Travel to oo-kry-EE-nah
Latchka and Oohay traveled to Ukraine, visited cities along Dneiper River and Black Sea. In company of brother Alban and his spouse Bleta, saw many fine sights. Also noticed that, although not a rich country, people survive: fish, garden, work jobs where they can.
Overall, can say this:
Київ (Kyiv) - good, many beautiful cathedral, especially St. Michael’s Monastery of the Golden Domes (many bald-but-well-tanned men). St. Andrew's Descent, kiosks, feral dogs. Candles lit. First of many statues of Lenin. Status of glorious motherland. Friendship Arch (ha ha, more like "We will keep our claws in you forever, Little Russia" Arch). St. Sophia's. St. Andrew's.
First of many enjoyments of pyvo (see below).
Запорі́жжя (Zaporizhzhia) - dobre Kossaky! More Львівське (Lvivske beer, poky 1715!) which makes everything even better.
Енергода́р - my, what a lovely nuclear power plant you have (as we pass by in the night)
Nikopol - we hardly knew ye ...
Херсон (Kherson) - St. Catherine's (otherwise known as St. Catherine's-by-the-Sports-Stadium). Candles were lit for grandparents. Local linden tea, honey, etc., but again, we hardly knew ye. The well in the park-like forest behind St. Catherine's is interesting. RIP, Prince Potemkin.
Севасто́поль (Sevastopol) - Hello sailor (Black Sea Fleet). Performance by Black Sea Fleet Singing & Dancing Ensemble was stellar. After the performance, Mr. Incredible Balallaika Player hurriedly changed and offered his CDs for sale. Buy one! Chersoneses was several steps back in time, Balaklava was just a brief step but striking to consider changes made in less than two decade. Say seh-vah-STOW-pull.
Я́лта (Yalta) - Can you remember "The Big Three"? No, not Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill, but pick-pockets, dense crowds with dicey-looking characters, labyrinth-type streets. But nice street food. Will always remember angry man shouting at me when I went down "wrong hallway" in local store. Wonder where that path led ... Candles lit here, too. And horilka purchased.
Одеса (Odessa) - A city we could understand and enjoy ourselves in, with the possible exception of the slender woman in the gingham dress, missing a few teeth, asking for change (pregnant? wants to be pregnant?). Very quaint way of casting a terrible hex upon me when I declined to "give". Involved stomach-slicing-open movements, evil looks, unintelligible incantations. Others also received her "blessing". But, I digress. The evening strolls on Primorskiy Boulevard promenade, the Bridge of Love, the Monument to the Duke de Richelieu (Ritchie Rich's granddaddy). We ate a nice traditional Ukrainian dinner at Ukrainska Lasunka ("the Sunflower restaurant" to some), located at Deribasivs_ka 17 (at intersection of Derybasivs'ka St and Katorynyns'ka St (Yekaterininskaya)). A fine young gentleman, Georgiy Matviyiv, sat down in the canopied outside dining area and began playing his bandura in a truly wonderful fashion, and completely ignored by the dinners. A rain storm broke out but it only served to cool the evening air. Oh, and the Odessa airport is not to be missed! (if you like sweltering heat, cramped areas, no where to buy a tall cool one). Sights were also seen, and candles were also lit.
Білгород-Дністровський (Bilhorod-Dnistrovs’kyi) - a road trip to the Akkerman Fortress, which is quite impressive, perched on the seacoast, semi-crumbling, adorned with fast-flying swifts and "fish flies", but worth the time to visit. Especially when you can a last-minute ice-cold Lvivske beer for 8 hryvnia ($1 US) before heading back. The road trip was fun, seeing all the local fruit & vegetable kiosks along the road, the locals advertising for seashore-rooms-for-rent with their сдам signs, grandmothers and grandfather walking around in their skimpy swim suits (and not bothered by the "skinny-is-better" cultural baggage), local home architecture, the little gardens at the small houses at each railway crossing ... Oohay could go on and on.
