Debriefing the Journey
TOP 3 best (omni) restaurants
1. Khevron, Odessa, Ukraine
2. Café Pushkin, Bakhchisaray, Ukraine
3. Rustic, Baia Sprie, Romania.
TOP 3 worst border crossings
1. Lithuania - Belarus
2. Belarus - Ukraine
2. Ukraine - Romania
TOP 3 most English spoken
1. Lviv, Ukraine
2. Vilnius, Lithuania
3. Sighișoara, Romania
TOP 3 accommodations
1. Casa Olarului, Baia Sprie, Romania
2. Hunting House, Kujbyshevo, Ukraine
3. Hotel Telecom Guest, Vilnius, Lithuania
TOP 3 most impressive cities
1. Minsk, Belarus
2. Odessa, Ukraine
3. Lviv, Ukraine
TOP mammals
1. Cow
2. Dog
3. Horse
4. Goat
5. Chicken
6. Cat
7. Sheep
Bonus mammal:
+ Donkey
TOP birds
1. Pigeon
2. White Stork
3. Sparrow
4. Western Jackdaw
5. Barn Swallow
6. Rook
7. Hawk
Bonus bird:
+ Peafowl
Achievements unlocked
⭐ Drove through the Carpathian Mountains during thunderstorm
⭐ Swam in the Black Sea
⭐ Sat in the chair of a missile base command centre
⭐ Saw the elusive city of Minsk
⭐ Bribed a police officer in Ukraine
⭐ Climbed the Potemkin Stairs in Odessa
⭐ Saw a white stork in a nest on the roof of a house
⭐ Saw a flock of bats flying over us on a dark forest road in Transylvania
⭐ Visited a crypt in Transylvania
Cases of blatant animal suffering witnessed
😡 a man striking a horse hard with the blunt side of a pitchfork (Bonțida, Romania)
😡 multiple cases of tying horses' legs together (to prevent them from wandering away, one assumes) in Ukraine, Moldova and Romania; saw two horses hopping down a road with legs tied in Romania
😡 dozens of strays everywhere, the majority of them ill and/or malnourished
😡 dog strongman contest; the animals were made to pull very heavy loads, and kept alone in small cages inside cars. Judging by the picture in the event poster, the dogs are pumped with steroids. (Gmina Wasilków, Poland)
Things the border guards inquire after or search for
- girls, tasers (Ukrainian; Belarus to Ukraine)
- petrol (Polish; Ukraine to Poland)
- gifts for guards/Finlandia vodka (Ukrainian; Ukraine to Romania)
Craziest drivers:
Kiev (Ukraine)
Best roads:
Belarus and Poland
Most white storks:
Romania
Most Hesburgers:
Lithuania
Easiest hotel to find:
Vila Chesa, Romania
Most difficult hotel to find:
Vilari Guest House, Ukraine
Most horse carts:
Romania
Most strays:
Ukraine
Coolest museum:
Strategic Missile Forces museum, Pervomais'k, Ukraine
Most insane memorial:
Dzyarzhynskaya Hara, Minsk, Belarus
Best cemetery:
The cemetery of the Church on the Hill, Sighișoara, Romania
Best overall service:
Ukraine
Best starry sky:
Crimea, Ukraine
Greatest bird density:
Belarus
Lushest lands:
Middle Ukraine
Most epic memorial:
Батьківщина-Мати (Mother Motherland), Kiev, Ukraine
Most impressive church:
The Church of the Saviour at Berestove, Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Kiev, Ukraine
Highest temp 30°C (Polish-Ukrainian border, day)
Lowest temp 13°C (Kujbyshevo, night)