georgia: tbilisi

Tbilisi is the capital of Georgia. According to various sources online, the metro area population is 1.5 million people, and the Kura river runs though the city. The old name is Tiflis, and the current name is usually mispronounced. (I said it wrong, and am still trying to teach my mouth how to say the name properly.)

I deliberately timed my arrival to Tbilisi so that I would arrive in daylight. The marshrutka ride from Kutaisi was easy, but nearly four hours long. I was expecting closer to three hours, so I was a bit antsy for the last bit of the ride. The marshrutka dropped me off at a bus station on one end of the city; nowhere near where I wanted to be.

I thought about walking to my hostel, and if the ride had only been three hours, I definitely would've. Since I thought the walk would be long, I opted for a taxi. I'm sure I overpaid, but I was able to communicate with the driver in Russian, which I really enjoyed. Plus, it gave me the chance to get an idea of how the city is laid out. 

One of the reasons I wanted to arrive in daylight is because of several comments I'd read about my hostel in terms of finding it. It was difficult to find, and not listed on either of the travel apps I use. There was no sign, it was behind a couple other buildings, and behind a gate. 

I checked into my hostel, rested a bit, then went out walking a bit. By this point the sun was setting, and I could see the city lit up. Lovely. All the lights (most of them anywho,) were a golden yellow, and I could see a lot while walking along the river running through the city. 

I found a pedestrian bridge across the river, lit up in white and blue. Fun to walk across and try to take photos. 

I was on the opposite side of the river from the presidential palace (I think) and I realized I could see the super moon right next to it. HUGE MOON, though I couldn't capture it very well with my camera. Absolutely lovely. 

On my way through the old city area, I walked past a steak restaurant I'd thought I would visit the next night. I looked at the menu, it sounded good, so I figured why wait?!? It was quite good. Good food, beautifully presented, free wifi, a nice atmosphere. 

The next morning I got locked in my room!!! Eeek! I banged on the door and one of the hostel workers let me out. When I said it wasn't good to be locked into my room, she said it had happened before, that the lock was old. Um, really?!? That's not a good thing to brush off. 

Anywho, I got going, and made my way up a hill on one side of the river. I stopped into a couple churches along the way, they were lovely. I wanted to take photos, but I didn't see anyone else doing so. At the same time, I didn't see a sign telling me not to do so. Why is it that sometimes I'm all about sneaking a photo, and other times I am a scaredy cat? 

One of the churches I visited was more Russian, and the interior was being redone. The door was open, but I felt really awkward as I stepped in, (with a headscarf on, it was an Orthodox Church,) and came face to face with about 8 people sitting around chatting, drinking tea/coffee and chatting.

They looked at me, seeming to wonder what I was doing there. The sanctuary was small, and I couldn't see much because of the scaffolding, so I wasn't in there for long. 

At the top of the hill I got to see a tall, silver computer lady. The statue is on the edge of the cliff/hill, so it's not possible to get a frontside photo while hiking up, argh. When you get to the top, there are a few stands set up, selling knock knacks and souvenirs. People try to take photos, but the back side of the statue doesn't seem very aesthetically appealing to me. I tried for a profile photo, but I don't know how well that worked. 

The statue is called Kartvlis Deda, and is a representation of the Georgian national character. She has a bowl of wine to greet those who come as friends, and a sword to greet those who come as enemies. It was erected on the 1500th anniversary of the founding of the city. 

Instead of going back down the hill the way I came, I followed a path from the statue to my next sight: a fortress (or what remains of a fortress) called Narikala. The fortress is also on the top of the hill. You can see where the walls are being built back up, which I didn't much like, though I suppose this is done quite often these days. I wonder how far this will go.

Right now, there is no entrance fee, and not a lot of area to explore. There is only one building still standing within the walls that is still standing, a church. It's pretty. 

