russia: kostroma

When I first put Kostroma on my list of places to go it was because I saw a pretty picture on social media. I was thrilled when I realized it was also listed in my guidebook.

Kostroma is one of the so-called Golden Ring towns around Moscow. The 2010 census said there were almost 270,000 residents in a city a little over 330 kilometers northeast of Moscow. Fun fact: Kostroma is the name of the East Slavic goddess of fertility. Why this name was chosen for a town name, I don't know. 

The first official mention of Kostroma in written history was in 1213, but there are a few arguments that the city was older, even arguments saying several centuries older. There is the thought that Kostroma was founded in 1152, and there are thoughts that the history of the town could go as far back as 400-600 CE.

Like pretty much every town in Russia, Kostroma was taken by the Mongols when they were creating the largest empire the world has ever known. When Mongol warriors moved on, they left locals (Russians) in charge, as they did in most places they conquered during that time.

Kostroma finally received official town status in 1719, despite being around for several hundred years at that point. In 1773 a massive fire destroyed much of the city. The rebuild included streets radiating from a single point near the banks of the Kostroma River. Legend has it that Catherine the Great dropped her fan on a map of the city, and told architects in charge of rebuilding to follow her lead.

When I booked my train tickets to Kostroma I thought it was a small town, so I booked tickets for two night trains in a row. I also booked the dates by accident. 

When I made the booking, I thought it was in February, but I actually clicked on the dates in March, whoops! Thankfully the dates in March were still on a weekend. Also thankfully, when I double checked the train departure time in February I did so before arriving at the train station, so I noticed the mistaken dates before getting to the train station and getting frustrated with myself.

My train arrived on time in Kostroma, as expected. Since it was still dark when I arrived, I stayed in the station for a couple hours, sitting on a chair near a plug. The station was not exciting, but they can't all be.

The train station in Kostroma is nowhere near the city center, but I had all day, so not long after daylight I started walking. Not too far from the train station I saw a mosque, which is not something you see a lot of in Russia. It wasn't particularly good looking, but the recent weather had left lots of puddles, so the reflection in water was quite nice.

I kept walking along the main street, enjoying the random buildings along the way. Since it was still before 0900, there weren't many other people around. 

Eventually I got to the place where I took my favourite photo during this trip.

The Church of the Saviour in the Ranks is a typical Orthodox church, originally built for merchants. What made it special for me is the location, on one end of an arcaded central market. As a puddle had helped me make a nice photo of a mosque an hour earlier, another puddle helped me make a photo of this market and church. I love reflection photos.

I wanted to see the inside of the church, and take photos, but there was a service taking place when I opened the door so I only stayed inside for a few minutes, and took no photos.

This church and market were close to the main square (the 'center of the fan, if you will,) from which some of the streets of the city radiate. Named after the town hero, Susanin Square is quite pretty from a couple perspectives.

Standing in the middle of the square (which is a landscaped area in warmer months,) I had the perfect viewpoint of the former fire station. It has a gorgeous fire tower, (used to watch out for fires back in the day,) but is now used as a history/art museum. Really photogenic, if you have the patience to wait for a moment when no one is walking in front of the whole thing.

Since I love to find Lenin statues, that was my next goal. I'd found two of them listed on a map, so I headed up Lenin street toward one of them. The walk was rather long, and not through a pretty part of town, to say the least. I finally got to the statue, it was less than impressive. He was pretty small, compared to other statues, and in a very small park/square off an intersection.

If I hadn't been looking for this Lenin statue, I never would've noticed this one, (partly because it is in such a random part of the city,) mostly because it would've been super easy to walk right past the area. Anywho, I took my normal photo with the statue, then found the closest bus stop. 

Even though I love walking, I didn't want to spend another hour and some getting to my next sight.

After hopping off the marshrutka, I stumbled upon two churches on my way to another church. The first church wasn't amazing, but I did like the cemetery that surrounded the church. The second church was wooden, and surrounded by a fence, and the gate was locked. I wish I had been able to enter that one.

My next sight is probably the most visited sight in Kostroma. 

Ipatiev Monastery is like the city in that it has multiple founding dates. The Wikipedia article says the monastery was founded in 1330 by Prince Chet, an Orthodox convert, a Tatar. The article goes on to say that some historians think it was actually founded by Yaroslavich, in 1275, but then declined as the whole region declined. Looking at the history this way, Prince Chet only revived the place. I don't really care which is the correct founding date, as it doesn't impact the experience of a visitor.

