czech republic: prague (something new every time)

Prague is another place I always know I can visit and see something new, no matter how many times I've been there.
I took a taxi straight from school to the airport in kyiv. Since I was flying a 'real' airline (vs a budget airline,) I got a snack and drink on the plane. Yippee! An easy direct flight, I wish that was possible more often.
I landed in terminal 1 of the airport in Prague, which is where you land when you're coming from outside the schengen zone. I thought I would see mom outside baggage claim, but she wasn't there. I checked the arrivals board and saw that ken's flight was coming into terminal 2 (schengen arrivals,) so I walked there and found mom. Ken arrived a few minutes later and I introduced the two of them.

We bought tickets for public transport and hopped on bus 119. It is super convenient, and cheap. There is also a shuttle bus to the city center, filled more with tourists than locals. It costs more, but I don't know the price since I've never ridden it. Either way, I think it's awesome that there are public, easy options to get into the city. Our bus took us to a metro stop, we rode that line to a stop across the street from our hotel. Yay!
Ken found out mom likes indian food, so he searched for restaurants in the neighborhood. He found one, so we went to mom's flat and she joined us. We walked for a bit before realizing we didn't know exactly where we were going. Ken's phone wasn't behaving, he wasn't able to find the restaurant on the map again. Fortunately it started working again after a few minutes.

Originally we thought the restaurant was indian, it ended up being vegetarian more than indian. As we entered we found out the menu was more according to how much you ate as opposed to what you ate. There was a select number of options available, you could have any or all of them, a little or a lot. You pay for a small meal or a big meal.
We all had rice, a vegetable curry, apple chutney, and a salad with cabbage and peanuts. Ken and mom had some sort of spinach patty too. The meal wasn't what we expected, but I think we all enjoyed it. And it was cheap! The total bill ended up being about $4 each!

I suppose ken and I could've gone out on the town, but we were exhausted, so we called it a night, after making plans for the next day with mom.
The next morning ken and I took the metro to malostranska. As we came out of the station, I looked to my right and saw people coming out of a door. I wanted to see where they'd been, so I walked and peeked in the door. I saw a pretty garden, so I called to ken to come explore.
Waldstein garden is pretty. Since it is only the very beginning of spring, nothing is blooming. I'm guessing in a few weeks it will be full of beauty. As we walked around a small pond, we heard a strange sound. Just after, I saw a peacock coming in to land. I had no idea peacocks can fly! There were two or three peacocks tellin at each other, it was loud. (It sounded like yelling to me; for all I know they were singing to each other.) The birds yelling at each other were all male. Two normal peacocks, and one albino peacock. It makes sense that every animal has potential as an albino, but this was a first for me. A white peacock!! Beautiful. In another area we saw two female peacocks.

Since Ken was getting hangry, we hopped on the next tram and took it just one stop, to a small platz. This is where a lot of tourists start their walk up to castle hill. It was 1100 by that point, so at the cafe we chose, I had a caprese salad. More impressive than the food was our view of the towers of st Nicholas, which was about 300m away.
We opted not to go in st Nicholas, as there is an entrance fee, and both of us have seen more than our fair share of European churches and cathedrals. Someday I will actually go in at Nicholas, but it didn't happen during this visit.

Continuing up the hill, there is one switchback, the corner of which has a nice view of the city. As we came to the top of the hill, I realized there was a crowd just inside the gates of the castle, and I could hear military style music. I quickly saw the musicians were actually standing just inside windows on the second floor, an there was a changing of the guards happening, or something along those lines. We watched the end, just because we were there.
Just outside the gates of the castle we saw a group of members of the red hat society. I've heard and read about this group, this was the first time I'd seen them. Very very cool. This group was from an area near Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.

We went through the castle, and got to the front of st Vitus cathedral. The castle is very close to the cathedral, it's really difficult to get a picture of the entire front of the cathedral. You just can't back up far enough. As it turned out, we got there while the cathedral was closed for the midday, so we continued walking, on the shady side of the church. I kinda wish we had waited around, (it's lovely inside) but 40mins of waiting didn't sound like fun.
We took a photo together at the back of st vitus, as that side of the church is also quite beautiful...plus, there is a small square of sorts that allows photos to be taken with the entire side of the building in the photo (unlike the front side)

We walked past the entrance to st George's church, skipping the interior of that one as well...(another church which I have not entered, but hope to do someday)...the path next to st George's takes you past the church, and closer to the entrance of the so called 'golden lane'...it also requires an entrance fee, argh...(we didn't go in the street)...
From there we walked down the hill, passing a few musicians along the way...ken was happy to donate to the one who played freebird when he asked...hee hee...

