Doggie vaccinations, dirty tanks

Igor is expected to move to Ukraine around Sep 20th. Since June every two weeks I send an email to Ukrainian Embassy in Den Haag inquiring about required doc's for doggie import to UA. Not one email got a response. I also sent emails to the State Customs Office. No feedback. Few vets I visited in Kiev with a question about how to get a doggie in UA have not been of much help.
Last week I found the number of the Veterinary Inspection at Boryspil Airport. I called yesterday and spoke to a man with a sleepy voice. The guy had not spoke a word of English. I spoke Russian. He told me about vaccination requirements and regulations I have to read. I carefully wrote down every word he said. He dictated a long list of vaccinations. I also went to the website he suggested http://www.vetcontrol.org/ and found Article 71.15 about import of dogs, cats, foxes, rabbits and other animals. The regulations states doggies imported to Ukraine need vaccinations against following diseases:
- pseudorabies - Aujeszky's disease;
- rabies;
- TBC;
- tualremia
- distemper;
- hepatitis;
- canine dermaptophytosis;
- canine viral enterities;
- parvo virus;
- adenovirus;
- leptospirosis;
This was almost identical to the list written down during the phone call with the "sleepy voice" of the Airport Vet Inspection. Looking at the list I wondered if a small doggie can survive such a vaccination cocktail.
The next requirement is that a vet's health certificate has to be legalized by the Dutch authorities and translated to Ukrainian by authorized translator. As I knew where I can get official UA translation I have not worried about it.
What worried me however was a vague statement about the quarantine. But first I wanted to sort out the vaccination list. Some illnesses I recognized but few I never heard of. So I contacted Sandra and Maria and asked if the list makes sense to them. They contacted the vet in the Netherlands who replied:
- pseudorabies or Aujeszky's disease is a disease for pigs; there are no vaccinations for dogs;
- TBC - no vaccinations for dogs;
- tularemia - not known disease for dogs in the Netherlands;
- canine dermatophytosis - kind of a mite common for cows, no vaccination for dogs.
Furthermore Sandra and Maria wrote that the Netherlands and Ukraine officially signed a treaty about animal imports which clearly stipulates all "normal" doggies vaccinations.
So I called Boryspil Vet Inspection today and asked them why a doggie needs vaccinations for pigs, cows and humans. I spoke to a different person today. Not to a "sleepy voice". The explanation was that instructions from yesterday must be my misunderstanding. Hmmm - I recall the guy dictated to me in his sleepy voice all diseases...God knows what he was dreaming.
I asked the person today about the quarantine and the answer was if a doggie has a health certificate - no quarantine. So Igor will fly to Kiev.

My mum is here and today I decide to come home earlier. However the traffic was horrendous. It took me 1 hour to drive home while normaly it takes me 10-15 min. As all streets around my house were jammed mum and I decided to go for a walk. We walked towards the main street and what a sight - the street was jammed with tanks, carriers with rockets, military trucks with some cylinders... What a sight and I am without a camera.
On August 24th Ukraine celebrates the Independence Day so I suspect they had today a "rehearsal" for a military parade. The trucks and tanks looked like from old Soviet movies. Than tanks started to roll. All these tanks and trucks generated such a thick black cloud of smog I thought I would suffocate. I lack words to describe the blackness and acid taste of gases generated by tanks. Due to the heavy black smog the visibility was so poor - if it was not for a thunder of tanks rolling I would think these are some dirty construction machines and I would heavily complain about the carbon footprint. The tanks left the main road completely ruined. I hope it will be patched soon.
With what is going on in Georgia I can understand Ukraine want to show what they have. Perhaps thick black cloud of pollution is a kind of a new strategic weapon.

Last weekend I was in Crimea. Lovely place. I also understand better why my Ukrainian colleagues worry about Russia. But about Crimea - next time.

