russia: kaliningrad

12 June is a national holiday in Russia, called Russia Day. This year it fell on a Tuesday, so I was able to have a four day weekend from school. Claire and I took the chance to book flights to Kaliningrad, the region of Russia that is separated from the mainland.

Kaliningrad is a state of Russia surrounded by Poland and Lithuania. Centuries ago (when it was called Konigsberg,) it was part of Prussia, first part of Poland, then part of Germany. During WW2 the area was heavily damaged, and many people left and went back to mainland Germany. 

Russia sent in soldiers and took over the area, (after a siege,) changing the name of the city to Kaliningrad in 1946.

Russia deported many of the remaining Germans, and brought in a bunch of Russians to settle the state. One would think there might still be a lot of German culture and architecture left, but that wasn't what we saw, not for the most part.

I've wanted to go to Kaliningrad for yonks, but since it is part of Russia, that made it hard to do. For most people, you have to get a visa for Russia, and most people have to enter Kaliningrad via mainland Russia. 

Even if there is a direct flight to Kaliningrad from whereva you are, you have to be Russian (or a few other nationalities, but not many,) to take it. Since I'm now living in Russia, it's an easy visit to make.

Our flight was only a couple hours, yay! We flew on a Friday afternoon, it was still light when we landed. For whateva reason, a security guy pulled us aside to ask why we were there. We answered his questions, he seemed surprised that foreigners would be coming before the World Cup started (Kaliningrad was another of the host cities,) and that we lived in Moscow.

We took a taxi to the flat we'd booked, it was the winner in the battle of cheap public transport vs. time involved. It was heaps cheaper than a taxi from the airport from Moscow, of course. Checking in to the flat was easy, it had been renovated fairly recently and came with fish.

After a bit of relaxing and figuring out where to go, we started walking. The first sight was a monument to cosmonauts, I loved the shape. It was big, but didn't otherwise look like a typical Soviet monument.

As we kept walking we realized we were seeing quite a few Spar grocery stores. We noticed a Spar Express, a Spar Euro, and Spar Gourmet as well. We couldn't see a difference between all of them, who knows the reason for the different names?

Close to one of the Spars we found a monument called Mother Russia. I've seen other monuments with that name, they've all been far bigger. This one was considerably smaller, and didn't seem to get much attention from anyone else on the street.

Our walking took us to a street with a series of buildings that looked 'German.' Since I lived in Germany years ago, this seemed somewhat familiar, I'm guessing the whole city had this type of architecture at some point during history. This ended up being the only place in Kaliningrad that had this architecture.

We came to a bridge, crossing Pregolya River. There was an easy pedestrian area to cross, I had no fear of traffic. We got off the bridge onto an island, a fairly small island. Visible from all over the island, is the Konigsberg Cathedral. 

The version everyone can see now is not the original version of the church, as it was burned down in 1944. Rebuilding only started in 1992.

We wanted to go in the church, but we arrived too late. Oh well. Around that point the sun was going down, so we watched the sky change over the river for a bit, then headed back to our flat.

The next morning we walked into the city center again, taking a different route. We found Victory Square easily enough, there is a tall column (dedicated to 750 years of city existence,) in the middle. 

It isn't a clearly defined square, it's more of an open area. On one side of the square is the Chapel of the Blessed Prince Peter and Fevronia. (I feel sorry for anyone named Fevronia, sorry.) It looked new to us, but who knows. There was a large set of stairs in the front of the church, the entire exterior was white, with gold domes.

The inside of the church was awesome. Bright frescoes and a whole lot of gold everywhere. It wasn't wide, but it was tall. I loved it.

Our next planned stop was the Amber Museum.

On the way there we found a 'waterfall' with mosaic decoration. I'm not entirely sure what it was, but it was pretty. The Museum sits on one side of a traffic circle, there was a statue of a military guy (I think) on another side.

The Amber Museum is in a former tower/fortress wall. There were two floors of exhibits, I had no idea so many things could be made of amber. Useful things and decorative things, and totally useless things. Amber is 'just' fossilized tree resin. Nearly 90% of the world's amber comes from the Kaliningrad region. 

You can find it in dark gold, yellow, and green colours. We wanted to see an amber mine during this trip, but that didn't work out.