The bottom of this hill was just around the corner of malostranska station...instead of going back up the hill, we crossed the river on the bridge next to the famous Charles bridge...not too long after crossing, ken saw a restaurant/cafe/brewery (I'm not sure which it was) and he wanted to stop, so in we went...our food took a bit longer than we expected, but it wasn't bad...(not great, not bad)...as we paid the bill our waiter gave me an orange rose 😀
We followed the street parallel to the river, coming to the tiny square at one end of Charles bridge...it's always filled with people; some are about to cross the bridge, others have just come over, and still others are just hanging out...on the platz (it's really small) are two churches that are now used for evening concerts, often with an organ...I don't know architecture all that well, but I'm pretty sure they are both baroque, which I don't particularly love, as I think it's too 'busy'...we peeked inside one of them, just because we could...

Then we crossed Charles bridge...all the postcards have beautiful photos where you can see all the statues, an it looks empty...the reality is very different...it's packed with people, and there are vendors all along both sides of the bridge...depending on your mood it's either awesome or really annoying...thank goodness ken is tall, I didn't have to worry about losing him in the crowd...
We took stairs down from the side of the bridge before reaching the end...I don't remember why, but that's what we did...there are plenty of little shops, cafes, etc...since it was a beautiful day (still a bit chilly, but there was a lovely blue sky, which made it feel warmer,) there were plenty of people out walking, sitting outside at the cafes...

A bit further along the river ken found a display of American military 'stuff'...even though the American military didn't liberate Prague itself during the war (they only made it to rokycany (sp?) in the west) many Czechs are very grateful and show it through museums and displays like this one...ken loved the motorcycle...
We got back on the bridge and walked to the end, going under the tower...(there are towers on both ends, both appear in various postcard photos)...
Not far from where we'd eaten breakfast that morning, we met mom at the entrance to vrtba gardens...it's not a well known sight, but I think its popularity is growing...the entrance isn't obvious, the sign out front isn't big or splashy...when you first go in, you can't even see what it is you are going to see...

Vrtba garden was originally a private garden, belonging to one of the wealthy folks in the city...it isn't huge, it is landscaped, and there are levels...it is a beautiful location for weddings, and when one of those is taking place, the garden is closed to the public...(meaning Saturdays in the summer are not good times to visit)...
The garden was closed during the communist years, due to its location next to the U.S. Embassy. During those years the small area in which you see beautiful frescoes was used as a pram storage room. The former mansion was used as a kindergarten.
We walked through the garden, going up each level of stairs. Some of the stairs are rather skinny, not made for large people or two people going in opposite directions.

As we got to the top level I was able to show ken why this garden is my favorite location in Prague. You can see over the entire city, and you feel like you are close to the city at the same time. (While I love beautiful city views, you're often far away, or very high up. Somehow, this isn't the case with this garden.) we sat and chatted for a while.
Eventually we wound our way back down all the stairs, and back across Charles bridge. Since mom is not as tall I had to keep an eye on her so we didn't get too separated among the crowds. Ken was still easy to see.
After we got back to the old town area, mom and I took a quick detour to show Ken a particular piece of art. I think I've mentioned it before, but in case I haven't, this is a sculpture of a guy hanging off a pole over the street. If you aren't expecting it, it's quite a surprise. It looks realistic enough to make you think (initially, anywho) that it's a real person hanging over the street. Mom says Czechs have mixed feelings about the sculpture, as it isn't very traditional.

As we came around a corner that gave ken his first glimpse of the old town square, ken said he was officially wowed. Yahoo, mission accomplished 😀
We walked past the astronomical clock, it was nowhere near the top of the hour so we didn't wait around. (At the top of each hour you get to see the twelve apostles 'march' by, it's cute, and people crowd in to see.)
A little bit further into the square ken and mom saw a cafe and they were both a bit hungry, so we sat. We could see quite a bit of the square, which was full of booths selling all sorts of stuff. Some food, some decorations, some random knick knacks, etc. The booths aren't there most of the time, mom said they usually appear around Christmas/New Years and Easter.  After we ate (all three of us chose traditional Czech food) we walked through some of the booths, coming upon a pen holding a couple sheep and a donkey. Ken had fun feeding them.

