Ukraine for Thanksgiving
In November I looked around for a Thanksgiving break trip, something that wouldn’t go far over budget, (you’re right, I don’t really have one!) something different and interesting. It would be too difficult to travel to and from Macedonia, and Ukraine is one of the few remaining countries not on the Euro with direct flights to and from here. So there was the decision -- to Ukraine!
I did actually have an interest in the country other than cheap and convenient travel, and that was to see the Black Sea and the site of the Yalta Conference. So it was a quick flight to Kiev, a half day visit of that city, reminiscent of most Russian cities, and another internal flight to Simferopol, a long taxi ride, and finally arrival in Yalta. Oh, but there are details!
1) Kiev and the demonstration: On a relatively dull city-wandering tour before the afternoon flight, there was a demonstration waiting to be discovered… peaceful, but enormous. I asked around (with my very limited Russian and everyone else’s non-existent English) and found out that it had to do with the city mayor’s decision about local taxes. Still, there were thousands of people with their political party flags, all very involved. Maybe I misunderstood?
I did actually have an interest in the country other than cheap and convenient travel, and that was to see the Black Sea and the site of the Yalta Conference. So it was a quick flight to Kiev, a half day visit of that city, reminiscent of most Russian cities, and another internal flight to Simferopol, a long taxi ride, and finally arrival in Yalta. Oh, but there are details!
1) Kiev and the demonstration: On a relatively dull city-wandering tour before the afternoon flight, there was a demonstration waiting to be discovered… peaceful, but enormous. I asked around (with my very limited Russian and everyone else’s non-existent English) and found out that it had to do with the city mayor’s decision about local taxes. Still, there were thousands of people with their political party flags, all very involved. Maybe I misunderstood?
2) The flight from Kiev to Yalta: first, the Kiev domestic airport could be compared to a small town bus station in the US, in size, basic facilities, and sketchy characters.
3) The plane… think of an old Soviet military cargo plane, a little remodeling to make it look like a passenger plane, but no frills. I’m quite sure there were NO safety features (other than the seatbelt across the emergency exit door to hold it in place). The pilots still had windows at their feet so they could see what they were shooting, or where they were going to crash!
4) The taxi ride… (Mom and Dad, please don’t read this part!) There were no more buses or trams from Simferopol to Yalta when we arrived, so we looked for a “legal” taxi, which doesn’t really exist, but we met a nice old man at the snack bar, and he offered to drive us there for a reasonable price. We chatted in my 20 words of Russian so at least we knew his name and favourite type of car before we risked our lives in his minivan. I believe he drove the whole way in 4th gear, up and down the mountain roads, passing large trucks and flashing his lights at cars passing in the opposite direction on the 2-lane highway. But it only cost about $20 for the 2-hour ride.
Downtown Kiev and the Kiev Theatre
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