By the time we walked out of the museum, we were ambered out, but were still glad we'd seen the museum. Not far from the museum was the church of Alexander Nevsky. It was small, and didn't look very exciting from the outside, but we really liked the interior. Everything was painted in bright colours, the iconostasis was shiny gold, and the cupola was awesome.

We had to walk quite a way to our next stop, the Bunker Museum. 

This is what remains of the bunkers used in all the fighting of the seige during WW2. It took us a while to find the entrance of the museum, since it is set behind the buildings on the street. Since it is in an old bunker, it is underground, so you can't see it from far away.

The rooms in the bunker were all off one hallway, each room was set up to show a different aspect of the seige. We saw photos, a diorama of German officers surrendering to the Soviets, propaganda posters, etc... It's a good museum.

We went looking for something listed as a world clock. We finally found it, but it was not at all impressive. More impressive than the clock was the outfit of the lady walking a dog nearby. Hee hee.

Near the clock was a pond, it looked like you could rent rowboats and float around for a while. We knew we didn't have time to do so during this trip, but thought it looked fun for a return visit. From there we walked back to the cathedral, determined to go in. When we got there we discovered there was an entry fee, and several tickets to choose from. 

It wasn't immediately obvious to us which one was the old church, so we walked out. It shouldn't be that confusing to visit a church.

Around the back side of the church was a tomb of world interest: that of Immanuel Kant. The German philosopher was from and lived in Kaliningrad.

We walked across another bridge near the back side of the bridge, heading toward a part of town known as the fishing village. Waaaaay back in the day, this part of town really was a fishing village. Now it's just a long row of 'German' looking buildings, filled with restaurants, cafes, and souvenir shops. 

It's photogenic, but not much else.

More walking brought us to yet another bridge, this one called King's Bridge. As we crossed, we noticed a group taking wedding photos. I must admit, I'm not a fan of any of the bridesmaids' dresses I've seen in Russia. Ick.

We found a huge fountain not too far away, it was full of local citizens playing in the water. I guess you could call it a local splash pad? It looked fun, if we'd brought the right clothes, or at least dry clothes for later.

All that walking brought us back to the first bridge we'd walked, going over the river to the island. We followed it backward this time, all the way to a tram stop. The tram going home didn't take long, and was cheap. Have I mentioned how much I love public transportation?

After arriving back at the train station (from Svetlogorsk,) the next evening, we visited two statues. One was of Mikhail Kalinin, a Bolshevik revolutionary and Soviet Politician. This is the guy after whom the city and oblast is now named. 

The second statue was Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, a guy I've mentioned a few times previously.

We laughed as we walked past a pizza place on the way to the tram stop to get home. The place was called Obama Pizza, and had the slogan "yes, we eat."

After returning mid afternoon from Zelenogradsk the next day, we walked into the city center again. Claire was still looking for an amber piece of jewelry, so we stopped into every store we saw. Eventually she found something she liked. I got lucky and found a ring I liked in the first store we visited.

We found a big war memorial on one riverbank, it was Soviet big, which is what I typically expect in a war memorial in this country.

We went to bed early that night, since we had to be up early in the morning. Our landlord called a taxi for us at 0630, the ride back to the airport was quick and easy. We got back to Moscow around noon, into terrible weather, yuck.

I would love to return to the Kaliningrad region, to see more of the city and more of the entire area.

ukraine: rivne

Another weekend, another chance to travel. This time I chose Rivne, the capital of an oblast in Ukraine. Not a tourist city, but there aren't many of those in Ukraine to begin with.

My train left Kyiv just before 5 in the afternoon, and arrive around 10 that night. I'd booked a private apartment through booking.com, conveniently located only a 15 minute walk from the train station. Since it was dark I couldn't see a whole lot, but it was interesting to see how quiet everything was at that hour. Clearly Rivne is not a hot spot, despite being an oblast capital.

I absolutely loved my flat. The host was friendly, and it had been redone in a modern style. Totally awesome. The only thing I didn't like was the dog that wouldn't stop barking. Not long after checking in, as I was getting ready for bed I realized I'd forgotten my bag with charging cords. Argh. I forget one thing almost every time I travel, and this time it ended up being the charging bag. I only needed two, but that just meant another thing to find and buy during the weekend.

I woke up after a good night of sleep, and remembered that there was an electronics store on the ground floor of the building in which this flat was located. Yay! I figured it would open at 10, so I putzed around, not doing much of anything. I got to the store around 1030, and found out it had been open since 0900, oh well. They had the cords I needed, thank goodness.