Traffic Police

For the last six months I have not been stopped once by police when driving. Since last Saturday I have been stopped three times. On Saturday I drove to Chernigiv - one of the oldest cities in Ukraine about 140km from Kiev. I went there with Olimpia, a Romanian colleague who is here for two months. I did not have GPS and with no or very little road signs it took me one hour to find an exit to Chernigiv. Chernigiv is also closest city to Chernobile - but I had no intention of going there. The road to Chernigiv is straight, no potholes and not much traffic. The best road I drove so far in Ukraine. Customary for Ukraine - the highway passes through the villages. There are no signs indicating max speed when entering a village. There are some red stripes on the road before entering a village but I had no idea what they mean. Until I got stopped by the police. A polite policeman informed me I drove 95km/h while 50km/h is max allowed in a village. My defence was "there are no signs". "Of course there are - the red lines on the road". "Ohhh - that's what they are. Where I come from we have round metal signs with numbers." The policeman asked for documents which in my case consists of:- POA from the bank that I am allowed to drive the bank's car;- copy of insurance policy;- technical licence;- driving licence - in my case Croatian international and Croatian original driving licence. He looked at the pile and said he has to check them and started to go towards his car. I had no idea if it's a custom in Ukraine to get out of the car and follow him or to stay in the car. In Russia you get out of your car. I opted to stay in the car as I had to call a colleague and check what's the going rate for over speeding. I decided to walk to a police car once I know the rate. Alexey told me the going rate for overspeeding is between UAH 20-100 which in USD is between USD 5-20. The policemen returned and told me doc's are OK but I breached a speed limit. I asked if UAH 20 is enough. He said yes. I gave UAH 20 note. He returned doc's. It felt great to be in emerging markets.
On Sunday I went to veggies market to buy some of babushkas fresh garden produce. I go there weekly. As usual I parked the car on the more or less same spot. Other cars were parked around. About 30 min later with bags full of fresh tomatoes, yellow peppers, sweet peaches, raspberries, etc walking towards the parking spot - I could not find my car. For a moment I feared the car got stolen. Than I saw a truck on top of which was my "Ravche". Next to the truck was a policeman who told me I parked the car on a wrong spot. Telling him I usually park here and showing him parked cars around did not help. He asked me for documents. I told him they're in the car - which is on the truck. In order to get my car off the truck I should negotiate with guys in the truck. I called Alexey again. Going rate for improper parking is UAH 200-1000 - depending on the car. I offered UAH 150 and after some negotiations we agreed on UAH 250. Once the car reached the asphalt policeman asked me for docs. So I give him all doc's but noticed in my international driving licence there is no original Croatian driving licence. I panicked as I should always have the original licence next to the international. The policeman looked at my international driving licence which is falling apart but still valid and asked me: "So you are US citizen?" "No - I am Dutch citizen". "But this is not Dutch licence?" "No it's Croatian International licence." "And where is the original?" "Well - here!" was my response and I gave him a Korean driving licence I always keep in my wallet. I told him "Look its written here "driving licence"- the only inteilgible text among hangul. The policmean was very cool. He carefully examined both my driving licences - and than I noticed for a first time that they both have the same photo. He shaked his head, said "OK" and than let me to go. I counted my blessings.
Today in the city I have not stopped on cross road as for the last 5 months I know I have a way of right. About 50m from the crossroad a policman stopped me and asked why I have not stopped as I do not have way of right. I argued I have. He told me they changed signs some time ago. The signs hang high above the road. Well I truly have not noticed as I watch the road not skies when I drive. The policman told me he will write a protocol and I will have to go to the court. "No - I would like to pay now. How much I can pay". "The rule is to write a protocol". "Yes I know that but I would like to pay now". "The rule is to write a protocol." "Do you really want to write a protocol?" "That's the rule". "I know that's the rule, but I would like to pay now" "But the rule is to write the protocol"". Obviously I will not win this one. So I said "OK. As you are sure you want to write a protocol and this will take at least one hour - let me call my secretary to cancel my next meeting in the office". I called and started to explain I am tied up with a policman who needs to write a protocol. After I finished my phone call a policeman returned me doc's and told me to go. He also advised me not to brake rules in future and pay attention to signs". I profusely thanked him on such excellent advice but quickly drove away before he starts to charge me for his advices.