From there we walked out the other side of the square, walking under the powder tower. I can't remember why that tower is important, even though mom has told me a few times.
Not too far from the tower we got to the tram stop where we hopped on tram #5. It took us directly back home.
The next morning we slept in, then got up and packed up. Mom and I had planned to go with ken to the airport, but he had another idea. We ended up eating breakfast, then he caught a car to the airport.

Mom and I went back to her flat, then relaxed for a while. Eventually we went back out, and took a combination of metro and tram to get to Strahov monastery. Mom hadn't been there in a while, but she has memories of being there when she was younger.
The garden on one side of the monastery is big, and offers another view over the city. Absolutely lovely. We entered one courtyard and building, buying tickets that gave us entry to the cloister area. Several of the rooms around the cloister had been set up with exhibits, mostly of art. We walked through the rooms with paintings on display pretty quickly, neither of us enjoys dawdling in front of paintings. My favourite part of that area was when we stepped into the summer refectory. The entire ceiling is painted, it's gorgeous. I took a heap of photos, none of which do it justice. I got a crick in my neck from staring up so much.

We exited that area, and walked around to the entry of the church. Unfortunately, we were only able to peer inside through a couple windows in the inner doors. I don't know if the church is always open that way to visitors, or if we were there at an unlucky time. Regardless, I saw a sign indicating no photos were allowed.

At another entry we bought more entry tickets, and walked up a flight of stairs. This was the library. WOW...AMAZING...it was incredible...I'm not usually a huge fan of paying extra to take photos, but in this case I thought it was worth it.
The library is divided into two halls, the theological hall and the philosophical hall. Both are beautiful. The walls are covered with bookshelves in both rooms. In the philosophical hall the books go up high enough that a special laser is required. Both halls are now blocked off by a rope at their entrances, visitors can only peer in. Mom remembers walking where a she wanted, back when she was a student. I wonder when the library essentially closed to public use and became a tourist sight instead.
I took as many photos as I could, of course. Each hall has a lady who checks those taking photos, making sure they've paid. As annoying as that can be, it's nice to know it's tough to sneak the photos.

After getting my fill of the library, mom and I exited the entire area. A little way down the hill toward the castle, we stepped into a cafe for a snack. Both of us had sandwiches and a sweet. Then we walked all the way down the hill, and when we got to the bottom I wondered out loud why there weren't more tourists at the monastery. It's not totally quiet, but it's also not overrun; considering how close it is to the castle, I'm surprised there aren't more people walking up the hill.
We took the tram and metro back home, picking up dinner at the food court in the mall across the street.
The evening was spent just relaxing. Mom bought flights and made a hotel booking for her visit to Kyiv in May. Yay!
The next morning was the same as the previous morning in terms of waking up and packing. Then mom took me to the airport and we said 'see you later' again.
I will be back!

ukraine: kirovohrad

kirovohrad is another oblast capital...lonely planet doesn't list the city at all, but then again, lonely planet ukraine doesn't list a lot of places in the country...the most recent volume of lonely planet ukraine was published with a date of may 2011, i wonder when they'll publish a new volume...three or four years is the typical time, but a lot has happened in ukraine in that time, and the country still isn't settled...yet an update is needed...hmmm...
i took a night train from kyiv, which arrived really early saturday morning in kirovohrad...bright and early at 0505...needless to say, i didn't get enough sleep, but that's normal on a night train...

since the sun wasn't yet up, i hung out for a while in the train station...i knew nothing would be open, there is no point in wandering around in the dark in a city i don't know...i think i ended up staying in the train station until 0845 or so...
i walked down the street in front of the station toward the city centre...i think this particular street was called revolution street...lined on either side with apartment buildings, some of them quite big...some of them were more colourful than others...i saw a few banks, random shops, supermarkets, etc...

before crossing a bridge, i went left, following a road along a river for a while...i walked past a small park, at least it was labeled that way on google maps...i found it ugly, and not a place i'd want to spend any time...looked like some yardwaste had been dumped there, yuck...who wants to be in a place that has grass/weeds gone wild and a nothing nice looking?
this took me to a roundabout (in the shape of an oval), and since it was saturday morning, there was a weekly market going on...if i was reading the signs correctly, there is a co-op around the oblast, and all these vendors were part of the co-op...there were meat stalls, dairy stalls, and fresh produce stalls...