This time I asked if I could take a photo, the lady said yes. I took a few, and tried not to be obnoxious. (I didn't want her to regret saying yes.) after my photos, I simply stood and took in the atmosphere. Though small, it really did feel warm and welcoming. As I was getting ready to leave, a man who came in started picking at my pants and told me that women are not supposed to be wearing pants in the church. I don't know if this is his opinion, or if women are really not supposed to be in pants in this church. I didn't see skirts to borrow, so if that is a rule, and they decided to enforce it, I suppose quite a few foreigners would be denied entry. Hmmm...

I left the fortress on the opposite side from which I entered, and made my way down the hill, back toward the city center. On the way down, I passed a mosque. I think it was close to prayer time, so I didn't enter. 

I wound through smaller streets to Freedom Square, in the middle of the old town area. In the middle of the square is a 'typical' statue of a man on a horse. This one was a bit higher than normal, as it was on top of a tall column. Also, it was covered in gold. Definitely more eye catching than I'm used to seeing with man on a horse statues. This one represents St George slaying the dragon. 

As it was so close to the holidays, I could see the beginnings of a Christmas tree being set up. It looked to be a tree of lights, rather than a green tree. 

I followed a main street out of the square, called rustaveli street. It stretches on for quite a while, and has wide sidewalks on both sides. On either side I saw government buildings, several museums, some artsy statues, and a Coffee Bean!!!! 

I know I've mentioned my love of this brand before, and will continue to do so every time I have the chance. I immediately crossed the street, went in, and ordered a large chai latte. They make it with real tea (not just flavored syrup,) and vanilla flavor; I'm in heaven every time I get the chance to have this drink. YUM. 

I continued walking, and eventually got to a convenient place to turn around. I crossed the street, and started walking back, exploring some of the smaller side streets. One of those side streets led me to another church being renovated; though I could see scaffolding and such inside I also realized I couldn't see any workers. So who knows. 

I crossed the river on the bridge is seen the night before, it was windy, and not as aesthetically appealing during the day. 

On the other side, I used the maps on the track apps to make my way up that hill. There were also signs pointing to several sights, I also used them to help get me to one of the major sights of the city. Trinity Cathedral, called Sameba Cathedral in Georgian. 

The cathedral is visible from a number of different places around the city, and is in heaps of photos of the city. It's not particularly intricate, but your eye is drawn in the direction of the cathedral. Maybe it is because the cathedral is on a hill, who knows. 

As I arrived on the grounds of the cathedral, I saw a group of high school looking kids walk out, dressed in some sort of traditional clothing. The kids, with the cathedral in the background seemed like such a fantastic photo. I need photo editing software, argh. 

I walked into the church, and was definitely underwhelmed. There wasn't nearly as much decoration as I expected, considering how important it is. There was a service going on, but there were heaps of people moving about, I definitely wasn't the only visitor. I watched for a few minutes, then quietly left. 

It turned out I had originally entered the church grounds through a side entrance. I spotted the main entrance, and walked that way. It's actually a gate, a pretty big one. The gate is built into a small building of sorts. 

I spotted stairs, and hoped they would take me to the top of this small building, which looked to offer a good view of the cathedral. The stairs took me where I wanted to go, though they weren't well lit the whole way. It turned out there was a small altar/room on top of this building. I could see in, but I could see another service going on, and this room was so small (though it did have a mini iconostasis) that I didn't feel comfortable going in during the service. 

I took a few photos of the cathedral, and made my way back down the dark stairs. 

I was going to head back down the hill, but realized the sun was starting to go down, and the sky was showing the beginning of a beautiful sunset. I loved the sky. Pink and blue, and just plain pretty. I went back to the small building at the gate, climbed back up the stairs, and took heaps of photos of the cathedral as the sky darkened, and the lights came on. Awesome. 

Eventually I did leave the area, and found another set of streets to get down the hill. I passed the presidential palace, but it didn't look like it was open for tours. Granted, it was at night, but I didn't see signs posting any sort of open hours. Oh well. 

I crossed a different bridge, and figured out how to get back to the same restaurant is visited the night before. I had totally different food, and loved it again. Yay! 

That night I didn't lock my door. Actually, I didn't completely close the door, since I was terrified it would lock me in again.

