poland: warsaw

When I was in the middle of planning my winter holidays, the original plan was to do New Years in Berlin...the cheapest way for me to get there was take a flight to Warsaw, then a train to Berlin...so I ended up with a day to wander around Warsaw...
I've visited the city twice previously, but this was the first time since 2009...it was fun to wander around and see what I remembered...
Warsaw is on the Far East of its time zone, which means the sun goes down EARLY in winter...it was dark at 1530, ARGH...

add that to a temperature of -7C that felt like -12C, I wasn't as happy as I could've been...everytime I've visited Warsaw it has been late fall or winter, I should come back in another season!
My flight arrived on time at Warsaw Chopin airport, I managed to be one of the first people through passport control...they put the entry stamp on an almost full page, yippee! (I'm trying to fill pages before stamping new pages...
You can take a train or bus to the central train station, I opted for the train...it took a bit to figure out the ticket machine, I think I was having an idiot day...once on the train i validated the ticket and the train took off soon after...

Once in the central train station I found a place to store my pack for the day, thank goodness...
And from there, I started walking...the first building I saw upon exiting the train station was a GIANT building called the palace of culture...it was a gift from the soviets, to their brothers...I still remember the first time I saw it, not long after I'd visited Moscow...it immediately reminded me of the so called 'seven sisters' in Moscow...and whaddya know, this was supposed to be just like those buildings...it catches your attention, whether you like the style or not...it is now surrounded by modern sky scrapers...(well, maybe not quite surrounded, but there are plenty of modern skyscrapers nearby)...i think dad and i went inside the 'palace' but i remember thinking the inside wasn't nearly as impressive as the outside...funny how those things dont always match up...(it's the same with churches)

I kept walking down the street, crossing a few intersections by going under the streets...not too far along, I got to an intersection with a palm tree in the middle...I'm sure someone out there knows, how long has this tree been there? Obviously, it isn't real, as I'm pretty sure you don't find Palm trees in places that have really cold temperatures and snow and ice...still, it doesn't look too terribly fake...
From there I turned left, and walked down a street that was still decked out in holiday stuff...lights and trees and such...

Poland has been a catholic country for a long time, the soviets were never able to stamp it out, despite repeated attempts...Christmas and Easter are big here...
This street has a name I don't know how to pronounce, there are way too many vowels...it was the street kings traveled to get to the old city...since I was in the street, does that make me royalty too? I would totally marry a prince :)
I passed the apartment building where dad lived for a semester, I passed the university of Warsaw, I passed A LOT of coffee shops, I passed stores galore...

Eventually I made it to the platz everyone recognizes as the start of the old city...somehow, the old city was not destroyed during all the bombing of WW2...(the rest of the city was flattened)...there is a wide open area, with pretty coloured buildings along 3 sides...
Then I noticed a tower, with a sign pointing 'this way' to the viewing tower...I had never been up the tower, I figured why not? My legs were burning by the time I climbed up, I need to get fit! The views over the city were lovely...I wish I could've stayed up there longer, but the wind was blowing, and I was COLD...i knew it would be cold in warsaw, but i figured i could deal with it since i was only going to be in the city for a day, but it wasn't as easy as i thought it would be...

There was a Christmas market set up along the old city walls, some of the stuff looked quite nice...I walked through the entire market, and entered the old city from a direction new to me...I made a few turns, enjoying the aesthetic appeal of the old buildings, eventually finding the platz in the middle of the old city...
In the middle of the platz was an ice rink, plenty of people practicing their skills...I'm all for outdoor skating, but not in biting wind!
I wandered into two different churches, one of which had awesome  front doors...it was nice to be inside again, even for a short time...some of the shaded areas of the streets in that area were COLD, my fingers and toes were not happy...

