It appears you have not registered with our community. To register please click here ...

!!

Welcome to Russian Women Discussion - the most informative site for all things related to serious long-term relationships and marriage to a partner from the Former Soviet Union countries!

Please register (it's free!) to gain full access to the many features and benefits of the site. Welcome!

+-

Author Topic: trip to Ukraine part 2  (Read 9666 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline lmshima57

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 14
  • Country: us
  • Gender: Male
  • Spouse's Country: Ukraine
  • Status: Looking > 5 years
  • Trips: 4 - 10
trip to Ukraine part 2
« on: December 13, 2014, 05:32:20 AM »
While I am in Kharkov, I get a message from a woman who I was supposed to meet.
She has the flu and is with her parents.  I have done this before and I am not surprised
or particularly disappointed.  I meet two women in Kharkov arranged by my interpreter.
The first woman speaks acceptable English and is very nice.  I would not mind meeting
her again, but I ask my interpreter to arrange a meeting with a second woman.  The second
woman is very attractive and seems very nice, but she does not demonstrate any ability to
speak English.  My interpreter tells me that this is not critical, but I have my concerns. 
She is a physician who is specialized in nutrition.  She says that she would like to have a
family and would be happy to move to another country.  She is very nice and I would not
mind meeting her again.

The weather warms up a bit which melts the snow, but then it refreezes and walking
around becomes treacherous.  My laptop crashes after a few days and I proceed to see if
I can get it fixed in Kharkov.  From a previous visit last year, I remember going to an Apple
Store in a mall with a grocery store called Karavan.  I take a taxi to the mall, but find that
the store is no longer there.  They do have an ice skating rink and I have lunch at the
McDonalds there.  It would be easy to take a taxi back to town, but I want to take the
metro.  I found the metro station with the assistance of people on the street.  There are
machines that sell tickets for the metro.  They accept only coins or 1, 2, or 3 grivna notes.
I am not sure which way I need to go, but fortunately this stop is at the last stop on this
line and I just follow everyone else.  I manage to get to the city center on the metro.  I
go to a store that sells Apple computers near the central performance theatre, but I find
out they will not fix my computer if I did not buy it from them.  They are unable to refer
me to someone who can fix my computer.  I take a taxi back to the hotel and I am thankful
that I did not fall on the ice which is everywhere.

I enjoy my stay at the Superior Golf Club and Spa.  I would like the water to be warmer,
but that is my only criticism.  There is not much in the surrounding area and a taxi is
necessary to go into the city center.  I enjoy walking around Kharkov, but with the cold
weather and ice, it is not a particularly good time for this.

I take the train from Kharkov to Odessa.  My interpreter purchased the ticket and I share
the compartment with another traveler.  I think the cost was less the $50.  At the train
station there are many steps to get to the platforms.  I manage to get on the train without
too much difficulty.  I always buy a large bottle of water when I travel on the train.  The
water in the bathrooms is not potable and the bathrooms are generally disgusting.  There
is a dining car on the train, but I do not have much experience with it.  There are vendors
and the train staff ask if you would like coffee, tea, or snacks.  It is 14 hours to Kharkov.
The train leaves at 1800 and arrives at 0800 the following morning.  It is a sleeping car
and I manage to sleep the first 5 hours of the trip.  I arrive in Odessa and get a taxi.  I have
to go to the office to pick up my bus ticket.  My interpreter has arranged for my bus ticket,
but I have to take the voucher to get my actual ticket.  I am able to explain this to the driver
by showing him my voucher.  I manage to get my ticket and I go to the hotel.  I have tried
to purchase train tickets in the past and found that the cashier generally do not speak much
English and are not helpful.  It is much easier to have an interpreter or the concierge arrange
this.  I did purchase a train ticket from a small office in Kharkov down the street from the
McDonalds on Pushkin Street.  The people there were more helpful, but not as busy as the
train station.  Also, I have experienced that some of the local people will not hesitate and walk
to the front of the line in front of people who have been waiting.  One time when this occurred,
there was an exchange of words from the others who were waiting in line.

I am staying at the Bristol Hotel in Odessa.  I have stayed here on my previous trip.  It is a
very nice place with a long history.  The difference on this trip is that the price is 1/3 of what
I have paid in the past.  Part of this is seasonal and part is the value of the grivna.  I would
expect that business may be slow due to the conflict in the eastern part of Ukraine, but this
is generally the slow season.  When I get to the hotel, they tell me that my room will be ready
at noon.  I go and have breakfast at McDonalds on Deribasovskaya.  I do not see the bull in
front of the steak house, but it may be covered.  Later in the day, the bull is there on a pedestal
and it is a different color.  I do not know much about bulls, but this one seems to have an udder.