The next morning I was up at a reasonable hour, wound my way through the old city area, and had another large chai latte from Coffee Bean. YUM. Maybe not the healthiest way to start the day, but I didn't care. Maybe it's a good thing I don't have Coffee Bean around me every day?

One of the big buildings on Rustaveli Street is the Children's Palace. The building itself isn't architecturally noteworthy, but it has a history I found noteworthy. On 26 May 1918 Georgia declared its independence in the building.  Needless to say, that didn't last long, but I still found it noteworthy. 

I again used the maps of travel apps to get to another church. This time it wasn't the church that was the main focus of my visit. My main focus was instead on the cemetery, which is called the pantheon. A number of famous Georgian people are buried there, each with a very different and very unique gravestone. I saw a bunch of grapes, several busts, and many more.

The church itself was quite small, but still very nice.

I followed different streets back down the hill, and back to Rustaveli Street, then walked along the street for quite a while. Eventually I got to the so called Heroes Square, which is actually a giant traffic circle with a pillar in the middle. A big traffic circle!! 

On another side of this traffic circle I went up a hill, and saw the circus building. A typical Soviet circus building. I don't know how often there is a show, but I passed heaps of vendors, so the shows must be regular. 

I went down this hill, all the way to the river. My walk was away from the city center, along the river. I walked and walked and walked, strong winds most of the way. 

Finally I got to where I wanted to go: the Bank of Georgia. The official building is definitely unique. It looks like someone played with build-a-blocks. Or took giant trailers and put them at 90 degree angles on top of each other. Definitely not traditional, and still surprisingly boring, though that probably doesn't make sense. How long did it take to build and how many people work in this building?

I took my photos, then turned around and went all the way back to the old city center. Not a short walk, and very straight, but I enjoyed it anywho. (Generally, as long as it isn't raining, I love walking.) I passed through two small parks on my way back to Freedom Square; one of them had a few statues I liked, the other was filled with paintings and other items sold by vendors. 

Back on Rustaveli I went back to Coffee Bean for another large chai latte. (I really do take advantage when I have the opportunity!) 

At the start of Rustaveli, just off Freedom

Square is the national museum. I like history museums, but the part that interested me most was just one part of this museum. The exhibit of Soviet occupation. There were a lot of documents issued by the soviet government, photos of Georgian dissidents, statistics and facts, etc... 

It's only one room, but it's a part of history that continues to fascinate me. I didn't know much about what happened in Georgia (and I still don't really know much about Georgian history,) but I was somewhat saddened to learn how the Georgian royal family essentially was disappeared (they were killed and/or deported,) during this time. The occupation wasn't good to Georgians, nearly a million were killed or deported. Awful. 

The next morning I was up super early. I guess most people would still call it the middle of the night. A taxi took me to the airport, and I again concluded that an advantage of early early flights is the total lack of traffic on the way to the airport. 

Not too many hours later, I landed in Kyiv. 

georgia: kutaisi and gelati monastery

If you are in the states and say the name Georgia, people assume you are referring to the state. But I live in Europe, so this post is all about my visit to the country of Georgia.

My flight took me from Kyiv to Kutaisi, Georgia. If I recall correctly, my flight landed just after midnight, and the airport wasn't particularly busy. The passport control officer asked me if it was my first visit to Georgia, and I said yes. Then he handed me a mini bottle of wine!! (Too bad I couldn't drink it.) Georgia is known for its wine, so it's a nifty marketing tool.

During this trip I was sooooo tempted to try different wines, and just deal with whateva happened, but I didn't.

Since I'd arrived in what was basically the middle of the night, I elected to stay in the airport overnight, to avoid paying a night of accommodation that I wouldn't get to until who knows when, and how. I didn't really sleep in the airport, but I did doze off for an hour or so at a time. I wasn't entirely sure if sleeping in the airport was allowed, it definitely emptied out in the middle of early early morning, but I didn't see security guys walking around rousting any sleepers.