The Romanov family was a big fan of this monastery, several of them visited or lived in the monastery. The house in which Tsar Mikhail Romanov lived in has been preserved, near one of the walls of the area. It wasn't difficult to find the entry gate, as there is a lovely mural painted above the gate, with a cross on top of the whole thing.

There is an entrance fee to visit the monastery, there is also a photo fee. Argh. Put the fees together, it's not terribly cheap. Women have to wear headscarves and skirts, both are available to borrow, and they do make sure you're wearing them. 

I'm not sure wearing a wraparound skirt over a pair of pants and a winter coat is particularly respectful (because my opinion is that it looks ridiculous,) but it isn't my choice.

I think there are typically two churches to visit in this monastery, but one of them was closed for renovation. Argh. The main church was plain white on the outside, which didn't prepare me for the riot of colour inside. The interior wasn't big, but it was tall, and every square centimeter was painted. I might've gotten whiplash from the way I was trying to look in every direction at the same time.

Even the hallway outside the church was fully covered with frescoes. Neither the inside nor the hallway were bright, but there was just so much colour that I loved it all. There was a gold iconostasis up front, but it didn't stand out because of all the colour everywhere.

As the moastery is on the western bank of the Kostroma River, not close to the city center, I chose to walk back toward the city center. The bridge I crossed probably has a great view of the monastery on the river, but that side of the was being redone, so I didn't get that view. Argh.

On my way back into the city center I passed a big rock monument. Since rocks are generally quite boring, I read the accompanying sign, which said that this was where the city had been founded.

I walked through the arcaded market this time, but on the other side from what I'd seen previously. Vendors were selling the same things I've seen in every Russian market: produce, dairy, second hand goods, etc...

I kept going, and eventually got to the central park. In one area of the park was a huge Lenin statue. Not only was the statue quite big, it was on a big and fancy pedestal. Definitely one of the most grand Lenin statues I've seen.

I attempted to go to the teapot museum next. I love tea, how awesome did this museum sound? I was gutted when I got to the entrance gate and discovered you have to call ahead of time to arrange a tour, and you have to have a group of at least six people. Needless to say, its not likely I'll ever get to see this museum, darnit.

I did get to see the cheese museum, which also requires a tour. The tour is in Russian, so I didn't understand much, but it was fun to look around in each room and try to figure out what the guide was saying. 

Russian cheese isn't all that exciting, but it was nice to try to learn a bit about the history and industry in Russia.

After that I had one more museum to visit, this one dedicated to the Romanovs. Go figure, when I got to the ticket desk I had to try to sort out a bunch of different ticket options. They had an English menu as well, but the options didn't seem to be the same as the Russian menu, which made it even worse to sort it out. I finally chose two areas to visit, after which they tried to get me to buy a three area ticket. Argh. I had to repeat several times that I just wanted these two areas. 

Then when visiting the first room I discovered it had a separate photo fee, but the second area didn't.

The museum exhibits were nice, but I was so annoyed by the ticket process that I didn't enjoy it as much as I should've. I did appreciate the grand staircase with pieces of art displayed on the walls along the stairs. Very nice.

After leaving this museum I decided I had seen enough for the day. It snowed briefly while I walked to a cafe, thankfully not for long. I killed a few hours in the cafe, then walked back to the train station where I killed a few more hours before boarding my train and departing for Moscow.

I'd like to go back to Kostroma, to see a couple more museums and views, and experience the town in warmer weather :)

hungary: budapest

Before and after my days in Burgas, Bulgaria, I spent a day in Budapest. Budapest has recently become a favorite of mine, so a day layover makes me happy.
As usual I took a wizzair flight from kyiv, so I landed around 0720...by this point I knew how to get into town using public transport, it was easy.
I found my hotel, but my room wasn't ready for checkin (it was only 0900 or so) so I dropped my pack and went out walking.
I saw at Stephens basilica again, I ate a giant ice cream again. I people watched again. I walked up stairs to the second floor of the central market so I could take a better photo.
I walked up castle hill and over to the back side, to find the hospital in the rock. It has been a hospital for a while, but is no longer active. The original health facility was created in naturally occurring caves in the hill. 