Oh, Dneiper River. Fishermen, birds, shoreline dachas and shanties, Oohay could spend very much more time there. Perhaps someday a return?
Overall, can say this:
Київ (Kyiv) - good, many beautiful cathedral, especially St. Michael’s Monastery of the Golden Domes (many bald-but-well-tanned men). St. Andrew's Descent, kiosks, feral dogs. Candles lit. First of many statues of Lenin. Status of glorious motherland. Friendship Arch (ha ha, more like "We will keep our claws in you forever, Little Russia" Arch). St. Sophia's. St. Andrew's.
First of many enjoyments of pyvo (see below).
Запорі́жжя (Zaporizhzhia) - dobre Kossaky! More Львівське (Lvivske beer, poky 1715!) which makes everything even better.
Енергода́р - my, what a lovely nuclear power plant you have (as we pass by in the night)
Nikopol - we hardly knew ye ...
Херсон (Kherson) - St. Catherine's (otherwise known as St. Catherine's-by-the-Sports-Stadium). Candles were lit for grandparents. Local linden tea, honey, etc., but again, we hardly knew ye. The well in the park-like forest behind St. Catherine's is interesting. RIP, Prince Potemkin.
Севасто́поль (Sevastopol) - Hello sailor (Black Sea Fleet). Performance by Black Sea Fleet Singing & Dancing Ensemble was stellar. After the performance, Mr. Incredible Balallaika Player hurriedly changed and offered his CDs for sale. Buy one! Chersoneses was several steps back in time, Balaklava was just a brief step but striking to consider changes made in less than two decade. Say seh-vah-STOW-pull.
Я́лта (Yalta) - Can you remember "The Big Three"? No, not Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill, but pick-pockets, dense crowds with dicey-looking characters, labyrinth-type streets. But nice street food. Will always remember angry man shouting at me when I went down "wrong hallway" in local store. Wonder where that path led ... Candles lit here, too. And horilka purchased.
Одеса (Odessa) - A city we could understand and enjoy ourselves in, with the possible exception of the slender woman in the gingham dress, missing a few teeth, asking for change (pregnant? wants to be pregnant?). Very quaint way of casting a terrible hex upon me when I declined to "give". Involved stomach-slicing-open movements, evil looks, unintelligible incantations. Others also received her "blessing". But, I digress. The evening strolls on Primorskiy Boulevard promenade, the Bridge of Love, the Monument to the Duke de Richelieu (Ritchie Rich's granddaddy). We ate a nice traditional Ukrainian dinner at Ukrainska Lasunka ("the Sunflower restaurant" to some), located at Deribasivs_ka 17 (at intersection of Derybasivs'ka St and Katorynyns'ka St (Yekaterininskaya)). A fine young gentleman, Georgiy Matviyiv, sat down in the canopied outside dining area and began playing his bandura in a truly wonderful fashion, and completely ignored by the dinners. A rain storm broke out but it only served to cool the evening air. Oh, and the Odessa airport is not to be missed! (if you like sweltering heat, cramped areas, no where to buy a tall cool one). Sights were also seen, and candles were also lit.
Білгород-Дністровський (Bilhorod-Dnistrovs’kyi) - a road trip to the Akkerman Fortress, which is quite impressive, perched on the seacoast, semi-crumbling, adorned with fast-flying swifts and "fish flies", but worth the time to visit. Especially when you can a last-minute ice-cold Lvivske beer for 8 hryvnia ($1 US) before heading back. The road trip was fun, seeing all the local fruit & vegetable kiosks along the road, the locals advertising for seashore-rooms-for-rent with their сдам signs, grandmothers and grandfather walking around in their skimpy swim suits (and not bothered by the "skinny-is-better" cultural baggage), local home architecture, the little gardens at the small houses at each railway crossing ... Oohay could go on and on.
Oh, Dneiper River. Fishermen, birds, shoreline dachas and shanties, Oohay could spend very much more time there. Perhaps someday a return?