The next morning I walked out to the street in front of the airport and caught the next marshrutka heading into Kutaisi. It was a bit confusing, since I don't speak or read Georgian, and I had no idea how much anything should cost. It's always a bit of a gamble to hand money to someone when you don't speak the language and there is no posted price. That being said, I watched how much others paid during the rest of the ride to make sure I paid the right price. 

It was already raining, which didn't look like it was going to change anytime soon. Argh. It was still raining when the marshrutka got to its final destination in the city. 

I asked the driver (in English, of course, hoping for good luck,) if he knew how I could get to my hotel. Normally I would walk, just because I can, but with the rain, I was in a taxi or local transport sort of mood. The driver suggested something totally inappropriate, and repeated his suggestion when I said no. Argh. I mentioned my boyfriend, he said he had a girlfriend and they need never know. I was outraged, to say the least. I got out of the marshrutka and found a taxi on my own. I'm sure I overpaid, but at that point I was more interested in getting away from the creepy marshrutka driver. Yuck.

The taxi dropped me off, and I found the entrance to my hotel on the side of the building, (after circling around the whole thing.) There was no one there for a few minutes, but eventually the manager came back in, and I was allowed to check in early. Since it was still raining and cold, I warmed up with tea and charged my phone. 

Then I figured if I waited for good weather I would be stuck inside all day, so I started walking. Kutaisi is not a picturesque city, to say the least. 

My initial impression of the city wasn't as good as it could've been, mostly due to the weather. I could see ottoman influences in the architecture (Georgia has been part of a few empires,) as well as plain boring buildings. 

I could see lights had been strung, presumably to celebrate the upcoming holidays. This definitely helped with the appearance of the town. Georgia is mostly Orthodox, so I didn't have to worry about everything shutting down over 24/25 December. Orthodox Christmas is 7 January. 

Kutaisi has a river running through the city, with a number of bridges going across the river. I really liked the views from these bridges. The houses and buildings on the banks of the river were NOT what most people would think of as picturesque, but they caught my eye anywho. A lot of them were wood, and multiple levels. 

One of the bridges has a statue of a young boy on one railing, he looks as if he wants to jump into the river to swim. 

As I walked the streets I saw a couple schools, each with a statue in front of them. Maybe the schools were named for the people those statues represented? 

At one point I walked next to the opera house. The roof was awesome, with sculptures. Very eye catching. The building wasn't tall, I wish I'd been able to see the interior. I wonder if it was as stunning as some opera houses I've seen. I should've looked at the schedule too. Maybe I could've attended a show that night?

I found the so-called teachers house, at least that was what the sign said. The building itself was missing a roof, and everything was literally falling down. I found an opening in the barrier, and walked in. I like taking photos of abandoned buildings. I wish I'd been able to figure out the history of the building, and any potential future.

I loved the building that houses the central market. A brick building, there were great sculptures on one of the exterior walls. Awesome. The market itself was just like markets I've seen around the world: sections with produce, dairy, meat, dry goods, and of course the completely random items.

I found the seasonal section, which had plenty of people selling Georgian Christmas trees. I bought one, how could I say no to something so cheap, and so cute? 

On one side of the opera building was a small park, and on the other side of the park was a traffic circle. In the middle of the traffic circle was a big fountain, with quite the sculpture. It was still going full blast, despite the rain. Totally worth a heap of photos :)

From the fountain I walked to a synagogue. Unfortunately, the exterior gates were closed, so I didn't get to see the interior. 

On the way to the synagogue I'd noticed the tops of a fancy church roof, so I headed that way next. I got to the church, which wasn't anything fancy, though I liked the wooden bell tower. I also really really liked the derelict looking wooden building on the corner across the street. I must've stood there for at least 30 minutes taking photos with different filters, from different angles. There was also an overturned car, missing the cloth part of the interior, but I couldn't fit that into my photos. Why do people leave burned out shells on the street?

In that area of the city most of the houses are behind gates, some of which were quite nifty. I could see some of the houses, they didn't seem worth 'protecting,' but maybe the gates are tradition more than protection. 

I wandered through the streets and found another church, this one much more interesting. Church of the immaculate conception I think, at least that is what is carved into the entrance. 