i ended up having breakfast in this market...some fried potatoes, with an egg and part of a rib...yum...fried food isn't healthy, but it sure smells and tastes good :)
after eating, i kept walking, taking a right not too long afterward,..this took me over a bridge, painted blue and yellow just like the other bridge i hadnt crossed...im guessing the painting happened in the past year, as it has all over the country...
just over the bridge, on the other side of the river was a giant memorial statue...think soviet realist type, i don't know what it was all about...i've seen so many of these big statues in this country, i love them, but i don't pay as much attention as i should anymore...

further up the road i thought i saw my hotel, so i walked in...it turned out i had the wrong place, but the front desk lady told me where to go...i found my hotel, but they said my room wasn't yet ready, so i needed to kill some time...
i walked through the big supermarket that was in the same building as my hotel...nothing special, but i wanted to check prices...some things were definitely cheaper, there is an advantage to being away from kyiv :)...by this time it was about 1100, i saw an 'asian' restaurant across the street...i'm always happy to have sushi rolls, so i stepped in...

after eating and relaxing, i went back outside and kept walking...i stepped into a nearby church, there was some sort of service going on...this was saturday morning, so i have no idea...its palm sunday in the states, but i don't know in ukraine...since it was a different service from what i am used to seeing, i didnt stay long...i didn't want to interrupt...
i found another church not too far away, another service was going on there...hmmmm...
i went back to my hotel, and was able to check in...i ended up taking a nap, which i hadn't originally intended...i also got to take a shower, yahoo...

after relaxing, i went back out to the streets...my weather app was telling me it was going to start raining in a bit, i wanted to see what i could before the weather got crappy...i found the remains of fortress walls, they were earthen and overgrown, just like in kherson...
in the middle of the area which the walls encircled, i found a large memorial area...i saw two walls with the dates of 1941 and 1945, as well as a whole lot of grave markers with the word hero...red stars everywhere...i'm guessing they referred to people fighting for the soviet union?

i walked further, and walked past the building that used to be the barracks for soldiers manning this fortress...it didn't look like much, especially since the building has been kept up fairly well...
i exited the fortress area on the other side, and followed the street for a while...it took me past more apartment building blocks, these were all drab...i did like the playgrounds i found in the middles of all the buildings...i also found a lot of what looked like chimneys coming out of the ground...i have no idea what they were, does anyone who reads this know?

i found yet another war memorial, listing the dates of WW1 and WW2...i don't know why it was in a different location from what i'd seen in the middle of the fortress area...
further up the road i circled back around to my hotel...instead of going inside, i kept walking, even though it had begun to rain by that point...i followed this main street for a bit, i think it was called karl marx street...i came to a few large governmental looking buildings, one had a large platz in front...in the middle of the platz was a pile of gray bricks with candles and photos on it...this memorial was to those who fought during the craziness of maidan last year...there was a sign saying the platz was now named something like maidan heroes platz...

i found a pedestrian street and walked along it for a bit...i don't know if it was the season (sorta spring, but not great weather) or what, but there wasn't anyone else walking there...hmmm...i ended up circling back around to marx street, and walking back in the direction of my hotel...
i had miso soup for dinner at the same asian restaurant i'd visited earlier...yum...and a nonalcoholic mojito, making really really sure there would be no alcohol in the drink...
since it was now raining very steadily, i had no motivation to continue walking...back in my hotel i edited photos on instagram, updated my daily travel journal, and read for a little while...then slept...
ukraine changed it's clocks in the middle of the night, we are now on DST...

the next morning i woke up early as usual, but it was still raining, argh...normally i would go for a walk, but since i hate rain, that didn't happen...instead i used my phone to get caught up on news around the world...
eventually i did pack up and check out, a little after noon...i bought water at the supermarket, then started walking toward an area of town i hadn't yet seen...the name of the street is now dvortsova, but it used to be called lenin street...some streets signs list one name, some list the other name...
i found the local history museum, and though it didn't look open, i opened the door and found people inside...the lady at the desk looked at me with a sortof "what are you doing here" look...i don't know if that's what she was thinking, but it's certainly the impression i got...i paid my entry fee (only 10 griven, less than 50 cents of an american dollar) and walked into the first room...each room represented a different set of years in local history...

