Odesa

Odesa Opera and Ballet Theater

You’re probably familiar with the spelling, Odessa. Once Ukraine gained independence
from Russia, they fiddled with the spelling of things to break free from the association.

But the reality is, half the time you see Odesa spelled with one ‘s’, and the other times with two.
It’s really confusing.

This city turned out to be one of the low days of the trip. I attribute this largely to lack
of a good dinner plus an overnight train ride. Couple our grumpiness with a really bad tour guide
and all anybody wanted was to leave, sleep in a bed, and start the next day anew.

Lots and lots more photos from Odesa

Yalta Conference 2.0

This is our group shot for the trip.
After this, standing in front of ruins, a cathedral, or a coastline seemed pointless. Nothing would compare.

A bit of backstory: Other Chris (3rd from right with sword) saw these photobooth vendors set up with clothing racks full of outfits along the Yalta promenade (an outdoor entertainment area and wide walking path along the Black Sea coast). He said we should do it.

I was a vocal hold-out upon seeing the setup, fretting it wouldn’t look cohesive. When they said we’d have to pick up photos the next day, I thought I had an out. Turns out, you could use your own camera and I happened to have my GF-1. The next hurdle? There were only 5 Victorian outfits for guys.

The rest would have to wear dresses (though in hindsight, it’s hard to tell which is which.)

Three of us gave in and the next moments were a flurry of walking sideways so the crowd forming didn’t see my fat hairy backside as we took our places. Did I mention a crowd formed to watch us? Oh and that dress? It’s wide open in the back, held together by a few strained laces. Not pretty.

Anyway, with all these variables: handheld camera at night, outdoor shot (with lights), and the laughing crowd, we managed to keep it together and make this… dare I say? Masterpiece.

I keep staring at this photo and marveling at every expression, pose, and use of props.

I’m going to get it blown up and framed for my house.

The Black Sea, & Winery

Too cold to swim, but perfect weather for sunning on the Black Sea.

After the palaces, it was time for lunch, a stroll down the promenade, and then a winery. Mind you, all this is happening in one day—a ton of stuff getting packed in here.

Lunch was fairly solid this day. The borscht was somewhat flavorful, the setting enjoyable. Outside the restaurant was the Kodak kiosk above. They still sold film, but it was more for phone cards.

The promenade itself was a great way to take in the superfine weather and the Black Sea, which I may have already mentioned, is a beautiful blue.

Aqua sea water
Tons more photos of the promenade and a winery

Vorontsov & Livadia Palaces

Vorontsov Palace was a very pleasant surprise. Located at the foot of the mountains in Alupka on the Black Sea, it was built by a prince for his summer home. It’s surrounded by a 100 acre park which provided a nice stroll leading up to the residence.

It didn’t hurt that the weather was downright perfect.

Crimean Mountains form the backdrop.

Tons more photos, including Livadia Palace

Soviet nuclear submarine base, Balaklava

The harbour city of Balaklava is a part of Sevastopol, and home to a retired Soviet nuclear submarine base.

At one point, everyone in the city worked at the heavily fortified facility. A few years after the collapse of the
Soviet Union in 1991, the base was shut down and later opened to the public.

Carved under a mountain, the long tunnels were able to house a half dozen or so submarines
(depending on the size) and large rooms for warheads and torpedoes.

Now they’re filled with bits of memorabilia, scale models, and other fragments of soviet history.

Lots more photos from the day

Chersonesus Taurica

St Vladimir’s Cathedral sits centrally in the ancient Greek ruins of Chersonesus Taurica.

This part of the tour happened during the part of the day when a shower and nap would be nice.
At first the Black Sea is obscured and the foundations of the city are all you see.
But turn the corner and  the views brighten considerably, with smatterings of poppies and a horzion of water.

View more photos from the afternoon

Sevastopol

Woke up on a train chugging though green countryside and the hint of a large body of water in the air. The next leg of our journey would take us to Sevastopol, a fair sized city situated in the Crimean peninsula on the Black Sea.

For the next few days we’d have good tour guides, a ton of sights jam packed with history and fairly lackluster food. Anything that might’ve been left to be desired in the meal department would be made up by the visuals and company.

Sevastopol Hero City Obelisk framing a harbor that leads out to the Black Sea. Quite remarkable water quality. Too cold for swimming, but seemingly perfect for fishing.

Cyrillic everywhere. It’s like a game of code that messes with your head if you’re not familiar with it. For the most part of the trip, I felt as if I understood dyslexia completely. (The sign above says UKRAINE.)

More photos from the morning

Travel day

The crop of this bus photo provides a small glimpse at the comfort level inside.

I have to admit, the Egg McMuffin in Ukraine is tons better than the US version for some reason.

The brand spanking new train terminal at Donetsk, ready for throngs of football fans.
Also not quite ready, but it should be ready in time.

More photos from this travel day, including construction men in short shorts.

Soledar salt mines

A bus ride out of Donetsk gets you to Soledar, a small town famous for salt mining. Our tour kicked off with a ride down an elevator 300 meters or so (about 1000 feet) to a closed section of the mine. This was the first moment in my life where I realized I might be a bit claustrophobic.

The final cavern was 40 meters tall (131 feet) and housed a soccer field.

Four more photos of the fellas

Ukraine

Ukraine state arms (The Trident) on the county hall building.
To Donbass Liberators – a monument commemorating those that fought in WWII.

New for Donetsk? A freshly built Donbass Arena for the Euro 2012 Football Championship.

It’s big.

Because of this huge event, the entire city is being transformed. Buildings being constructed, gardens planted, walls painted, signs installed… it’s quite impressive. They had a few weeks before the event still as we arrived, so everyone was bustling a little bit harder I’d imagine.

Many many more photos from the day