Tibbies weekend

Last weekend I went to the Netherlands. The purpose was to meet Sandra and Maria and see Igor. I arrived on Friday evening and bought some fruit salad in the shop on Schipol. Went to my apartment and was greeted by blooming lavender on my terrace. Had great time on a terrace with my fruit salad. Then decided to check if Ylona’s in her place. She emailed me that she will be in A’dam for few days before going on with her and Eleni’s busy summer schedule.
Eleni answered the bell but could not open the door. While we chatted over the interphone Ylona jogged in….I was very, very happy. She and Eleni had a flight to Greece at 2.30 am and we chatted for few hours. It was great to catch up with Ylona over few Campari’s. She showed her new place – which looks great. We shared miseries of unpacking and finding things. We discussed a possibility she visits me in Kiev. I hope that will be possible.
On Saturday morning I have note felt good but about two hour drive awaited me to meet Sandra and Maria and Igor who live in Nieuw A’dam. During my two hour drive I started to feel worse. I found Sandra and Maria and was greeted by their warmth and doggies excitement when seeing a new face. Sandra and Maria have 11 adult doggies – ten tibbies and one lassa. And of course six puppies. Doggies where in the kitchen and I tried to guess some names. I got all wrong but next to doggies excitement my stomach got excited too. Instead of being a normal guest and play with Igor I stretched on the sofa and slept there the entire Saturday except for the moments when I had to rush to the bathroom. I guess I was not a type of a guest Sandra and Maria expected. In the moments when I felt slightly better I tried to cuddle Igor and other puppies. Puppies are fantastic. There are two who are very dominant, two who are a bit weak but try to catch up. Igor is a not dominant. He is cuddly and sweet. I hope we will go well together. On Saturday afternoon in the moment when I felt better Sandra and Maria put puppies in a stroller and we did a village round. The village is very nice – with a lot of trees and a nice main canal. It was nice to walk with a stroller and watch people’s facial expression change from serious to soft and smiley once they realized there puppies in a stroller. On Sunday I felt better and I tried to make some photos. Unfortunately most of them have not turned right. In any case photos of puppies are on http://picasaweb.google.com/gordie26/MyDayAndJustLivingMyLife.
Sandra and Maria try to socialize puppies as much as they can. Thus they take them for a walk in stroller, drive them in a car, take them to the market, and doggies look so nice a relaxed. They showed me a fundle bag – a sling for a doggie. It’s a fantastic soft bag – comfortable for a doggie and a carrier. I checked a label to remember it when buying and I saw “Fundle.co.kr”. I was in a disbelief – I have not seen such a bag in Seoul! The one Korean product I would definitely buy would be this - and I had no clue about it! Never saw it at Dr. Kwon or “Pet Toy”. I checked “fundle” on the internet and it is a company from Daejeon. I immediately ordered a bag (was lucky it was on a sale!). The bag is really great for smaller doggies.
In short I spent a great, relaxing weekend. Being with Sandra and Maria's tibbies I realized how much I miss one and I am looking forward to getting Igor very much.
This weekend I am just relaxing. Reading books and sleeping. I do not have warm water – but about this – next time.