it wasn't a big museum, but i thought it was really well done...there were sets of clothing, weapons, military medals, etc...i also got to see money as it has been in this area through time...rubles, griven, even some german stuff...very cool...i saw household goods, and photos of families...most of the displays had information in two languages, i wasn't expecting to see english but was thrilled to have it available...
i followed the street back in the other direction, passing by former privately owned mansions...very cool architecture...the city centre was full of nifty looking buildings...

eventually i came to a park with yet another memorial...from there i headed north, eventually coming to what felt like the millionth war memorial i'd seen in the city...this was also dedicated to WW2...names were listed on a long wall...a sad spot, but i'm glad to see the names are remembered...
i kept walking, and made my way to another church, and went inside...it ended up being one of the most simply decorated orthodox churches i've seen...there was an iconostasis, but not nearly as much painting on the walls as ive gotten used to seeing...just outside the church grounds was the co called 'guardian angel' of kirovohrad...pretty...
i followed another street, and found a cafe with wifi and a decent menu...relaxing, warming up, and snacking...yum...

i continued walking along, just following streets for no reason in particular...i like doing that...while i was in the cafe i'd found two more places i wanted to see listed online, so i wandered around until i got to the first...it was a church...church of protection of the holy virgin...it was closed, unfortunately...i found it interesting because it was sortof squashed into a courtyard between three apartment buildings...normally churches have a bit more space...
i also found the synagogue, also closed...i don't think it's at all active anymore...i don't know if there is an active jewish community in the city anymore...
not long after dark i got back to my hotel, where i'd been able to leave my backpack during the day...i grabbed it, then went to the asian restaurant for my third visit of the weekend...yum...i was there for a couple hours, then walked back to the train station...a couple hours there, then i hopped on my train back to kyiv...
i think i've seen all of kirovohrad, i don't feel the need to go back...but i very much enjoyed the weekend...

estonia: tallinn

I finally got to visit my third Baltic capital city, yahooooo!

I flew to Tallinn, Estonia on a Friday evening, on Air Baltic. The connections were tight, but lots of people fly from Kiev to Tallinn/Vilnius, so the later flights usually leave a few minutes late as they wait for people from the flights that first land in Riga. My flight landed before midnight, and it was a quick and cheap taxi ride to my hotel in the city. I think this taxi ride was cheaper than I'd had in either Riga or Vilnius.  Score a point for Tallinn already!

My hotel had 24 hour reception, I wasn't waking anyone up to checking, yahoo. The lady gave me all the information I needed about the hotel, and let me know where I could find maps and brochures about the city. I'd already realized Tallinn has done a great job of making things easy for visitors, providing information everywhere. Plus, it seems people speak three languages: Estonian, Russian, and English.

The next morning I woke up earlier than expected, considering I hadn't fallen asleep until after 0100. The only downside to my hotel is that weekend breakfast wasn't served until 0900, which is a bit late if you want to get out of the hotel and spend as much time as possible wandering around the city.

Instead of waiting for breakfast, I went for a walk. One of the brochures/maps listed two things I wanted to see that looked to be nearby: a fish market and a bakery. (I always visit a bakery soon after arriving in a new place. I figure it's important to find out as fast as possible if I'm going to like baked goods in any particular location.) The brochure said the bakery opened early, I wanted to see what they offered. Also, the fish market was only supposed to take place on Saturdays. I read the entire brochure, this two things were the closest, best options, but there were others that sounded interesting.

I was shocked when I walked out of the hotel. It was snowing, and windy. I was NOT mentally prepared for either of those, even though i'm pretty sure the weather app had mentioned snow over the weekend. Wind is the tougher of those two types of weather, my hair flies everywhere, and dries out my skin.

Sadly, I ended up being disappointed in both the bakery and the fish market. It turned out the bakery didn't open until 0900 on weekends, (that is definitely NOT early) and when I found the location of the fish market, there was nothing there. ARGH. 

I probably could've walked back later in the day, but I didn't. Instead of those spots, I continued walking. I walked through a small part of the old city, which is the main tourist area of the city. Those streets are completely deserted at 0730 on a Saturday morning. (not a surprise.) It was fun to walk and see the beauty of the area without heaps of people everywhere. I got to take a few photos, and take my time finding the right angles :)...by this time it had stopped snowing, in fact the skies were totally clear...but it was still cold, so my fingers were having a hard time working the camera...
side note: i'd be the first customer for any company or person who invents a camera that isn't so susceptible to cold...lithium ion batteries are great in that they're easily recharged, but they lose their energy rather quickly when it's cold (even when it's at just 0C/32F) so you have to carry extra batteries, and keep them warm...i do a fair amount of traveling in freezing (or colder) weather, i would be so happy if dying batteries weren't such a concern...wheneva i see national geographic photos of cold places, i always wonder how many extra batteries those photographers carry around, and how they deal with the problem...

