Beautiful Crimea

[singleinwiusa]

Greetings Everyone !
I am back from a very beautiful trip to Crimea. Now I have not been everywhere in the world, and not yet to the mountains in western Ukraine, but I have travled and in such a small area, never have I seen such beauty and diversity as in Crimea. Let me try to describe some of the beauty and sites that I saw.
After landing and getting "settled in" in Simferopol, which to me was the same as other Ukrainian towns I've been to, the weather was great so we caught the small bus to Alushta. ($4.00 under the table to the driver for both of us) The drive there was georgeous, up the moutain and back down to the sea. We didn't get there until the afternoon and the beach was just packed. WOW! The water was great! So refreshing to swim and play at the sea. The venders were out and the stroll down the road next to the beach was great. Shashleek for supper at a sidewalk cafe with a glass of Massandra to wash it down. The next big adveture was to Alupka. As we went by Aoo Dag, I was told the sad story of the little bear that lost his love and tried to get her back by drinking the sea dry. We first went to the palace there and went on the tour. I do not have words to describe the beauty of that place. The beautiful mountains behind it and the sea in front. The gardens were huge and immacculate. The stone lions in front on the steps, the little fountains in the flower gardens, WoW!!! After walking the inner and outer grounds, we took the cable car to the top of the mountain. Our taxi driver there from Simferopol recomended that as the place to eat as there is a small village of tents and resturants by Tar-Tars on the top. Great food and exellent wine by the venders. I was worried that I would break the cable car with my added wieght. Up there was the first view I had of Yalta. A storm was brewing in while we were on top and I have a photo of myself with Yalta in the background with the sun shining on it. Exellent! As the day was waning, we went down and made our way to Swallows Castle. Truly a beautiful place, a beautiful day! The next adventure was to Bachisari. We took the bus there and met an exellent cabbi named Aleek.He had lived all his life in the area and turned out to be an exellent guide. We went to Chufute Kale. We walked the entire canyon to the other side and ended up on top where the old buildings and remnents of the city still are. On our way back down, we stopped at the monastery and was told the history of the place by Aleek. We then went back to town and went thru Kahn's Palace. There we saw the original "fountain of tears". I couldn't believe how well everything was kept up and how beautiful the little gardens were. The next day we went to Yalta and first stopped and toured "Botanical Gardens". Beautiful flowerbeds, bamboo gardens, sequoia trees, palm trees, cactus, fountains, statues, and more ponds and fountains. The more we walked, the more there was to see. And all of it very beautiful. After that, we caught a cab to Yalta and just walked the streets along the beach with all the venders and people and cafes. It started to rain a warm rain, light at first, but harder later and it was getting towards evening so we tried to get a bus home but all tickets were sold for the day so we stood in the rain trying to hail a ride home to Simferopol for almost an hour. My friend Tanya was hollering and complaining that everyone in Yalta was too rich and that no one needed the money as we tried to catch a ride in the rain, but this is a good memory. The next few days we stayed close to home as the weather was still wet and visited with friends and family. We then went to Mramornaya Cave with Tanya's sister Marina and the children. It was just discovered in 1987 and is voted one of the top 5 most beautiful caves in the world. My hat is off to the judges as I aggree with them We then went to a small town just out of Evpatoria called Molochnoa. Some friends of mine were there from Mariupol on holiday and we met and ate and drank (and ate) with them. It was good to see old friends. The next day we went to Sevastopol and started on the hill called "Panoramma". The hair on my arms and neck was always up. Such a heavy price paid in blood by those people for a hill overlooking the port. It was to me a solom and sacred place made that way by the sacrifices of many. We then went down into the city and walked and walked. Beautiful clean water, the old bridge near the statue to the lost sailors, so much to see and remember. A day or two at home and back up to Molochnoa to see my friends again and spend the night with them at the resort. Oh, I almost forgot about the ruins at Sevastopol. WOW! The marble cloloms, the mosaics on the floors of many of the ruins. This was a very beautiful place! Back to Molochnoa. We spent the day at the beach there. Beautiful sand beach with many little sea shells. The next day we packed up the Lada and headed for Tarhankut. WOW The coast here was unbelievable! We heade north along the little trails until we found a place where the cliffs weren't so tall and we could swim. We had a lovely picinic and day at the sea. The only sad thing about here was the amount of litter. It looked like the national landfill for Ukraine. Very sad. A few days at home and back with Aleek to Mangup Kale. I found this spot to be more beautiful than Chufut Kale because of the age and mystery of the place. It was explained to us that there is supposed to be a "energy vortice" similar to that of Sedona Arizona around the place. I believe it! It took quite a while to hike to all 4 fingers and look at the caves and dwellings and it rained on us high on that place with loud, thunderous lightening almost the whole time we were there. But still, this is one of my favorite places and would go there again in a heartbeat. After leaving there, Aleek took the backroads to the church at Foros. This is a "must see" spot. So beautiful, perched on the rocks, overlooking the sea. The next day we rented a sauna at a hotel near the train station as the colds we had were getting worse with all the outdoor activities in the rain. The facilities were wonderful! 2 hours in the sauna by ourselves for $10.00. Cold mineral water, hot showers, cheese, fruit, cold Massandra wine. It was a beautiful 2 hours and well worth the $10.00 A few more days at home and off to Sudak and Novy Svet. We took the road from Simferopol to Alushta and drove the coast up stopping at the beautiful waterfall called Jur Jur. Stunning! ! ! The ride along the coast was exellent and worth the time to see the landscape. When we got to Sudak, we first went to some friends of Tanya's and then went to the castle on the mountain. We climed to the top after exploring everything and the view from there was breath taking. I especially liked the view to the south towards Novy Svet. We then went there and walked around the mountain to the south that takes you to "kings beach". By the time we made it back to town, (our cabbi came with us on the hike) it was getting towards sunset so we had supper at a cafe and then told the cabbi we would just meet him back at the cab later and just strolled the streets near the sea with the venders and merchants. By the time we got back to the cab it was well after dark and we took the road north and west back to Simferopol. Just to give you an idea of the cost, we hired this man often and to have him all day for 13 hours cost me 200.00 hrivna ($40.00) By now my month was almost over and we decided to take the train to Kiev so I could catch my flight but left a day early so we would have some time there. 1st class there for both of us cost 400.00 hrivna (about $80) We left Simferopol at 2:30 in the afternoon and made it to Kiev at 8:00 The next morning. After getting a place to stay and freshing up, we started to tour Kiev. Our apartment was within walking distance of the statue of the huge woman with the sword and shield. We went there and from there went to the old chuches and the caves in the monastary. WOW! Very, very beautiful! We just walked and walked until we ended up at Khreshchatik and Independence Square. This reminded me very much of Vienna with it's beauty. We took the "Metro" back to our apartment, which is very cool and very efficiant and beautiful, and ate and then decided, let's go back downtown now that it is evevning and all lit up. I was glad that we chose to do this. I will never forget this evening with the fountain at the square. I had to be at Borispol early the next morning and that pretty much sums up my trip.
My thanks to all who posted to me before I left and peace to all!
CTIV