I made my way back to the entry platz, took a couple more photos, and started walking back up the street I'd come from earlier...I ducked into a cafe and warmed up for a couple hours (you know when you're cold and just can't seem to shake it? That was me)...by the time I left the cafe it was dark...
I got back to a building belonging to the university (I think) with a statue of Copernicus in front...lit up nicely at night :) ...also lit up were the holiday decorations on the street...did I mention the giant pressies (presents) lit up in various places along the street? Pretty...
Not too long before the palm tree intersection I found an indian restaurant...they didn't have the first dish I wanted, but my second choice ended up being pretty good...spicy too :)

At the Palm tree intersection I Jew to turn right...it seemed as if I was in front of the palace of culture again really quickly...its lit up at night, of course I took photos...colour and black and white :)
I spent the night in the train station...so not a whole lot of sleep...but it wasn't worth getting a room here and having to figure out a way to get to the train station in time for a 0555 departure...
Note to self: visit Warsaw in late spring or summer!!!

Ukraine: Crimea: Sevastopol and yalta

The next weekend was also a long weekend because of another holiday...yippee!!!

I made sure to book train tickets well in advance, as I knew Crimea would be an area people want to visit, I didn't want to be stuck in kyiv with nowhere to go...

My train to Sevastopol took ages, almost 18 hours!! it wasn't expensive though...my arrival was late, but I didn't have any specific plans, so that didn't matter...I took a cab to my hotel, the driver charged me way too much...argh...he also gave me his card, and told me to call if i wanted a ride to go anywhere in sevastopol...um, NO...

After showering and getting rid of the feeling of travel, I started walking...I'd asked the hotel lady for directions, and though it took me a while to find a bus stop for the right bus, I eventually figured it out...

My first stop was a set mod Genoese ruins called chersonese/kersonese...the ruins aren't well protected, people walk everywhere...the ruins weren't super impressive, but I loved the view of the water...blue water going all the way to the horizon...I had fun taking photos and watching people...is it really necessary to take glamour shots next to ancient ruins? there are small rock beaches, and a few people in the water...my favourite part of the ruins was the huge number of red flowers all over...they are beautiful, but if they are not taken care of, they will destroy the ruins...

I took the same bus back into the city centre, then kept walking...as it was a holiday weekend, there were people out everywhere...I watched part of a concert by retired Russian sailors...it was the first time i've experienced such russian patriotism...there were plenty of cars driving through the city, honking and waving russian flags...
i noticed that the ice cream i often buy in kyiv costs twice as much here!!
wandering up this street gave me views of some of the russian ships in the port, and a couple memorials...i don't know what/who was being memorialized...

i had dinner at a bistro...(this is not a french word, though many people think so...it's a russian word that means fast, which is why bistros all over the world serve food quickly)...the food would've been awesome if it hadn't had so much mayonnaise slathered all over...
instead of grabbing a bus to get back to my hotel, i walked...it was long, but nice:)
the only problem with going to bed early is that you tend to wake up early as well...really early...which is not a great thing when you are on holiday, and want to have a lay in!! the price of my hotel included breakfast at a cafe next to the hotel...this was unexpected, but nice, of course...

i took a marshrutka to the town of balaklava...you have probably heard the name referring to the 'mask' some people wear while skiing, (or in cold climates during winter) and this town is where they were invented...little old ladies made them for soldiers fighting in wars in cold climates...i wasn't sure where to get off the marshrutka, so i got off when a heap of others got off...(i figured out later i could've stayed on a bit longer, but oh well)...
i walked for a while, not entirely sure i was going in the right direction, and eventually saw the entrance i was looking for...visitors go to balaklava mostly to see the former (secret, i think?) russian submarine base that is built into a hill...

it wasn't warm inside the tunnels of this base...quite chilly, actually...the sailors who stayed there must've worn warm clothes all the time, even in the middle of summer...the tunnels and various rooms had displays, with some of the signage in english...one docent kind of guy spoke a little english, and was eager to show me around...
on the other side of the bay (balaklava is built around a bay) are some ruins...the only way for me to get to the ruins was to walk all the way around the bay...there is no bridge across the water...
the other side of the bay was much more touristy...there were souvenir stalls the whole way along the water...i admit to giving in and buying a mug...(i'm always thrilled when i find something without english)...