I found another bakery on my way back to the hotel. This bakery was open, yippee! I took a while making decisions, there was so much that looked so yummy. Estonia is definitely a country I want to return to, for the bakeries if nothing else!! Even though I knew I was going to be eating breakfast within 15 minutes or so, I bought a few pastries. YUM.

The hotel breakfast was a buffet. I've had better, I've had worse. It's always nice to have the meal included in the price of the room. There were cucumbers and tomatoes, cheese and meat slices, tea/coffee, hard boiled egss, etc...

After breakfast I relaxed in my room for an hour or two, then went out again. I walked around the other side of the old city, around the bottom of Toompea hill. Very pretty. I saw a few statues along the way, I don't know what they were memorializing.

It didn't take me long to get to my first destination: the Museum of the Occupations. It's similar to what I've seen in Riga, and Vilnius. There was a lot of information, about the time from the first Russian/Nazi invasions, through the fall of communism, in 1991. Information about all aspects of life, and those who were affected by everything that happened.

There were a couple cars on display, I think they were made in Estonia. There was information about Germans, Russians, Ukrainians, Jews, Roma, Latvians, and more. There were displays of the money through all those years. There was a display of doors from various prisons during those years. There was a selection of technology during those years, radios and the like. It's not a big museum, but it's definitely possible to spend a lot of time in there if you read and look at everything. It can also be overwhelming if you read and look at everything.  People during those years lived through a LOT.

Along the way to my next stop, I found Freedom Square. There is a big memorial to the War of Independence, which happened during WW1. I must admit it was a bit strange to see something big that was not related to WW2.

It took me a while to walk to my next stop. A palace/park area a bit out to the east. (It was an easy walk, straight down a street, but it wasn't close.) The park wasn't that great, probably because it is the end of winter, and spring hasn't really shown up yet, so it's just empty. Behind one palace was a landscaped garden, it's probably very pretty when everything is blooming. Not too far behind that is the office of the President of Estonia. (or is it prime minister? I don't remember).

I made sure to follow a different street back into town, just because.

When I got back to the old city area of the city, I simply wandered. My first stop was another bakery/cafe, this one totally different from what I'd visited that morning. I ended up eating a small chocolate, a cakey sort of thing with fruit, and a chocolate cakey sort of thing. YUM. All for less than 5 euro, woo hoo.

I found the town hall, and the open platz right there. It's pretty, and probably packed with chairs and tables for cafes during warmer months. I was surprised to see quite a few chairs and tables outside, all full of people. Even though the sun had come out by this point, it definitely wasn't warm. At all.

I continued wandering, looking at restaurant menus, and stepping into souvenir stores. (Remember my fascination with postcards.) Eventually I found what I wanted for a place to eat dinner, and postcards to buy for a reasonable price.

I walked up the so-called 'short leg', the shorter street leading up to Toompea hill. It's steep, but not bad. Immediately I saw Al

exander Nevsky Cathedral, an Orthodox cathedral. It's pretty, I found the exterior more interesting than the interior. You can tell there are plenty of tourists here, as there were a number of signs telling people to be quiet, not to take photos, and I've forgotten what else. The iconostasis was pretty, but the ceiling wasn't as decorated as I expected.

I looked at my map, and saw that it showed several different lookout points. They were supposed to offer nice views over the city. I found three of them, looking out in three directions over the city. There were pretty clouds, and still some sun, so I think my photos turned out okay. I had a hard time getting a selfie, as the wind was still crazy, so my hair was going all over. Argh.

My iphone shut down because it was so cold, (remember my side note earlier in this post??) and my mapmyrun app had just told me this walk was already 15km long, so I went back to my hotel to warm up and charge the electronics. After an hour or so, I headed out again, and found the restaurant I'd noticed earlier. I was craving steak. It ended up being okay. Not great, not awful. It did take care of my craving, so I was happy.I ordered a non-alcoholic mojito (I'm allergic to alcohol,) but when the waiter brought it to me I could tell there was alcohol in it from the smell. He made the switch, thank goodness. (Alcohol sets off my asthma badly, and I had no desire to speak time in another hospital.)

