yet the average income is 400 USD per month, according to Lonely Planet. There are also people being driven around in expensive cars that drive like they owned the road. I strongly dislike such unfairness, particularly in a country that was (at least technically) owned by the people only 20 years ago.

I really want to improve my Russian though and if Belarussian has taken over in Belarus, then I'll check out the country, then head to Russia as fast as I can (depending on how long it takes to get a Russian visa). I would like to take a Russian course in a nice city/town where I can live quite cheaply and see some interesting sights, nature etc, and where people are nice and friendly.

If anyone lives in Belarus and knows of a place that offers Russian courses to foreigners, please could you let me know? I've only found 2 so far and I am not sure that they are right for me - would like to see more options.

Alternatively if some nice place in Russia comes to mind!

Originally Posted by Hanna

The hotel I am staying at has run out of rooms (I wanted to stay 1-2 days more). Surprising, since it is an absolutely massive hotel. (Hotel Rus - warmly recommended - great value, great breakfast buffe and general clean, nice and friendly - not the most stylish but who needs that?)

Have you read my PM?