Over the years, people extended the caves into tunnels. The entire area is actually pretty extensive. The only way to see the hospital is on an overpriced tour, during which you don't get to take any photos. There are dioramas/wax figures/authentic objects in each room, and our guide did a good job. She explained different periods of the hospitals history, who was served at the hospital, how everything functioned. Toward the very end we got to sound the alarm that would've sounded had there ever been a nuclear attack. Thank goodness that never happened.
After the hospital I walked to the buildings on the hill that house a couple good museums. I visited one of these museums with Katie a year ago, but I hadn't been able to see the exterior of the buildings back then. Very very pretty. Not too many people around, yay for photos!

The day I spent in Budapest after Burgas was very low key. My flight landed around 1000, my hotel had my room clean when I arrived just before noon. After resting up for a short while, I changed into my bikini (with a long dress over) and started walking. I walked straight to szeschenyi baths, the same place I visited earlier in the summer.
I spent over four hours at the baths. Awesome. Totally awesome. I stayed in every pool for a while, and lived every minute of it. Sooo relaxing. I was very pickled by the time I left, I can't wait to go back again. At the end of the visit I went back through the whole thing with my camera.
Is it bad that I had a giant ice cream for dinner?
The next morning I had another early morning flight back to kyiv. I was sad to see the end of my summer travels, and of course I've already started planning next summer :)

hungary: budapest again

I really like Budapest. i love that i can walk all over the city. i love that it's always possible to find another sight to see.  i love that there are so many cafes with so much wonderful food. i love that the language of hungary is completely unrelated to the languages of the surrounding countries. i love all the ways i can use public transport.  i love that there are outdoor and indoor sights. Amazing city, i'm surprised it isn't more well known? I rediscovered the city in August 2014, though that visit was only 2 days. I was thrilled when I realized I could visit again this summer, and for a longer period of time.

My flight departed kyiv at 0620, then landed in Budapest at 0700. Not much in the budapest airport was open at that hour. I was able to use triposo to figure out a public transport way to get into the city. Not particularly fast, but at that hour, who cares. plus it was a lot cheaper to use public transport than to use the shuttle service.  a LOT cheaper.
i found my hostel, and though i was early, i was able to check in and drop my bag. it turned out that this hostel was mostly student housing during the school year, so there were interesting aspects to the hostel...there was a library!! of course, all the books were in hungarian, and i have no idea what the topics were, but THERE WAS A LIBRARY!!

my room was considered a double room, but it actually had six beds...three of the beds were lofted, 3 on the floor...i had my choice of any of them...each bed had a couple plugs nearby...there was also a large table that would've been good for studying if i was a student...im curious how much students pay for housing each semester, and how long the semesters last...
after resting up for a while, i went out in the city...i walked toward a sight close to my hostel, the tomb of gul baba...on the way to the tomb i walked past millenium park...it was small, filled with flowers, very pretty...
to get to the tomb, i went up some stairs...i was huffing and puffing when i got to the top, but there was a sense of silence that i loved...definitely a good place for contemplation...

after seeing the tomb, i walked down the hill toward the river running through the city...i walked across st margarets bridge, over the whole river...in the middle of the river, touched at one end by the bridge is st margarets island...on the island are places for various sports, as well as a fountain, and nice park...the fountain often plays in time with music...really fun to watch for a few minutes...
after crossing the entire river, i walked along for a while with no particular aim in mind...as i walked past one cafe i saw a giant piece of cake covered in cream...a GIANT piece of cake...even though it was only the middle of the morning, i figured hey, why not?

it was good, and very rich...so rich that i couldn't finish it...if you know me, you know that means it was really big, and really rich...i gave it my best effort, but failed :)
i found a church with open front doors, but the inner doors weren't open, so i couldn't really go in...i felt like i was peering in, doing something wrong...when are churches actually open for me to wander?
i figured out that i wanted to see heroes square, as i hadn't seen it last summer...on my way there, i walked through a rather long tunnel under train tracks, covered by graffiti the whole way...despite its length, it smelled normal, not like people relieving themselves...awesome!

i came to heroes square, and loved it...it's a big area, with a tall column in the middle...around the bottom of the column are some statues, they're probably telling a historical story...on the back side of the square (which isn't really a square) is a series of columns/gates...the ground has nice decor, almost like mosaics...if only i could've taken photos of the entire place without other people...
behind heroes square is a palace...i don't remember the name...in the palace complex was a small church, that didn't have an entrance fee but did request donations...not very impressive, but i'm glad i looked around...the best part of the palace area was the park surrounding the entire area...