Instead of going back to the hotel straightaway, I went back up to Toompea hill, I wanted to see the lookouts at night. Pretty, but not stunning. The city isn't lit up as much as I expected. From there I went back to the hotel. On the way back, a guy asked for money, then followed me for several hundred meters, continuing to ask for money. He was drunk. When I said no, for the 5^th time, rather forcefully, he called me a b—ch, then stalked off. Really? Did he think that hassling me would make me give him money? Argh.

The next morning I was up early again, I decided to go for another walk before breakfast. This time, I didn't have any plan as to where i was going.  I walked around the edges of the old city, and found a statue of two frogs, sitting on a fencepost under an umbrella. I'm sure there is a story behind it, which of course I don't know, but I thought it was cute...

Not too far away was the opera house. It was nice looking, and the exterior colours were different from what I'm used to.  Green and yellow. 

From there I cut back into the old city.  I finally got out my map and took a look to see what else I wanted to see. I know it sounds silly, but I was a little excited to be using a real map, not google maps. It doesn't happen so much anymore.  (Partly because I haven't had a guidebook, and therefore no map, for my out of country trips recently.) Then my fingers told me "it's cold!" Another sunny day, but also cold.

I found what I was looking for, a small street called st catherine's passage.  I think back in the day it was a 'regular' street.  There are still small arches made of grey brick over the street, very picturesque. 

There are small workshops of artists, and since I was there early, only one was open.  An older man was working with glass, very very cool to watch for a few minutes.  

This street took me to the walls surrounding the old city.  I found an entrance that allowed me to walk up to a second level, and follow along the walls for a couple hundred meters in each direction.  (After paying a small entrance fee, of course.) I liked looking over the roofs of the city, the views were pretty.  Nothing outstanding, but very nice.

Back down at street level I followed that street, to a few others,
(I was surprised to still be finding new streets to wander in the old city, as the area isn't that big) and eventually walked past another Orthodox church.  This one was smaller than Alexander Nevsky church, but had the same slightly touristy feeling, even though it was an active church.

From there, I weaved through streets again until I got back to the bakery I'd visited the day before.  This time I bought more, I wanted some tasty items to bring back to Kyiv.  YUM.

Breakfast back at the hotel was the same as the day before.  YUM.

Another hour relaxing and packing up after breakfast, then back out to walk for a couple hours.  I don't remember anything specific, I was just happy to be outside, walking around a pretty city.  

When I got back to the hotel, the front desk lady called a taxi for me, it arrived a couple minutes later, and 15 minutes later, I was back at the airport.  This trip was way too short, I definitely want to come back to Estonia!

ukraine: kherson

I'm still trying to visit all the oblasts in ukraine, and while I know it probably won't fully happen, I'm doing my best 😀...
Kherson is the capital of an oblast...lonely planet barely mentions the town, only saying that there are tour companies offering excursions to  various nearby areas...kherson isn't far from odessa, it's in the more russian speaking half of ukraine...
It was a long train ride to get there, around 12 hours...when I got off the train I headed to an ATM, since I'd forgotten to bring cash with me from my flat the night before...that's when I remembered I didn't have much left in either of my bank accounts, after emptying them while in Kazakhstan the previous weekend (I was able to get dollars easily there, so I took advantage)...ooops...

then I realized the debit card from my american account was expired...bigger ooops...fortunately I found a few dollars in my wallet, and was able to exchange those for griven...not to self: don't forget to take money with you when traveling!
I started walking down the big street in front of the train station...it was still Saturday morning, there weren't many people out...I saw laundry hung out to dry, a couple churches, newspaper/magazine kiosks, etc...I saw the place where a Lenin statue used to be located...I saw the platz where kherson might've had its own version of the Maidan encampment...
Eventually I came to a pedestrian street, and decided to follow that...I noticed a few people setting up their stalls for the day: some knick knacks, a few souvenirs, etc...it didn't seem like a big market type of area though...

