ukraine: dnipropetrovsk

My train left kyiv at 2330, arriving in Dnipropetrovsk (southeast of kyiv) at 0700 Saturday morning...as I left the train there were a few people still asleep, and others not making any move to leave the train...I knew Dnipropetrovsk was the end station, so who knows what all of them were up to...this was the first time i'd ever seen people still asleep when the train came to it's final stop...usually the conductor comes through an hour before arrival, then again 20 minutes or so before, making sure everyone is ready to get off the train...

I exited the train into snow...at that point it was snowing lightly, and everything was greyish white...since it is still early in the season, we haven't had any big snows yet. I walked a bit and found the bus station, in which was a hotel where ii'd booked a room...it wasn't marked at all, I wouldn't have found it or seen it if I hadn't looked very carefully...a very basic place, to say the least...i dropped my stuff, and attempted to warm up, but that wasn't really happening...i thought i'd booked a single room, but two other ladies were there, so i figured it was a dorm room...one of them complained to the manager lady that it was cold, so i wasn't the only one feeling that way...

I started walking into the city center...I walked along Karl Marx avenue, which runs a long way...it's one of those streets that has a pedestrian area in the middle...there were heaps of people out, despite the snow, the early hour, and the fact that it was saturday morning...
One of my first sights was the opera building...the outside was not attractive...at all...typical boring soviet style, not like what I expected...so boring I didn't take a photo...if i hadn't looked at a map and known for sure it was an opera house, i never would've guessed...the only visible clue were the opera and theatre schedules posted out front...the statue and would be fountain off to the side were much more interesting...

Not too far away, I found another theatre building, it looked way better...as I looked at that building, I also became aware of men selling stuff in a small non permanent market...I saw buttons, a few old items, etc...behind the men was a building with plenty of graffiti...I couldn't tell if it hadn't been finished, or was falling apart...either way, it was blocked off and I couldn't get close...
Then I walked down teatralna street...a few small shacks with electronics, and more stalls with books...not much else...lonely planet says this is a street worth visiting, i didn't feel the attraction...maybe because it was snowing? and still relatively early saturday morning?

As I continued up Karl Marx street I saw the golden domes of a church and figured out how to get there...(it was behind the building in front of me, I had to walk way around)...very pretty, not big, and rather dark inside since the lights were not turned on...
Lunch was next, though a bit early at only 1100...then back to the Main Street...
Eventually I made it to the end of the street...there was a statue of lemonosov, in front of the national mining university...there was also a tank memorial to general Pushkin...

on the other side of the street was the history museum...the museum was small, but that didn't matter...outside I could see heaps of little statues off to one side of the building...on the other side of the building was a tomb...behind the building was a display of military items...rockets, a tank, trucks, etc...nifty looking in the snow...
I walked to Shevchenko park, with ta grand entrance...as I walked through I saw a couple having their wedding photos taken...in the snow! The wedding party was waiting around...I didn't feel bad for the two ladies wearing miniskirts who looked cold (that's just dumb in snowy windy weather, no matter what the occasion)...I did feel bad for the people dressed appropriately who were clearly cold...

Toward the back of the park I came upon the cathedral of the transfiguration...not big, very nice inside...again, not lit, so it was kinda dark...
After the church I made my way back to my hotel, picked up my stuff, then took the tram to another hotel...I was cold in the first hotel, and the wifi wasn't working...it took me a bit to find the new hotel (what's with the lack of signage??) but it was worth it...heat and wifi, what more could I want??
The next morning I woke up slowly, just because I could...I got out later than planned, not that it mattered...first up was lunch, as I hadn't eaten dinner the night before...

It wasn't snowing anymore, but it was still windy, plus the ice on the streets and sidewalks made walking an adventure...
After lunch I got back to a park I hadn't seen the day before...pretty, with a small amusement park for kids...a pond...a theatre in the middle of the pond...people sledding  down the hills everywhere, it looked like fun :)
I found a small train station, I don't know if the trains actually run...maybe in summer? the trains were covered in snow, and the tracks were blocked off in one direction...
Walking down the street I found another church...not an Orthodox Church...nice and quiet, relaxing :)...

Next up was a hot chocolate and cake stop in a cafe :)...the cafe had plugs and free wifi, yahoo!
After warming up and charging the iPhone I started walking again...this time walking down a street parallel to Karl Marx street...the street was quiet, residential on one side with car repair places on the other side...I bet the views from the tall apartment buildings are nice :)
At some point I realized it was dark...I don't love walking around in the dark, especially when it's cold...I found a lighted area outside another big mall (I've saw heaps in this city) and walked all the way around...then I figured it was time to go back inside, so I found a sushi place for dinner...(heaps of sushi restaurants here too)...

After dinner I killed more time until making my way back to the train station and waiting until my train left at 2225...have I mentioned how much I love the train system in this country?