it didn't look as though the entire thing was built at one time, as i could see different architecture in different parts...or i could be totally wrong...
after the palace, i walked on a major street called andrassy utca, back to the city centter...this street is a unesco sight, though i'm not entirely sure why...on one street corner is a place called house of terror...
the house of terror is a museum and commemorative place that shows different aspects of life under the soviets, and life under the nazis...it's the same type of place i've seen in other places that used to be part of the east bloc, and it's just as disturbing each time i see the evidence....

there were photos of people who disappeared during these years, there were photos of people who were tortured...(thank goodness there weren't picture of people after torture)...there were displays of what people had in their homes...it's a very intense place, you walk out feeling a sense of exhaustion; and relief that it didn't happen to you...
my next stop was the area around parliament...parliament is a gorgeous building, always stunning...it's the kind of place that always catches your attention, no matter how many times you see it...the museum of ethnography is across the street on the backside of parliament...i didn't go in this museum, but took a few moments to appreciate the architectural beauty from the outside...

not far from parliament on the river side is a permanent exhibition katie and i didn't get to see last summer...it's called shoes on the danube...very moving, heartbreaking...
my next sight was supposed to be the glass house, but i ended up getting there about 15 minutes after it closed...argh...
eventually i started making my way back to my hostel...it wasn't very late, but it had been a long-ish day of walking, on top of me waking up super early to catch my plane...
as i walked up the other side of the river, i passed the entrance gates to one of the many thermal baths in the city...absolutely gorgeous...if i get to come back to budapest a few more times i hope to spend time in each of the baths, to figure out which is my favorite...

as i got close to my hostel, i realized i was walking along the river at the same place where the stalls had been set up for st stephens day when katie and i visited the summer before...only this time, these sidewalks were under repair...i'm assuming everything was supposed to be finished in time for the holiday later in the summer?
the next day, after returning from esztergom, i went back to a place katie and i had visited last summer...a cafe called gerbaud...maybe it was because i visited by myself, or maybe there is another reason, but it wasn't nearly as awesome this time...the inside is still gorgeous, and the presentation of my apple studel was still lovely, but it just wasn't as nice...the service took longer, and seemed less than concerned with my experience...

i left the cafe and walked toward st stephens basilica...no matter how many times i see this place, i'm always stunned...the outside is nice, but the inside is awesome...this time, when i walked in i realized a service was taking place...the front section of seats was reserved for people attending the service, the back area was the only place for tourists during the service...
after the church i walked along a pedestrian zone and chose one of the many thai massage places...i wanted a foot massage...i ended up with an hour long foot massage, though it wasn't what i wanted...i wanted a 90 minute foot massage, and it was listed on their menu...

the manager guy first tried to get me to go for a full body massage, and when i said no, he tried to charge me more for the foot massage than what was on their menu! argh...eventually he said a 90 minute massage wasn't going to happen, even though it was on the menu and they had three massage therapists sitting around...
i walked home along a street called fo utca...lonely planet tells me it's a street with nice stores, but i didn't see much of note...i stopped at a spar market to pick up water for the next day, and of course spent more time in there than expected...i always get 'lost' in supermarkets :)

the next day, after returning from visegrad and szentendre, i made my way to a cafe in the city center called anna...i chose it because the previous day i'd seen someone eating a giant ice cream sundae...i ordered the same thing...it was huge...served in a glass that was taller than my guidebook!! four scoops of ice cream, plus whip cream and sauces...yum...not terribly good for my teeth, or waistline, but i didn't care :)
the next morning my first sight was the citadel...it's on top of a hill on one side of the river...it was hot and sunny, and humid, so i was sweating like mad when i got to the top...there were plenty of bugs too, i felt as though i was swatting them away nearly constantly...

there isn't one main way up the hill, just a bunch of paths that constantly branch off...if you constantly aim up, you'll get to the top...
the guidebook says the citadel is open 24 hours, but the doors were closed when i got up there...i don't know if i was too early, or it was monday, or what...oh well...i still enjoyed the views over the entire city...awesome...plus, there is a giant statue on one side...
i followed a path down the other side of the hill, equally lovely...it wasn't as covered, so there were fewer bugs, and more views...the bottom of this side brought me to the entrance to gellert baths, another of the city's baths...