I found the address to my hotel, and noticed it only had the name of a spa/gym on the building...I walked in and asked (in russian) where the hotel was located...the lady at the front desk looked at me like I was an alien, then picked up the phone to call her supervisor an told her a foreigner was at the front desk and she didn't understand what that person was asking...(I don't speak or understand as much russian as I'd like, but I can understand some)...I asked the supervisor lady (again in russian) where I could find my hotel, and she gave me directions...it turned out to be on the back side of the building...I never figured out whether I didn't speak correctly to the first lady or if she simply hadn't known how to respond to me, an obvious foreigner...

the hotel let me check in a couple hours early, yay! My room was big, and breakfast was included in the price...good wifi too...the lady at that front desk showed me the list of options for the spa, they were cheap...despite not having that much cash, I asked her to schedule a massage for me...(it's hard to turn down an hour massage for less than $10!)
I relaxed in my room for an hour or so, then headed out again...more wandering, following a general street grid...I saw more churches, including one that looked as if several people had started different styles of renovations, then stopped...the land around the church wasn't being cared for, but the interior was lovely...
I found a bakery, and took a chance on what I thought was cheesecake...not as good as I'd hoped...why do i keep trying stuff in ukrainian bakeries? it's very rarely as good as i want it to be...

I found a couple parks, one of them very small...I found a bus station, and the surrounding market, on a cul-de-sac...I looked at possible destinations, but nothing jumped out at me...I'm guessing the towns were mostly small...
Eventually I wandered back to the pedestrian street, and into a sushi restaurant...(there are a lot of sushi restaurants in ukraine)...I ate too much, but it was my first actual meal of the day, at 1500, so I didn't feel too bad...
After eating I wandered more, just taking in the feel of the town...it was very quiet, but patriotic at the same time...lots of benches and fences painted yellow and blue, flags flying, etc...entirely too many empty an abandoned buildings...I love to take photos of them, as they have a certain type of beauty, but I also know they don't mean good things for a local economy...

I got back to the hotel not long before my massage...AMAZING...a deep tissue massage, it felt wonderful...I was sore afterward, but it was sooo worth it...I drank heaps of water afterward, and feel asleep early that evening...
The next morning I was up early, and decided to go for a walk before breakfast...I found the Greek Orthodox Church and stepped in only briefly, as there was a service going on, and I always feel awkward in that situation...I always want to take photos and look around, but not in the middle of a worship service...aesthetically I couldn't see any differences between this church and a ukrainian or russian Orthodox Church...does any one of the three people who read this blogs know if there are style differences? Or are the differences just theological?

From there I walked toward the water, and found a monument to sailors...big, which didn't surprise me...it was super windy by the water, and chilly...during the summer I suspect there are plenty of boat tours, but not in mid March...
I made my way back to the hotel for breakfast, which was ready and waiting...(this is one of the places where you choose which breakfast you want the day before, and what time you want it served)...the restaurant was closed, so they served it in my room 😀
I relaxed for a while after breakfast, cleaned up and packed up, then checked out...I left my bag at the front desk, then went out for another walk...
At this point I was convinced lonely planet had missed writing about this town...I'd already seen spots equal to other places they write about, and I planned to see more that day...

I walked through Lenin park, which isn't big, but has a very small church, a few amusement park type of rides, and a burned down theatre designed like a castle...the fact that it had burned clearly didn't deter people from exploring, I could see rubbish everywhere...
I exited that park, followed the street for a while, passed another theater, then finally came to what was left of the former kherson fortress...earthen walls, a couple big gates...the area in the middle is mostly empty, and has been turned into a a park...st Catherine's church is in the area, there is a chair inside the church from a visit by Elizabeth...(embroidered letter E on the chair!)...it seemed to be both an active church with some history on display...just to be sure, i had a scarf over my hair...

The walls of the old fortress aren't very high, (were they always this height? or have they shrunk due to years of normal weather?) but it was nice to go walk along the tops...(have I mentioned the weather was awesome?)...this entire area was called Lenin Komsomalya park...(why are there two parks named after the guy?)...across the street is the so called alley of heroes...a pedestrian zone with memorials to those who fought in a number of different wars...there are quite a few memorials, and one end of this alley has big steps and decorated walls...quite impressive, but somewhat out of sync with the general atmosphere of the town...I still like it...
I went back to the sushi place again for another late lunch...as I was eating, a random guy came over and brought a plate of dessert sushi for me, his treat...then he sat and watched me eat...it was a bit odd, but I appreciated the compliment...

After lunch I went back to the hotel, charged my phone a bit, then walked back to the train station...my train left on time, at 1848...12 hours later I was back in kyiv...
I would definitely go back to kherson, I want another massage, and I'm curious where some of the excursions go...