Alexandria Park

I was so impressed by Sophia’s park I spent most of my free time researching about Countess Potocki. As usual research turned out some surprising findings. In this case I found out there is another park close to Kyiv created by a woman. The place is Belaya Tserkov about 80 km from Kyiv. The guidebook said that Barron Branicki created a park for his wife. As years of the park creation were close to one in Uman a thought that Russian aristocracy was not immune to “keeping up with Jones’s” crossed my mind. But after doing my research the statement that husband built the park is wrong. Alexandra Branicki’s true passion was horticulture and during her 84 year long life she created two parks at the houses where she spent most of her time. But I tell her life story later.
I went to the park yesterday and prefer it to Sofiika in Uman. First it is more "low key" - no sculptures, grottos, lakes are smaller etc... Alexandra’s park has more depth as vistas are expansive and there is strong sense of vast space. Being surrounded by over 350 years old trees without many people around is an additional bonus. Photos of the park are on: http://picasaweb.google.nl/gordie26/AlexandriaPark
Now about the lady who created the park. Main source is again S.S. Montefiore.
As a niece of Prince Potemkin, Alexandra “Sashenka” Vasil'evna Engelhard (born in 1754) was presented at the court in St. Petersburg in 1772, when she was eighteen. She immediately became a favorite of the Empress Catherine and accompanied her on many of her travels. At 21 she was appointed as maid-of-honor to the Empress. Stories later circulated that Alexandra was Catherine's daughter by Potemkin. These were put about in the later years of her life by French writers without proof, but it is fairly well-documented that she was Potemkin's mistress as well as his niece which at that time was kind of tolerable within Russian aristocracy or at least in Potemkin’s case who slept with all his five nieces.
Alexandra’s portraits show a slim brunette, high cheekbones and blue eyes. She was an able business woman who made millions trading grain and timber. In 1779 Potemkin’s intense relationship with Sashenka ended, but they remained closest of friends and he died “in her arms”.
In 1781, Alexandra married Count François-Xavier Petrovich Branicki, of an old and powerful Polish family. Trained as a soldier and diplomat, Count Branicki held several posts before being sent to St. Petersburg. He became great friends with Stanislaus Poniatowski, who had been Catherine's lover. Branicki enjoyed the favor of Catherine and Potemkin and after supporting Russian suzerainty over the Sejm, or Polish parliament, he was awarded vast estates in Belaya-Tserkov after the province was ceded to Russia after the Partition of Poland in 1793.

When Alexandra married Branicki he was 49. The accounts state he was “good natured, self-made and ambitious ruffian” who made his career as King Stanislas-Auguystus hard man. He new Casanova and dueled with him in Warsaw for insulting Casanova mistress – an Italian actress called La Binetti. Both were wounded – Branicki seriously but became friends.
While her spendthrift husband did his best to lose their fortune, Sashenka increased it prodigiously. During her entire life she was close to Potemkin and Catharine the Great – though she lived mostly at her Polish and Belorussian estates. She was widely respected. Contemporaries emphasized her good morals – which is something remarkable for these days, especially when she was married to an older Lothario with whom she had a large family.
After Potemkin’s death “Sashenka” retired to her estates and became so rich she could not count it. She lived majestically and royally. She was a woman of contrasts – her love for rich and splendid is exemplified by her collection of art and precious objects. However these were housed in rooms paneled in plain wood. (no need to waste money) She was much loved for giving villages to peasants and endowing them with their own agricultural banks to finance their farming. She was appointed as the “grand mistress of the Russian court” and even 20 years after Catharine’s death she held her special status at the Court.
While she knew Countess Sophia Potocki and they might be friendly they are very different and this is reflected in their parks. Alexandra all her life knew world of privilege while Sophia was shrewd survivor using her beauty and intelligence as main resources. I think that’s the reason why Sophia’s park is full of “props”. Sophia joyfully celebrated her life achievements in creation of her “Odyssey” and Ithaca. She was proud of her life and was not shy to show off.
Alexandra did not have a need to show off. All her life she was conscious of her privileged status and money and she created a park for her comfort only.

Sophia's Fairyland

My sister and her husband came to visit. The first weekend we visited Odessa. The highway from Kyiv to Odessa is fantastic: gentle rolling hills draped in gold of wheat fields offset by blue sky. Some green sunflower fields (sunflower still have not open) distract gold-blue monotony.
We had Ukrainian GPS to help us getting around. In the city GPS is a trusted friend. But in wide open it got us lost among ocean of wheat fields. Later in the office I learned that GPS is not complete – it will have the smallest street in any of the big five Ukrainian cities but regional roads remain "work in progress". I do not complain about being lost in the sea of gold….
To make up for Odessa let down we went to Belgorod Dniestrovsky which has a famous Turkish fortress. But more than a fortress Ana and Kristijan enjoyed swimming in the Black Sea on a wonderful white sand beach of Zatoka.