i climbed up the hill to the ruins...they weren't anything special, but i did enjoy the views of the water on the other side...there was also a nice view over the entire bay...it turned out the climb up the hill was easier than the way back down...i slid quite a bit on the way down, falling on my bum a couple times...ooops...
i caught the marshrutka back to a station of sorts, and changed to another that took me to a place called cape fiolent...it's pretty, and the views of the water are nice...there are 700+ steps down to a small beach, which i opted not to do...not because the exercise would be too much, but because the beach was so very small, and i didnt think i would be able to see more from the bottom...there is a lovely monastery at the top of the hill...i wouldn't mind living there, just for the view alone:)
at the marshrutka station i bought a donut (well, sortof) and hopped on a marshrutka headed to the center of sevastopol...i walked back to my hotel and realized i was quite sunburned...ooops...

the next morning i didn't get out the door of my hotel nearly as fast as i should have...i ended up having to wait until 11 for a bus to yalta...i think the ride was around two hours, which meant i didn't arrive until 1300 or so...then it took me quite a while to find my hostel...the google map i'd printed had the wrong address marked, it was very wrong...i ended up walking quite a ways...it turned out not to be a normal hostel...i think it was a teaching hostel, if that makes any sense? hard to explain, but it definitely wasn't the normal hostel i expected...there was only one plug in a room with 14 beds! there was no communal room, no computers, etc...i was able to schedule dinner, which was nice...the bed was okay, i slept well...being so far from the city centre meant it was very quiet...

it took me a while to find the correct marshrutka to take me to the cable car at ay petri...last year, when i visited crimea, taking a ride on this cable car was something i missed, and really wanted to do during this trip...i was surprised at the price (60 grivna each way i think?) and i wasn't thrilled with the experience...maybe because i didnt give myself much time...if i had had more time i would've been able to hike/walk around the area up top, and explore more...the area just outside where you get off the cable car is filled with souvenir stalls...some with knickknacks, some with food...i walked through the area, then took the cable car back down...the skies were clear, but the views weren't as awesome as i had expected...

i caught the next marshrutka to a place called alupka...i don't know if it is a town or village or something along those lines?
i walked through a park to vorontsov palace...since i like to see historical places, i really wanted to see this palace...this was another place i'd missed during my first crimea visit...churchill and his delegation stayed here during the yalta conference of WWII...i liked this palace in that i was able to wander around on my own, i wasn't stuck taking a tour in a language i didn't understand...each room had a sign with information (in english and russian!) about the room...one of the rooms were more interesting than others, one was an indoor garden...i guess that was quite the rage when the palace was built...

there was haze, so i wasn't able to see the water; the palace is built in gardens that overlook the water...if i had had more time, i would've followed a trail that goes for several kilometers along the water...(my next visit to crimea will be planned better, with more attention paid to timing)...
when i got back to my hostel, the lady got my dinner ready, it was tasty:)
after dinner i walked into town to use the free wifi of mcdonalds...there was another chick in my room, already asleep...
the next morning i woke up before my alarm went off...the other chick was still asleep! i walked to the bus station, and bought an orange dreamsicle for breakfast...healthy, i know:)...it was at this bus station that i finally found postcards for sevastopol...why was i unable to find these in sevastopol itself?

on my bus to simferopol the lady sitting next to me seemed put out that i wanted to put my own bag under my feet, and she had to move her bag...did she think i would keep my bag on my lap while her bag was under my feet? this bus took me straight to the simferopol train station, which was a relief...not all the buses from yalta to simferopol do so, i wasn't keen to figure out how to get from the city centre to the train station...
in my coupe car back to kyiv there were three others, i think they'd been camping for days...based on how they smelled, i don't think they had showered for days...yuck...at least the train back to kyiv went on time...