From there I found a way to another bridge, and crossed the river. Old schoolbuses caught my eye, I don't know why. 

I followed a path up the hill, to another church. I can't remember the name of this church, but it wasn't big. The interior was mostly blue. Quiet, peaceful. There was a graveyard there too, and the whole thing overlooked the city. 

Then I backtracked a little, and made my way to a unesco site.

Bagrati Cathedral. It was big, on a good plot of land, with a stone wall all the way around. As it was also on the hill, it provided another nice view of the city. (Not that Kutaisi is particularly eye catching.)
The cathedral looks as if it is being rebuilt, so there is a mix of old and new stone/rock. As it was still raining/threatening to rain, there was a fair amount of mud all over the grounds, and there was no building happening at the time I visited. There was no entrance fee, yippee!! The interior of the cathedral wasn't very decorated, it was almost bland. There was howeva, a small display of bones in the middle, and the altar could still be used. There were a few icons up on the walls, but not many.
I followed the fence on the grounds just to see if there was a place with a better view of the city, but with the awful weather, that didn't happen. Oh well.

After making my way back down the hill, I found my way back to the market. On one side of the market I found a lady selling popcorn, yum! Since I've been fooled before, I made sure to ask if it was salty or sweet. Salty popcorn is a great snack.
My next sight was Parliament. It took a bit of walking to get there, but at least it wasn't actually raining anymore. The walk was easy and flat. I'm not sure why, but the president of Georgia decided to build Parliament in a city three (or more) hours from the capital city but he did. The building is very modern, with flat ground all around.

To build Parliament, a soviet war memorial was knocked down, which upset quite a few people, and caused some controversy.
I didn't go in, as it was getting late, and I couldn't find the place to buy tickets for tours, if there were tours to be taken.
After walking back into town, I found a small cafe with yummy looking slices and sweets. I got a cream horn, which ended up being not nearly as good as it looked. At least the cafe had nice decor. I was tempted to try something else, in case it was just bad luck with the cream horn, but I just wasn't hungry. Argh.

After the cafe it was dark, and I made my way back to some of the streets lit up with holiday lights.  The fountain was lit up in color, and it looked even better since it wasn't raining. I wish I had a better camera. Or a foldable ladder so I could've taken the photo from slightly above.
The next morning I was up early to catch a marshrutka. At least, it felt early, though I suppose 0700 isn't that early. It felt early because sunrise comes so late in Georgia at this time of year. The marshrutka came at 0800, and was easy to spot even though I don't read Georgian. I laughed when I saw it, because there were neon lights around the interior and underneath.

The marshrutka took me to Gelati Monastery, about 10km outside Kutaisi. It's another unesco sight, but is another sight I wouldn't have expected to have this designation. 

Gelati Monastery was founded in 1106 by King David. (He is also buried here.) when I read the history on Wikipedia it sounds like Gelati was a big place, but it definitely didn't seem that way during my visit. 

The photos online are also much better and mine, mostly because I had terrible weather. Also, the roof of one of the churches was being redone, so there were ladders in a few places and big, organized stacks of shingles.

I was the only tourist on the marshrutka, and as far as I could tell, there was no entrance fee to be paid.
As I walked through the entrance gate, I realized it was Christmas morning. For me at least. 25 December. It was completely quiet. Definitely a moment to pause and think about life. 

I arrived before the churches were even open. I walked the grounds, which didn't take long. I walked up stairs on the outside of a small tower, wondering what I might see. The entrance door to a small altar was closed, but not locked. I put on my headscarf, and opened the door. It was a very small room, but very warm. I stayed inside a minute, then closed the door and went back down the stairs. 

At the point it was 'opening time' if there was an official opening time. A priest came out of a building on the edge of the grounds (I'm guessing priests' quarters.) and unlocked the door to one of the churches. 

The interior was definitely old, but I loved all the colour. There were fresco paintings all over, and the iconostasis was still in decent shape. The paint wasn't perfect anymore, but you could still see what the paintings were supposed to depict. 