While I am waiting for my room, I asked the staff at the hotel to recommend a place to have
my laptop fixed.  They mention two places.  One is near the McDonalds on the other side of the
shopping mall, but it does not open until 1030.  I spend some time at the shopping mall to get
out of the cold.  There is a large wall with a Greek figure on it.  I use it to place my computer
while I try to organize my things.  The security guards says something in Russian, but I tell him
in Russian that I do not understand Russian very well.  He tells me in English that this is a
monument for the dead and I am not supposed to touch it.  I go to the computer store and
they think it is a hardware problem and refer me to the other store.  I go to the other store
and they say that they will have someone look at it and call me with the estimate.  They call
me later in the day and tell me my computer is fixed.  The cost of the repair and replacing one
of the rubber pads on the bottom of the computer is 450 grivna or about $30.  I think that I
am getting a really good deal.

I check into the hotel and find that there are no messages for me.  Again, I am not surprised.
I am slightly disappointed, but I enjoy this city very much.  I think that I could enjoy living
here.  My only concern would be related to the conflict and the potential instability related to
the financial status of the country.  I go to the Potemkin steps and enjoy the view of the
Black Sea.  I enjoy a Ukrainian restaurant on the corner of Deribasovskaya and Ekaterinaskaya.
I like the borsch.  Unfortunately, the beef stroganoff is not on the menu.  I have the golubtsy
instead.  I drink bottled water, but I have the complimentary vodka with the garnish of salo,
pickle, and rye bread.  I do not particularly like this, but something in me says it is the right
thing to do.  I like the expression of hospitality.  The other place that I like to eat is the cafeteria
in the basement of the shopping center.  I like the baked chicken and rice usually with some
vegetable.  Instead of the rice, I have boiled potatoes with dill.  The potatoes are cold, but I
enjoy the taste.  The corn and peas were rather tasteless.  They charge for salt, pepper, and
any carry out containers here.

I run on the treadmill every day in the fitness center of the hotel.  There and 2 treadmills and
2 cross training machines.  They have an indoor pool, sauna, and steam room.  Massage services
are available.  I run early in the morning and generally I am the only one there.  The room at
hotel is great.  My only criticism is that the water is not hot enough.  I do not remember this on
my previous visit and this may be an energy conserving measure.

I will be taking the morning bus from Odessa to Boryspil.  It is scheduled to leave at 0600 and
arrive at 1300.  I will be staying at the Korona Hotel for one night and leave the following morning
at 0625.  I brought gifts from the U. S. and I think that the people who received them will enjoy
them, I think it might be better to pick up gift locally.  It is a tradeoff of traveling light.  I always
bring 3 adapters for the  European plugs and this is useful.  I would bring less clothes.  At the
Superior Golf Club and Spa, I had some shirts cleaned.  I took them to the front desk in the
morning and they were returned later that day.  They do have quicker service for a charge.  I
think that a small clothes steamer would be helpful.  I got new SIM cards and I think that this
is helpful when arriving in Ukraine.  I have purchased SIM cards in the airport previously, but
this is not always possible.  On all my trips to Ukraine, I think that it would be a nice thing to
have a roll of Charmin toilet paper.

I appreciate all the information that I obtained on RWD from those who preceded me.  I wish
the best of luck to those who will follow.  I hope to visit Yalta when it is again part of Ukraine. 
I hope that Ukraine will manage to endure the present difficulties and look forward to a brighter
future.  I hope to live to see this day.

 

+-RWD Stats

Members
Total Members: 8883
Latest: Leroy14
New This Month: 1
New This Week: 0
New Today: 0
Stats
Total Posts: 541002
Total Topics: 20849
Most Online Today: 2013
Most Online Ever: 12701
(January 14, 2020, 07:04:55 AM)
Users Online
Members: 11
Guests: 1878
Total: 1889

+-Recent Posts

Re: What to do by krimster2
Today at 09:47:10 AM

What to do by 2tallbill
Today at 09:37:41 AM

Re: If you don't know what you are talking about, post away anyway by 2tallbill
Today at 09:18:17 AM

Re: American With Russian Fiancé - Scheduled For K1 Interview In Warsaw, BUT.... by krimster2
Today at 07:00:25 AM

Re: American With Russian Fiancé - Scheduled For K1 Interview In Warsaw, BUT.... by Brillynt
Today at 06:16:36 AM

Re: American With Russian Fiancé - Scheduled For K1 Interview In Warsaw, BUT.... by krimster2
Yesterday at 09:20:42 PM

Re: American With Russian Fiancé - Scheduled For K1 Interview In Warsaw, BUT.... by Infoman
Yesterday at 09:12:54 PM

Re: American With Russian Fiancé - Scheduled For K1 Interview In Warsaw, BUT.... by krimster2
Yesterday at 09:02:12 PM

American With Russian Fiancé - Scheduled For K1 Interview In Warsaw, BUT.... by Infoman
Yesterday at 08:45:42 PM

Re: What to do by Trenchcoat
Yesterday at 07:59:27 PM

Powered by EzPortal