Thoughts on Crimea
On the train ride back to N-- after completing our trip to Yalta, I asked Eric a list of questions just to entertain ourselves. Here is how he responded.
1. What did you see in Crimea?
The promenade at Yalta, Chekhov's summer home, the summer palace of Nicholas II, a miniature castle situated on a cliff, overlooking the Black Sea (the "Swallow's Nest"), the Khan's Palace, and a lot of hills and mountains.
2. What was the most memorable?
The highlights for me were seeing the rooms of the Tsar's palace where the Yalta Conference took place in 1945, and the garden of Chekhov's property.
3. Did anything surprise you?
The resort exceeded my expectations--it was bigger, cleaner, and more colorful than I expected--similar to Ocean City [Maryland] but on a larger scale than I reemmber. And I was delighted to see how carefully preserved the Chekhov dacha and Khan's Palace were.
4. What did you learn about Ukraine, Crimea, etc?
I refreshed my Cyrillic alphabet learned some new words like "skolka" and "chas". Learned about the lives of the Chekhovs and the Romanovs, and read about the waves of conquest and settlement that have affected Crimea over the centuries. I learned about the exile, under Stalin, of the Tatar people from Crimea and their recent efforts at resettlement.
5. Would you recommend people to travel to Crimea/Ukraine? Why or why not?
Yes, provided you have either a competent guide... or local language skills.
6. Was anything frustrating?
Only minor snags--how to find local marshrutka to Khansky Palatz. Getting marshrutka to Odessa on time.
7. What are you looking forward to seeing next (Krakow, Croatia, Lviv, and Kyiv)?
Above all the old city in Krakow, Discletian's Palace, the city walls of Dubrovnik, and the beaches of Hvar and Korčula.
When I have an opportunity, I'll post the photos that Eric took with his digital camera.
1. What did you see in Crimea?
The promenade at Yalta, Chekhov's summer home, the summer palace of Nicholas II, a miniature castle situated on a cliff, overlooking the Black Sea (the "Swallow's Nest"), the Khan's Palace, and a lot of hills and mountains.
2. What was the most memorable?
The highlights for me were seeing the rooms of the Tsar's palace where the Yalta Conference took place in 1945, and the garden of Chekhov's property.
3. Did anything surprise you?
The resort exceeded my expectations--it was bigger, cleaner, and more colorful than I expected--similar to Ocean City [Maryland] but on a larger scale than I reemmber. And I was delighted to see how carefully preserved the Chekhov dacha and Khan's Palace were.
4. What did you learn about Ukraine, Crimea, etc?
I refreshed my Cyrillic alphabet learned some new words like "skolka" and "chas". Learned about the lives of the Chekhovs and the Romanovs, and read about the waves of conquest and settlement that have affected Crimea over the centuries. I learned about the exile, under Stalin, of the Tatar people from Crimea and their recent efforts at resettlement.
5. Would you recommend people to travel to Crimea/Ukraine? Why or why not?
Yes, provided you have either a competent guide... or local language skills.
6. Was anything frustrating?
Only minor snags--how to find local marshrutka to Khansky Palatz. Getting marshrutka to Odessa on time.
7. What are you looking forward to seeing next (Krakow, Croatia, Lviv, and Kyiv)?
Above all the old city in Krakow, Discletian's Palace, the city walls of Dubrovnik, and the beaches of Hvar and Korčula.
When I have an opportunity, I'll post the photos that Eric took with his digital camera.
posted by Molly | 1:18 PM
2 Comments:
At least one of Eric's answers should have been something like: My eyes were filled with Molly and Molly's beauty, and I could think little beyond that...but I'm assuming they were probably all like that and you edited for content ;)
BTW you will never guess what arrived in the mail the other day - that's right, a beat up package returned from the Ukraine!
oh geesh, I'm sorry about that. I'm still pissed off about that incident.
And Eric understood the purpose of the questions--so I asked him not to do that sorta thing!
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