For me the highlight of the trip was Sofievsky Park in the city of Uman. Uman is half-way between Odessa and Kyiv. A guidebook mentions a lovely park build by a Polish Count for his wife. While this was intriguing enough for me to visit it, I was totally unprepared for a fairyland I found in the park.
Uman is city of Khrushchev-Brezhnev building style mix: gloomy, gray and decayed. GPS could not help us there but nice, friendly young people got us to the park. The park has an uninspiring Soviet name “'Sofievsky' Uman State Dendrological Park”. But in fact the park is an ultimate romantic neo-classical monument belonging to the times of absolute grandeur. What make the park so special are not its size (150 hectares) or trees and flowers, spectacular cascades of natural lakes and waterfalls, antique sculptures and fountains etc. What makes it special is the park's purpose: it is designed as a memorial to one woman’s beauty and given to her as a birthday present!
The lucky woman is Sophia, the “Beautiful Greek” - one outstanding adventures of 18th century. Her life story is amazing. As she was Poteminkn’s mistress there is a reference to her in S.S. Montefiore Potemkin biography:
Sophia Glyavone was born in 1760 in a poor family of Anatolian Greek¬Roumeliyts in the town of Bursa, Turkey. She also had the Turkish name Dudu (in Turkish parakeet). Over years the family took up its residence in Constantinople, in the Fener residential area. Her father went bankrupt and died. Dudu’s mother traded vegetables and one day she sold her daughter (at the age 12) to the Polish Ambassador in Turkey Karol Boskamp¬Lyasopolskiy who procured girls to King Stanislas-Augustus. Dudu’s equally fine sister was sold to a senior Ottoman Pasha. (That’s important for later.)
From then on, every time Sophia was bought, another man fell in love with her and outbid the first. On her way with the ambassadorial baggage, Sophia was spotted by Major de Witte, son of the Governor of the Polish fortress Kamenets-Podolsk, who bought her for 1000 ducats and married her in 1775 age 15. Major Witte sent her off to Paris to learn manners – and French.
La Belle Phanariot or Beautiful Greek bewitched Paris. She is described having blond curls, a noble Grecian face and violet eyes. In Versailles she had a reception with the Queen Maria Antoinette and the King Louis XVI. Soon she conquered almost the whole royal Europe. She was received at the court of the Prussian king Friedrich II, who went down in history as “The Great”. Allegedly the Austrian emperor Joseph II was in love with her too. Joseph II patronized not only Sophia, but also Mozart.
Back in Poland when Potemkin’s War began, Mme Witte husband, now governor of Kamenets was the linchpin of the Prince Potemkin’s espionage network in southern Poland. Major Witte smuggled spies into Khotin (Turkey) hidden with the butter. But most likely it was Major’s wife – Sophia who provided the information as her sister was married to the Pasha of Khotin. Sophia first became the mistress of the besigiging general Nykolai Saltykov. But then she was introduced to Potemkin in Ochakov. Potemkin appointed the complaisant husband to be the governor of Kherson. Allegedly she was not only Potemkin’s mistress but also his secret agent among the Poles and Turks. As a public acknowledgment of her service to Russia, the Empress gave Sophia a pair of diamond earrings. After Potemkin died in Jassy, Mme Witte hooked up with the Polish magnate Earl Felix Pototskiy one of richest dukes in the Russian Empire. Mme Witte dumped her husband and two children and moved with Earl to St. Petersburg. Sometime later when Earl’s wife died they got married in 1798.
In St. Petersburg Pototsky was a member of Catherine the Great inner circle. In short Sophia rose from a teenage courtesan in Constantinople to one of richest countesses in Poland. For forty years she astonished and scandalized Europe with her “beauty, vice and crimes”.
Sophia, with close connection to royal courts saw many royal gardens and had a dream of creating her own paradisiacal corner.
Sophia's dream was ancient Greece and she chose “Odyssey” by Homer as the source of inspiration for creating her "dream garden".
Her task oriented husband started to build the park in Uman in 1792. In five years, thanks to the efforts of thousands of serfs (her husband owned 130,000 serfs), a fantastically beautiful and unique park was laid out on the uninhabited bank of the river. Every day for five years about 800 serfs worked on fantastic grottoes, waterfalls, lakes, antique statues and picturesque cliffs - all in effort to create a romantic gift of love. The park has its own Isle of Lesbos, a terrace of the Muses, red poppy Elysian Fields, a Cretan labyrinth, and an underground stream called Styx. A lot of trees were brought from exotic countries. They say when the park is viewed from a plane a foliage makes a name “Sophia”. The unfinished park was presented to Sophia on her birthday in May 1802.
Shortly after presenting her with the park the Count uncovered an affair between his son from his first marriage and Sophia. Brokenhearted, husband grew seriously ill and died in 1805. Four years after her husband died Sophia threw out the son and built up a fortune for herself. She died in 1822.
There is a novel about Sophia’s life by Eva Stachniak. The novel appears under two titles “Garden of Venus” or “Dancing with Kings”.
The fact that a freak earthquake pushed Sophia's graveyard out of the Uman churchyard has the locals convinced that she was a witch. In any case she was an amazing survivor.
For photos of a park see http://picasaweb.google.nl/gordie26/Sofiika

