Quote Originally Posted by Hanna View Post
Ok, I appreciate the warning. (But I think you should be a bit more considerate about Ukrainians - can't all be Nazis even if there has been legitimate incidents on that border)
I never called all Ukrainians nazis. I called nazis this particular group, it's semi-official batallion "Azov" who openly declares it's nazi ideology and wear SS sybolic on their uniform. They are openly nazis and don't hide it at all:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azov_Battalion
They created their own checkpoints on roads before the official border guards and Ukrainian border guards and police pretend that they don't notice them. People who was robbed by them called police, police came than turned around and pretended that nothing is happening.
If I was going to take the land route (and I love travelling by train) then Ukraine would be easier. To have a really cool holiday I could, for example, arrive via Ukraine and then continue into Russia via the ferry route that you mention, and just do a kind of "loop".
All trains to Crimea was cancelled a year ago. If you want to get there by train you have to wait untill 2018 when the bridge will be opened.
What was that you said about Pridnestrovie / Transnistria?
Has Ukraine changed its stance against this "country" now? (I like that place - I think it's very cool and the people were super-nice.)
When I was travelling there, there was no major problem (however, I missed one of the stamps I needed in my passport; either exit from Moldova or entry into Ukraine). The Belarus border police was none too happy about it.
Odessa and Transnistria had quite a close relationship from what my taxi drive told me. He said lots of people travel back and forth between there all the time - so from the point of view of regular people that would be very sad.
Since the coup in Ukraine the things have changed. Now Transdnistria blockaded from both sides and it's very hard to cross the border there afaik, especially from Ukrainian side.