i crossed the bridge over the river, taking me straight to the central market...when katie and i were here last summer, we walked by the market on the holiday, so it was closed...this time i was able to go in, which was nice...i was there pretty early in the morning, so there weren't too many others wandering around...
the central market is in a giant hall; it's filled with stalls selling produce, bread, meat, products made from red peppers, etc...i bought 620 grams of raspberries...YUM...my favourite fruit :)
the raspberries were my breakfast, and i ate them as i walked...i love raspberries so much that they were all gone in about 30 minutes...soooo good...

i walked, and walked and walked and walked...i think i walked at least 10km to get to a place called momento park...it's on the edge of the city, and it turned out to be a lot further out than i expected when i started walking...
momento park is full of soviet realist statues...they're really big...some of them were originally in this park, others were moved here over the years...it's not a big park, but there are plenty of statues to look at...the historical aspect of this park is awesome...totally awesome...i saw lenin, and other leaders well known during communist times...after i took photos of every statue, made my way out of the park...

the entry clerk told me the once daily tourist bus back to the city center was already full, even though it wasn't supposed to come for another hour...argh...fortunately, she told me where to catch a public bus back into the city, it wasn't far from the park entrance...
when i got on that public bus, i tried to pay for a ticket...but the bus driver wasn't selling tickets, he said i had to have a ticket already, or have a city pass...needless to say, i didn't have one of those...and there was no place at the stop to buy a ticket...how is that supposed to work? fortunately, the driver let me ride for free, he saw it wasn't my fault i couldn't get a ticket...

as i got back into the city i chose another cafe, tried another piece of chocolate cake...it wasn't nearly as good as what i'd had a couple days earlier...oh well, they cant all be amazing...
i went back to my hostel, stopping for a quesadilla along the way...after relaxing for a couple hours, i walked to szechenyi (sp?) baths...this is probably the most photographed of the thermal baths in the city, located kinda close to heroes square...
i chose the cheapest entrance fee, which got me a locker key...you can also choose a cabin, but that seemed ridiculous...i changed into a bikini, figured out the locker system, and locked everything else...

the outside area has three pools...the middle pool is a lap pool, you have to wear a swim cap to go in there...on either end are heated pools, one warmer than the other...one side pool is heated to 30-34C, the other to 37-38C...amazing to hang out in the pools...you can sit on the stairs, halfway in, which is what i chose to do...i went back and forth between these two pools for over an hour...
then i decided to explore the inside baths...there were saunas, as well as more baths...people wandering among all the pools...each pool had a different temperature, anywhere from the upper 20s to 38C...i was quite pickled and dehydrated when i finally left, but it was awesome...

the baths were full of tourists, but who cares...they're still totally awesome...i loved hearing all the languages, watching all the people...
is it bad that i had another giant sundae from anna's cafe on the way home? yum...
the next day, after returning from godollo, the first thing i did was get off the metro at the wrong stop...fortunately i'd gotten to know the city well enough by this point to know where i was, and not be worried about the additional walking...
i walked my way to a park with a jewish memorial to the holocaust/WW2 at one end...very moving, it probably always will be...
the glass house wasn't very easy to find, it wasn't at all what i expected...the glass house is called that because it used to be a glass factory...the owner sheltered many jews during the rough years of WW2...it's no longer a factory, but you can see examples of some of the paperwork arranged to help the jews flee the city and country...

you can see photos of some of those housed there...you can see the statistics, some of which are horrifying...i'm not sure why there aren't more people visiting...never forget...the volunteer working there spoke only hungarian and german, thankfully i was able to understand about half the german...nice guy...
the glass house is now just a small room in the building, all dedicated to carl lutz...
after the glass house i went back to st stephens basilica...no service was happening this time, so i was able to wander all over...stunning, as usual...there is no entrance fee, but next time i visit i think i will pay the extra fee to go up the bell tower...
dinner that night was at a vegetarian place right next to my hostel...it seemed like a cafeteria, i'm sure it was full of students during the school year...good food, i should've eaten there more often...

after dinner i walked through the big mall close to my hostel...one of the four floor monstrosities, full of shops that are just regular shops...nothing of interest to a tourist...
the next morning, i flew back to kyiv...i really want to see more of hungary :)