Angels in Kharkov

I fell for Kharkov the moment I landed. When you see the airport building you will know why. I went there knowing only the city is about 50 km from the Russian border and it is more Russian than Ukrainian. I had no idea Kharkov is a cradle of soviet constructivism with the unique square build only in constructivist style. The sculpture of Lenin hovers over the square now called Liberty Square. Many buildings in Kharkov (as in Kiev) were built by German POWII. The day I arrived the city had a “birthday” and there was a huge party on the main square. There was energy and buzz in the city. City's many parks had their old linden trees in full bloom. The city was wrapped in a sweet linden smell. Before joining a concert at the city square I went to the Theatre - a truly ugly building from 70-ties. They had Carmen Suita/Pahita ballet and tickets for parterre seats were UAH 13 (about 2 EUR) and I could not resist not chicking it out. In the Theatre in the raw behind me were about 15 soldiers and next to me a 6 year old boy. All spellbound by a ballet. I have not spoke to soldieries but kid told me it’s his first ballet. That evening the orchestra was a bit naughty - I got impression they were in a hurry to watch Holland - Russia match so the ballet ended up quickly. I watched the match too with some young students. As the game progressed these kids took pity on me and tried to cheer me up with vodka shots. I am not sure if vodka is the reason I saw angles walking in the city http://picasaweb.google.nl/gordie26/Kharkov

Ode-crepit Ode-ssa

I associate Odessa with Ostap Bender – an arch type conman from the novel “The Golden Calf”. Ostap is a Soviet guy obsessed by becoming rich. His adventures bring him to a city at the “Bleak Sea” where he says “ strange town where they took the monuments out of the cemetery”.

That’s how I found Odessa - as a cemetery of decrepit monuments.

But let’s start with getting there. After last weekend E40 road adventure I decided to fly. Metro does not reach the Kiev airport and locals either keep a knowledge of how to get there by bus a well kept secret or have more money than I do and always take a taxi. There is no “hotel to airport bus” or “railway station to airport bus”. So I ask an assistant to order a taxi - as locals do. We agree on time and place for taxi to pick me up and I get a taxi number - a 7 digit number displayed on a board placed atop of a taxi roof. On Saturday morning I leave on my house and wait for a cab. As I get out of my building I see a cab parked in front of it. I see numbers on the backside of the board, check them against numbers put on a paper by my assistant and these do not match. Few minutes later I call my assistant and tell her there is a taxi in front of my building but with different numbers. She calls a taxi company. Some minutes later a lady from a taxi company calls and says – there is a taxi waiting for you. I ask what kind of car. “An orange Chevrolet”. That’s true - I respond - but the numbers on the board are different from numbers I have on a confirmation and I read her the numbers. “Go and check numbers from the front” the lady instructs me. And indeed the numbers on the front are the same as numbers on the paper. Why would I ever think that a legit taxi should have the same set of numbers on the front and the back of the board?

