Chernivtsi, October 29
Door: rikdegoede
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Rick
29 Oktober 2011 | Oekraïne, Kiev
Hi all,
I took a night train to Prague, walked around the city in the morning of the 27th, then took a train in the direction of Bratislava. Hopped off in Žilina. Was shocked at the crumbling concrete construction that is the railway station so much I decided to continue. Went as far as Košice that day, where some people told me the way to a youth hostel.
Loud Slovak rock music blurting out of a high building. The local youth subculture seemed alright, it involves black leather and heavy lipstick (on the girls). Local choice of music (and especially volume) didn`t strike me as alright though. The old lady at the reception seemed to agree, she spends her nights in the noise. Anyway, slept through it and woke to beatiful, clear sky and freezing temperatures.
On the 28th I took a bus to Uzhorod. It seemed to live on thanks to the technical skills of the driver and his colleagues, but this granny must have plowed through Carpathian highways already in Stalin`s time. It took me faithfully up forested mountains (30 km/h) and then down again (much faster). Was pleased to find I wasn`t the only passenger having fun at the piece of ancient history we were riding: I shared the back seats with a group of young people from Uzhorod back from holidays in Barcelona, Spain (imagine the difference in temperature - poor souls). All the way across the border I spent the time talking with charming Vicky, local journalist (and heritage activist) in Uzhorod. She even gave me a private lesson in Russian.
The end of the EU is always a reminder what a real border looks (and feels) like. Arrived at Uzhorod station at about 17:00 - too late for the last bus to Lviv. Then made the mistake of buying a bus ticket to Chernivtsi (the location of current blog entry). This turned out to be an overnight service. Dis-service rather. Small, crampy seats made it a night full of torture. This ride took me over the Carpathians, along the Romanian border. The border river listens to the illustrous name of Prut. Didn`t really sleep of course. Anyway, I should get better used to bus torture or shrink my legs, with the plans I have in mind.
Arrived in Chernivtsi at 6:10 AM (Eastern European time = UTC+2). Nearly got ripped off by a taxi driver - fortunately still had some of my wits on me, even after the torturous ride through the Carpathians. Some taxi drivers = scum of the Earth (choose my words in a way I`m not generalizing here but you get my point). It`s minus ten degrees here...
Chernivtsi has a quite large old centre full of crumbling baroque architecture. It`s famous for its weird university building, which used to be the seat of some orthodox patriarchate and looks like something between an orthodox cathedral and a medieval castle. It was the personal phantasy of architect Josef Hlavka in the late 19th century. The church couldn't use it for long, since it got confiscated by the Soviet commies, who gave it to the local university. Nowadays it`s the place to be to take a picture of your wedding. I counted at least six newly wed couples around the building, in any case.
Tomorrow I`ll continue my wandering through Podonia in the form of a bus trip to the town of Kamnyanets-Podolski. During the weekend, all trains to Kiyiv were fully booked. Seems there is another uncomfortable night trip on a bus in my immediate future.
Thanks for reading, love you all, regards,
Rick
I took a night train to Prague, walked around the city in the morning of the 27th, then took a train in the direction of Bratislava. Hopped off in Žilina. Was shocked at the crumbling concrete construction that is the railway station so much I decided to continue. Went as far as Košice that day, where some people told me the way to a youth hostel.
Loud Slovak rock music blurting out of a high building. The local youth subculture seemed alright, it involves black leather and heavy lipstick (on the girls). Local choice of music (and especially volume) didn`t strike me as alright though. The old lady at the reception seemed to agree, she spends her nights in the noise. Anyway, slept through it and woke to beatiful, clear sky and freezing temperatures.
