Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Surreal in the City
It's been a strange 24 (36?) hours since we left Toronto. I'm in Kyiv now and we headed straight into the city to try and keep awake long enough to get our sleep patterns to mesh with the new time change.
After a good solid dinner at a cafeteria-style diner that served all Ukrainian dishes (the goulash was nice and soft), Mat and I headed out for some walking and photo snapping with no real intentions of where to go. We just knew where the subway was and how to get back to the apartment.
Detours - they can be a lot of fun. You take a cobblestone path up a hill and you spot a pink decaying building behind a fence. We knew it was a hospital of some kind and that picqued our interest. Of course this is Eastern Europe - never assume something is not in use just because it looks worn out - that's just character. The main gate had an open doorway in it with a sign that roughly said "Clinic this way", so we went.
The buildings on the grounds were amazing. Mostly in shades of fading pink and moss green, with definite signs of decay and rot, evident from half missing cement balconies. I kept waiting for someone to ask us why we were there, who we were. It never happened - everyone was polite and just left us to do our thing. I finally read the sign on the way out - Ministry of Health.
On the way back to the Metro, we came upon a big crowd watching a group of breakdancers on the sidewalk near Indepence Square. Pretty talented bunch. What a great ending to a wonderful adventure and surprise-filled day.
After a good solid dinner at a cafeteria-style diner that served all Ukrainian dishes (the goulash was nice and soft), Mat and I headed out for some walking and photo snapping with no real intentions of where to go. We just knew where the subway was and how to get back to the apartment.
Detours - they can be a lot of fun. You take a cobblestone path up a hill and you spot a pink decaying building behind a fence. We knew it was a hospital of some kind and that picqued our interest. Of course this is Eastern Europe - never assume something is not in use just because it looks worn out - that's just character. The main gate had an open doorway in it with a sign that roughly said "Clinic this way", so we went.
The buildings on the grounds were amazing. Mostly in shades of fading pink and moss green, with definite signs of decay and rot, evident from half missing cement balconies. I kept waiting for someone to ask us why we were there, who we were. It never happened - everyone was polite and just left us to do our thing. I finally read the sign on the way out - Ministry of Health.
On the way back to the Metro, we came upon a big crowd watching a group of breakdancers on the sidewalk near Indepence Square. Pretty talented bunch. What a great ending to a wonderful adventure and surprise-filled day.
Kiev!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
All hail the Alliance
We're off on the road to Ukraine... to Ukraine... to Ukraine. Now
which one of us is supposed to be Bob Hope? (Roadie movie reference
for those under 35)
which one of us is supposed to be Bob Hope? (Roadie movie reference
for those under 35)
I must say that I feel spoiled this time around - I've never set foot
in an Alliance Elite Lounge before. I didn't know this aviation utopia
existed. Free snacks, drinks, wifi, magazines, newspapers (English and
French of course), big cushy leather chairs... And quiet blissful
solitude.
I don't know if I'll ever be able to travel with the masses again.
Best enjoy it while I can. Dusseldorf here we come -can't wait to see
what you have to offer two weary jetlagged travelers at 6 in the
morning.
(Sent from my iTouch)
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Catacombing
We've booked another great tour that should be a lot of fun - the Odessa Catacombs. Although we had the option to do 2 days in the catacombs (staying overnight in sleeping bags), my lower back gave me a big NO! when I even contemplated this.
BACKGROUND
The Odessa Catacombs labyrinth approximately 2500 kilmetres under the city and surrounding neighbourhoods. They developed over the last two hundred years, beginning as natural formations and completing with the addition of man-made tunnels. The major part of them are made up of former limestone mines used to build the city's 19thC homes, with the remainder being natural caivities and sewage tunnels. The full extent of the catacombs has not been mapped and is a primary reason a subway system was never built in Odessa.
The first stone mines appeared in the second half of the 19thC with building growth in the city. They were used as a source of cheap construction materials. During World War II, the catacombs served as a hiding place for Soviet partisans and their struggles were detailed in the book The Waves of the Black Sea by Valentin Kataev. Armies were able to house enough food and weaponry to keep them underground for almost six months at a time. In 1961, the Poisk Club was created to explore the history of the partisan movement in the catacombs and it expanded the catographical boundaries of the area.
By the 21stC limestone mines were discontinued in Odessa. Today, the catacombs are a great attraction for "extreme" tourists but you must go in with a guide.
(Some information from Wikipedia - Odessa Catacombs)
(Photo from Wikimedia Commons - Polyschuk Dennis Anatolyevycz)
BACKGROUND
The Odessa Catacombs labyrinth approximately 2500 kilmetres under the city and surrounding neighbourhoods. They developed over the last two hundred years, beginning as natural formations and completing with the addition of man-made tunnels. The major part of them are made up of former limestone mines used to build the city's 19thC homes, with the remainder being natural caivities and sewage tunnels. The full extent of the catacombs has not been mapped and is a primary reason a subway system was never built in Odessa.
The first stone mines appeared in the second half of the 19thC with building growth in the city. They were used as a source of cheap construction materials. During World War II, the catacombs served as a hiding place for Soviet partisans and their struggles were detailed in the book The Waves of the Black Sea by Valentin Kataev. Armies were able to house enough food and weaponry to keep them underground for almost six months at a time. In 1961, the Poisk Club was created to explore the history of the partisan movement in the catacombs and it expanded the catographical boundaries of the area.
By the 21stC limestone mines were discontinued in Odessa. Today, the catacombs are a great attraction for "extreme" tourists but you must go in with a guide.
(Some information from Wikipedia - Odessa Catacombs)
(Photo from Wikimedia Commons - Polyschuk Dennis Anatolyevycz)
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