I cleaned up and charged everything, and ended up leaving the flat after noon.

The first sight I wanted to see was marked completely wrong on one of the travel apps I use, I was expecting to have to walk much further to get there.

It turned out to be just a few blocks away.

It was a memorial statue under an arch of sorts, the statue was white. Since it was really sunny, the white statue didn't show up very well at all in daytime photos.

I continued walking, just because. I saw several markets, and decided to wander through a couple of them. Typical weekend markets for a random town. Meat, produce, dairy, dry goods, random stuff, etc... I enjoyed seeing the people living life more than the items available. I saw young and old, couples and singles. I saw shoes and socks, and teddy bears, and tea and coffee, etc...

The markets (or maybe it's just one giant city market?) stretched on for a while, with areas under the bridge and across the street.

At one end of the bridge I ust mentioned was a bill concrete ball, painted to be part of the Pokemon Go game. That game really has spread all over the world! The railings of the bridge were painted yellow and blue, which seems to be pretty standard all over the country now.

I started to cross the bridge, then realized there was more to see near the river on that side. I went down a set of stairs and ended up at a children's railway. There were two train cars, painted quite nicely.

There was an entrance office, with several children waiting around. I'm guessing their parents paid for them to be 'train officials' for a few hours. Very cute.

Then I went over the bridge, which mostly goes over land. It's a pretty big bridge for how much water is there. I wonder if the river ever grows.

Over on the other side of the bridge I ended up taking a couple photos of a gate. Yes, I know that sounds wierd, but it just struck me as photogenic. As I started walking again I saw a statue of a beer drinker just outside a restaurant. There was a group taking photos, so I hung back to wait. They saw me, and said I should join them. I figured, hey, why not?

Further along the street I saw the top of another church, so I wound through another couple streets to get there. In the front entranceway were a series of photos of the people involved with the first reformed evangelist church in the area. I love old photos, I love seeing how faces, clothes, and all sorts of things have changed. The worship area of the church itself was really boring.

I kept going along the main street, coming to another church. This was not an Orthodox church, I think it was catholic. Probably polish catholic.

The church itself wasn't open, but I walked around the yard because it was interesting. I could see the 12 stations of the cross spread around the grounds.

Further along the street I saw what looked like the living quarters for a religious group. I'm not sure of course, but this is what I'm assuming because the building was across the street from a small church, and there were people in religious garb going in and out. The flowers in the garden area were a riot of color, which I loved.

Not too far from the convent/monastery was a random apartment building. It wasn't anything special, just an example of normal life in Rivne. I loved the garden area, currently bursting with sunflowers and other colourful blooms. Off to the side of this building was what looked like a water tower, though I'm not sure.

I stopped into a small cafe because the display case looked good. I had a sort of parfait looking item, but it didn't taste nearly as good as it looked. Argh. After years of traveling in this country, how have I not learned my lesson about things looking good but not tasting good?

I went back into town, back across the bridge. On the other side of the bridge was a memorial to the Nebesna Sotna, or the Heavenly Hundred. Though the number probably isn't that specific, these are the people who died from the violence during the Maidan protests in Kyiv. There were a few photos, sandbags, and helmets as part of the memorial.

I saw what looked like a church, but when I got close I could see that it was now a theater. Unfortunately, the only open door led to the ticket desk. Darnit, I wish I could've gone inside.

I followed the street until very close to my flat.

There was a big theater (not the same one I just mentioned,) with a platz in front. Off to one side of the front of the theater was a statue of a guy sitting on a bench. I wasn't able to figure out who he was.

I continued walking, getting all the way to the kino palace. (Movie palace.) It's big, but some idiot decided it should be orange. It could and should be so much better.

There is a landscaped garden area behind the kina palace with a couple fountains, one at each end. One of the fountains was totally dry, without even a drop of water.

The other was going full bore, and since it was a windy day, the spray was going everywhere. I tried taking photos, but none of them emded up as I wanted because of the sprinkles that kept landing on the lens. There were mini roses and bigger roses, and a couple other types of flowers in the gardens between the fountains. I liked the mini roses.

After leaving the platz in front of the kino palace I wanted to cross the street and go back the other way. Unfortunately, there were fences along the street on both sides of the streets, so I had to walk all the way to the next traffic light to be able to cross the street. Argh.