On the 28th I took a bus to Uzhorod. It seemed to live on thanks to the technical skills of the driver and his colleagues, but this granny must have plowed through Carpathian highways already in Stalin`s time. It took me faithfully up forested mountains (30 km/h) and then down again (much faster). Was pleased to find I wasn`t the only passenger having fun at the piece of ancient history we were riding: I shared the back seats with a group of young people from Uzhorod back from holidays in Barcelona, Spain (imagine the difference in temperature - poor souls). All the way across the border I spent the time talking with charming Vicky, local journalist (and heritage activist) in Uzhorod. She even gave me a private lesson in Russian.
The end of the EU is always a reminder what a real border looks (and feels) like. Arrived at Uzhorod station at about 17:00 - too late for the last bus to Lviv. Then made the mistake of buying a bus ticket to Chernivtsi (the location of current blog entry). This turned out to be an overnight service. Dis-service rather. Small, crampy seats made it a night full of torture. This ride took me over the Carpathians, along the Romanian border. The border river listens to the illustrous name of Prut. Didn`t really sleep of course. Anyway, I should get better used to bus torture or shrink my legs, with the plans I have in mind.
Arrived in Chernivtsi at 6:10 AM (Eastern European time = UTC+2). Nearly got ripped off by a taxi driver - fortunately still had some of my wits on me, even after the torturous ride through the Carpathians. Some taxi drivers = scum of the Earth (choose my words in a way I`m not generalizing here but you get my point). It`s minus ten degrees here...
Chernivtsi has a quite large old centre full of crumbling baroque architecture. It`s famous for its weird university building, which used to be the seat of some orthodox patriarchate and looks like something between an orthodox cathedral and a medieval castle. It was the personal phantasy of architect Josef Hlavka in the late 19th century. The church couldn't use it for long, since it got confiscated by the Soviet commies, who gave it to the local university. Nowadays it`s the place to be to take a picture of your wedding. I counted at least six newly wed couples around the building, in any case.
Tomorrow I`ll continue my wandering through Podonia in the form of a bus trip to the town of Kamnyanets-Podolski. During the weekend, all trains to Kiyiv were fully booked. Seems there is another uncomfortable night trip on a bus in my immediate future.
Thanks for reading, love you all, regards,
Rick
-
29 Oktober 2011 - 18:07
Rick De Goede:
Sorry for the spelling mistakes. Can`t find out how to edit my entries. -
29 Oktober 2011 - 18:09
Rick De Goede:
Can`t find out how to upload pictures either. Perhaps next time. -
30 Oktober 2011 - 13:15
Hanny:
hi rik, fijn om van je te horen en leuk om te lezen! het is hier prachtig herfst nu. mooie kleuren, en nog niet koud. het huis werd weer stil en ik ga opruimen en klussen binnenkort. album voor oma is zaterdag aangekomen: prachtig!!! ik heb stiekem gekeken. ga donderdag 3 nov naar haar toe. ben benieuwd! Goede reis verder en blijf schrijven!groeten an Jetty(jarig) en de rest der familie -
30 Oktober 2011 - 22:14
Paul:
ha Rik,
Je maakt in een paar dagen meer mee dan de gemiddelde Nederlander in een paar weken en in vergelijking met sommigen misschien wel in een paar maanden. Je moet daarbij natuurlijk niet denken aan een gemiddelde ambtenaar. Je ervaringen klinken heel afwisselend, ook al is het zo te lezen niet elke dag alleen maar leuk. Ineke en ik zijn net een weekendje weggeweest naar Beekbergen. Gewandeld en gefietst. Minder enerverend, maar door de herfstkleuren was de Veluwe erg mooi. We zijn benieuwd naar je volgende avonturen en zullen dus zeker je weblog van tijd tot tijd blijven volgen.
groetjes, Ineke en Paul -
31 Oktober 2011 - 07:59
Vera:
Hoi Rikje,
wat cool! Mooie foto's en een cool verslag. Wij hadden een fijn zonnig weekend en met Rinie en kids naar het Aardhuis geweest en zwijntjes en hertjes gekeken. Pas goed op jezelf en ik kijk uit naar je volgende verslag.
dikke knuf
vera
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