[Mermaid]

Thankyou for such an enlightening "tour"
round Crimea. I would love to visit Crimea
and Ukraine and have read books and found
information on the net. However there is
nothing quite like a personal experience.
Now I have a better picture in my minds eye.
So thankyou again.

[steve_vlasenko]

Singleinwiusa,

I'm made up you enjoyed your holiday in Ukraine, when you're next there why not take in a couple of the Kyiv museums. This'll probably give a better understanding of why people like myself take issue with ignorant ill informed assertion of Ukraine.
The Iron Lady with the sword!!! is the War museum and even a tour without speaking the language or taking a guide will give you some kind of insight in to the suffering of Ukrainians.
Did you take time to visit the Chernobyl museum?
Don't take what I say as offensive, I just want to learn and impart as much knowledge about Ukraine as I can. As I said before I'm aware of some of Ukraine's failings, I just can't live with people running any part of the country down when they know nothing about the place.
By the way, I've spend may summers evening having a couple of beers in Maidan sitting by the big fountain, so I can appreciate how you felt.

In the words of Ihor the Great
Glory to Ukraine.

Take Care

Vlas.

[singleinwiusa]

Steve,
Had I more time, I would have taken in many more sites and mueseums but I was in Kiev for less than a day, and I went thru many war museums in Crimea, they're everywhere! Sorry if my "ignorance" of a statues name offended you but I got the story behind her and her importance as the symbol of the motherland. It's too bad that the "eternal flame" is now only lit a few days of the year. Yes, I have read much on how the Nazi's tore Ukraine apart on their way through and Stalin on the way back west. 1 in 6 Ukrainians died during the war, compared to; Germany,1 in 15, France, 1 in 77, and Britain, 1 in 125. Not to mention the death caused by Stalin during the 30's. When I see a "Babushka" begging on the streets, my heart and $$$ goes out to her to think she lived thru all of that, only to now be so poor with little or no pension and must live such a awfull life. The same with all the "legless" veterans that beg in traffic. Maybe you could help me understand why a country with so many monuments to the war takes such poor care of her veterans? I didn't understand this?

[LippyChick]

The eternal flame burns all year. It's by the obelisk between parliament and the Larva. What burns at the war museum, if I'm not mistaken is the flame to celebrate Victory day. Hence it only burning on may 9th.

LippyChick...

------------------
What we want and what we need have been confused...

[ricknorth]

There is a new McDonald's in Sevastopol on Boshoi Moreskaya. It was very lovely, and I had dinner there several times. It was very lovely.

[Yorky999]

Everyone who visits Kiev should visit the Chernobyl Museum - I was with "hardened" ex cops who came out of that building with tears rolling down their faces - but for the grace of God.............