I had only been in there a few moments when two cleaning ladies came in and swept the entire floor. It was dusty, but not dirty. There were windows, and I imagine the interior would be even more lovely if there had been sun. 

That was all I was able to see of the monastery, which didn't take long. The next marshrutka back to Kutaisi wasn't going to come along for another 2.5 hrs, yuck.

Instead of waiting, I decided to start walking. It was an easy walk, heading mostly downhill. There were a couple lovely views, and some views that made me break out the camera though I doubt anyone would say they were 'pretty.'

I got to the bottom of the hill, and after waiting for just a little while, I hopped on another marshrutka, which brought me back to Kutaisi in just a few minutes. 

I picked up my backpack from my hotel, and stopped in a bakery for snacks. All of the signs were written in Georgian, so I had no idea what I was choosing, but I suppose that's half the fun. 

I hopped on the next local bus to the bus station, and when I got there it was easy to find the next departure to Tblisi. 

I wouldn't mind going back to Kutaisi, assuming the weather is better, and I had more time to explore the whole area.

ukraine: nikolaev/mykolaiv

Nikolaev is in southern Ukraine, not too far from Odessa. Nikolaev is the capital of an oblast, and this area of the country is mostly Russian speaking. Nikolaev is the Russian name of the city, locals sometimes use Niko for short; Mykolayiv is the Ukrainian name, but it isn't used much. I'm using Nikolaev since it is the lingua franca in this area. The name on the train station is the Ukrainian name, but that's because the official language of the country is Ukrainian.

This city was the capital of shipbuilding in the former soviet empire, though most of that industry has left now. 

My night train from kyiv arrived just at sunrise, on a very gray day. The front of the train station is different from other train stations I've seen in this country, it was much more Soviet, as opposed to grand and airy. 

Across the platz was a 'square' but as far as I could tell it was just an area in front of a large apartment building with trees and walking paths. I walked along the street and came to a traffic circle, (which I like to call a roundy round,) in the middle of which was the first soviet monument I would see in this town. Tall, giant communist star, labeled with CCCP. 

Somewhere after this traffic circle I realized I was cold, and really wished I didn't have to take my gloves off to take photos. 

At the second traffic circle I found a market. I've seen heaps of these all over the country, sometimes I want to walk through and other times I don't. This time I did, thinking it would be a quick walk through. Somehow I ended up wandering around for over 30 minutes! It was a lot bigger than I expected. Most of the women selling meat were women, they were also doing the butchering, at least from what I could see.

I have no idea how people spend the entire day basically outside and don't lose feeling in fingers or toes. At this time of year there is no concern about food borne illness in any of the meat.
I also found the dry goods, dairy, fresh produce, and pickled veggie sections. I bought kimchi, yum!!

Eventually I got to my hotel, which wanted almost 200 griven extra to check in early, eeeek. The room price was 375 griven, it didn't seem worth it to add 50% to check in four hours early. Instead I left my bag behind the front desk and walked out to explore more.

I found a cafe just down the street and warmed up for a bit with tea. 

I kept walking, and passed a church, and those always catch my eye, no matter how many of them I see. I found an open gate and wandered in. Pretty, and I enjoyed the atmosphere, as usual. There was a big fancy gold iconostasis, but not much else in terms of decor in the entire church. 

This church happened to be on one corner of a big intersection. On another corner was another big monument. This one was a soviet soldier. The monument was technically located on Lenin Street, and I took photos, despite the bad lighting. 

I turned and followed Lenin Street until coming to 'European Square.' It was really a square, it was more of a median between two sides of the street, and there was a monument to Nebecna Sotni, (the Heavenly Hundred, those who died during the Maidan protests in Kyiv,) complete with flowers and yellow and blue ribbons and cloth. 

Eventually this street dead ended, surrounded by big buildings. The building that looked most interesting to me had crossed anchors in front. 

I took photos, then turned left, following another main-ish street. Along the way I came to a big platz. Part of the platz was filled with a WW2 memorial, one side had the city administration building, another side had the oblast administration building, and a couple other memorials as well. There was also a small church along one edge. I took my photos and moved on.