Domestic Kiev airport reminds of E40. Only hay is missing. No electronic boards but cardboards placed on check in counters randomly. No official announcements. You ask and if you are lucky you get a right answer. Otherwise keep asking. I flew YAK 40 -another Soviet relict. There is a joke in Ukraine which goes like: “Why is it dangerous to go by train in Ukraine? Because planes fall on trains.”. As average train speed in Ukraine is 50 km per hour I guess our plane could not locate any train en route. But landing in Odessa was quite bumpy. Possibly the airport tarmac was build by same construction engineers as E40.
The bus came to pick us up and after 500m opened doors next to the road. No need to go through the building. A group of taxi drivers waited. I asked for a rate to the city and quote was 200UAH (about USD 40). In the office I was informed the rate is around UAH 100. I tried to negotiate the rate down, but as I am obviously a foreigner - taxi drivers decided UAH 200 is what I should pay. Fortunately I did some research and was aware there is a small buss (more like a van) called “marshrutnoye taxi” which goes from the airport to the railway station. I found it and the rate for it was UAH.1. 75. In the bus everyone was nice and tried to be helpful . I had to change from a bus to a tram on the railways station. The tram drove straight through the market. Slow but exciting ride. Once I made to the city center I was in shock. I was surrounded by ruins. Odessa was build 200 years ago by two Frenchmen. But I could see only ruins of what once were beautiful baroque buildings. For some photos see http://picasaweb.google.nl/gordie26/Odessa_1
In Lviv buildings are also old but I felt that people care about them. There is no money but tender loving care is visible through potted plants on windows, no garbage on streets, no gaping holes in buildings. In Odessa it seems nobody cares how the city looks.
People most likely got prime real estate for almost nothing by typical Ukrainian methods. Now they sit on it waiting to sell it for millions of USD without investing a hrivnya. Why should they bother with esthetics in Odessa when most likely they live in London or Paris?
My camera got fed up with ruins too. It broke down. I usually have a spare. This time I decided to travel light and left a spare camera in Kiev. Travelling light disagrees with me.
Frustrated by ruins and upset by a broken camera I decided to check in the hotel. The secretary booked one of better hotels called Londonskaya. There I showed my confirmation. I have to remark that a secretary sent an email with attachment stating “attached is your confirmation”. I printed the attachment and placed in my travel folder withou checking it. In hotel I showed my passport and my hotel confirmation. The receptionist glanced at both than asked me where is a hotel confirmation. I looked at her and told her I just gave it to her. “But it is not from our hotel” she responded. “That’s not possible” was my answer but I took a confirmation and started to read: "Thanks for booking at "Grand Hotel Ukraine" in.... Dnepropetrovsk!" This is a town about 440km from Odessa! The same agency which booked the hotel - booked my flights to Odessa! Typical!
In "Londonskaya" they had a room available – but I insisted to check it first. There where so many stairs and such long corridors I worried I would get lost getting in and out of the room. Plus I had an impression there are no guests there. I decided to check in elsewhere. The closest hotel was "Mozart" - which opposite to the most beautiful building in Odessa - the Opera. I asked receptionist if there is a free room in the hotel. Yes –there is. I am taking it. No room checking this time. She asks for a credit card -I pass it to her. Few minutes later she gives me a receipt to sign. I look at the receipt and the amount is three times the price of what she told me. I ask for an explanation and she tells me "this amount is for three rooms you asked for”. How “free” mutated in “three” is beyond me. But this incident brings a memory of another hotel experiance in St. Petersburg. First time in St Petersburg I arrived there very late and facing some accomodation problems decided that after midnight the best way to avoid problems is to check in the most expensive hotel. I entered "Grand Hotel Europe" and at the empty check in desk asked a kid if there is a free room in hotel. "No" was the answer. I must have a puzzled look as a kid immidiatly explained "We do not have free rooms here. You have to pay". Seems I should avoid phrase "free room" when checking in hotels.
Next week I'll be in Kharkov.