My next sight was a church. (It's Ukraine, they're everywhere.) This one was marked in the wrong location on the travel app I was using, but it was really easy to find. It's pretty hard to miss, being yellow and blue. I really liked the inside of this church, and lit a few candles while I was inside.

After that, I went back to my room for an hour.

After going back out, I stopped at a grocery store (a big one,) for breakfast supplies for the next day. I had plenty of room in my purse, so I didn't have to worry about carrying an extra bag around for the rest of the evening.

My next sight was going to be Shevchenko Park, but by the time I got close the sun was going down. Darnit. As I turned around, I noticed a giant mosaic on the side of a building. It was done in the style of soviet realism, so it wasn't terribly exciting, but there was a lot of color. The name of the city was on there too, in Russian, which kinda surprised me. Rivne is in the west of Ukraine where Ukrainian is spoken much more often, I'm surprised they haven't changed it. I made a mental note to come back the next day in daylight to get photos.

Then I walked back the street, basically across the city center. I walked to a sushi restaurant for dinner; the dining room was really warm and I was the only one there for at least 30 minutes. The food was okay, and I left with a full belly.

The next morning I woke up early, and got to see a beautiful sunrise from the balcony of my flat. The sky went through a rainbow of colours, it was quiet outside, and life just felt really good.

I cleaned up and packed up, and 'checked out' at 0930. I carried my backpack with me for the rest of the day because I didnt know where else to put it.

I went back to the fountain behind the kino palace, hoping the wind wouldn't be as strong and I'd be able to get a better photo. It didn't really work. Then I went back to the huge mosaic I'd seen the day before when it was getting dark. I set up my camera on a timer, and got the photos I wanted.

Since it was daylight, I was happy to go explore Shevchenko Park. It's fairly big, with lots of little walking trails. There are plenty of trees, so you feel a sense of privacy even if there are other people around. I was up early enough that there weren't many other people around. It was absolutely lovely.

I came upon a fountain (this one was dry,) surrounded by (mostly) old men with their own second hand market. Each of them had their goods on display, most of the items for sale were coins or books, or other really old stuff. I looked for postcards, but didn't see any.

The next part of the park I walked through was an amusement park. I saw a ferris wheel which didn't look very happy, if that's a way to describe a ferris wheel. There was a ticket shack, but I couldn't tell if there was anyone inside. The wheel wasn't moving, and I didn't see anyone else in the area. I saw a carousel getting a bit more business, as well as swings and small kids rides with customers ready to ride.

I stopped at a random cafe for lunch Nothing exciting.

My next stop was another park, Melodi Park. It is known in the city for sculptures. Since I arrived in the afternoon, there were plenty of families out and about. The sculptures were quirky, but I liked them. There was a small pond in the park, very cute. I liked wandering around for about an hour.

One of my travel apps listed two synagogues, I tried to find them next. I found one, it looked quite old and unused. I never found the other one. This is really sad, because the population of Rivne used to be about 70% Jewish.

It is the same story I've learned about so many other population centers of Europe that used to be mostly Jewish. Most of them were deported and died during WW2, and not many who survived came back.

I walked through a few side streets to get to the Amber Museum. It's not really a museum, because I feel like you're supposed to learn something when you go to a museum. This was more like two rooms filled with beautiful works made with amber. I saw maps, and animals, and pretty pictures. It was a lovely place, and I appreciated being able to look without someone following me around, turning on and off lights.

I followed my map to a beautiful blue wooden church. Just as I was coming in the outside gates I saw a family coming out from the church, they'd just baptised their little girl. They asked me to take a few family photos for them, I was happy to oblige.

Go figure, the church was closed when I tried to go in after taking the photos. Oh well. I took photos of the church from all angles, as it really was pretty. I loved the blue colour.

On the street near the church were a bunch of small houses, each with spectacular flower gardens all around.

One of the houses also had an old couch on one side, it didn't look as if it had been moved any time in recent memory. Nor did it look as if anyone had sat there anytime in recent memory.

I decided to walk back to the grocery store I'd visited the night before, and pick up snacks for the train ride back to Kyiv. I couldnt' help but add to my snacks when I walked past a small cafe that had decent looking cheesecakes. It turned out I was right, they were really tasty.

I walked to the train station, and had an easy ride back to Kyiv.