Several blocks up that street I finally got to the main museum of the city, the museum of shipbuilding and fleet. It is a one story building, and some cannons and such on the grounds, and busts of admirals and such, just outside the surrounding fence on the sidewalk. 

Inside the museum, the descriptions of all the exhibits were in Russian and Ukrainian, with general room descriptions in English. Each room was dedicated to a specific time in history, some of it going way back, to areas of the world not connected to Ukraine or Russia. There were more drawings and such with earlier periods in history, more items for the latter dates. The exhibits were well done, with plenty of information and aesthetic appeal. 

Not surprisingly, one of the biggest rooms was all about the so called Cold War era. Propaganda posters, and heaps more. I could've stayed in there for quite a while. 

After the museum I continued on this street, until it deadended as well. There was a photogenic building that looked as if it had once been official, but was now abandoned. (I found it photogenic, but I suppose that is all in the eye of the beholder.) It could've been an office building, or something to do with the shipbuilding industry that isn't nearly as big as it used to be.

I walked back toward the center of town, and turned on what used to be called Sovietska Street. The name is different now, (I don't remember the 'new' name,) at least officially, but locals still use the Russian name. A good portion of the street is a pedestrian zone, with the regular vendors. Random souvenirs, art, kitschy stuff, etc... 

At one corner of this street I found a big menorah. Really big. A couple of the 'candles' were lit, as it was the middle of Hanukkah. Given the general anti Semitic views in Ukraine I was surprised to see this, but I liked it. 

Further along the street I came to the big monument to shipbuilders. One of the travel apps I use has this located in a completely different place, I was glad to see it in the pedestrian area. Shaped like a globe, with statues of people all around. 

Not long after, I headed to a restaurant for dinner, then went back to my hotel and officially checked in. 

The next morning I had breakfast in my hotel, since it was included in the price. Eventually I got around to packing up and checking out, and I left my bag for the day. 

I headed to the front of another museum, called the Staroflotski Barracks. Another soviet looking building. I took a photo, then kept walking. 

I used a travel app map to find a church, inside which I found a baby screaming during a baptism/christening ceremony. The parents seemed embarrassed, but the priest was taking it in stride. Very cute. 

I found another sight not correctly marked on the travel app map, the palace of culture and something else. The building exterior wasn't very good looking, though there was a monument to women in front. The 'palace' was across the street from another WW2 memorial, which had photos of soldiers, and red poppies. 

Not too far away I found St John's Catholic Church, a polish church. I loved the way the light streamed in through the stained glass windows, which created a warm, friendly feeling. 

I decided to cross the bridge I'd seen the day before. Just before the bridge I found a small corner park, complete with murals along the edges of the park, and a statue of Pushkin in the middle. 

The bridge was easy to cross, it had pedestrian walkways on both sides. As I crossed to the other side, I could see the name of the city spelled out on a hill not to far away, the letters look like the famous Hollywood sign in Los Angeles. I remember wishing I'd had time to walk over to the letters/name, just to see it up close.

Across the bridge I crossed the road and found a park, with monuments and old tanks. One of the monuments was another CCCP monument, complete with big star. This park actually stretched over both sides of the highway, and is called Peremogy Park. There was an underpass to allow easy movement to both sides of the park, the walls of the underpass were painted with lovely murals. 

Eventually I went back across the bridge, and looked out at what remains of the old shipbuilding port. Another photogenic spot, at least for me. 

I went back to the barracks museum and this time I entered. After paying the entrance fee I found the souvenir shop, and bought postcards. This museum was two floors, with basically one or two giant rooms on each floor. It's a local history museum. It started with the geology and flora and fauna, but I skipped those sections, as they don't interest me so much. I prefer people history. My favorite display was of medals and buttons from the CCCP era. I also liked the displays of traditional and military clothing through the decades. 

I left the museum as the sun was setting and went to dinner. Then I picked up my bag from the hotel, and walked back to the train station. Goggle maps said it should take 86 minutes, I made it in an hour :)