Best City / Worst City and where you have travelled in the FSU?

<div class="quote">MND said:</div><div class="quotetext"> I will have to agree that there is not an over abundance of greenery, or animals. Hope we don't follow suit.

What can we expect in urban areas??

(ALot more green !! )</div>

In the west we have more green in urban areas.... but I will write my own pos s and views to where I have visited in the FSU, later.

<span style="font-size: 14pt">My love affair with Ukraine and Russia</span>

Most of my working life I have been working in the travel industry, had my own small travel company, I love travelling and been lucky to be able to visit many places around the world.

My love affair with Ukraine and Russia started sometime in the second part of year 2003, when a woman, who lives in Lviv (the capital of West Ukraine), got in touch with me by e-mail. She was obviously looking to make friends in the West and discovered my profile on MSN.

She was a programmer and worked as IT support for a Company. She was married and she spoke very good English. We continued our contact over the months and finally we met at St. Petersburg on the 13 February 2004, where she had gone to meet a friend of hers to have a two weeks holiday.

I have travelled, nearly, in every country of Europe and always wanted to visit Russia but it never happened before. This time I found a very cheap ticket with Lufthansa so I got a same day Visa from the Russian Consulate in London and on Friday the 13th February I flew there for a 5-day trip.

My Ukrainian friend and I get on very well, she arranged my hotel accommodation and she was an excellent translator and a guide to the city. We visited most of the interesting places and palaces and with her assistance I started discovering the real life behind the ex-iron curtain.

Here is the link to the photo Gallery of that trip and I will let the photos speak better than me!

<a href="http://www.ukraine.ukgo.com/russia/pic01.html" target='_blank'>St. Petersburg</a>

After my return to England we continued e-mailing to each other and talking on MSN messenger. She told me a lot of things about her city, Lviv, which made me, interested so I made a few searches on the Internet. Finally I decided to visit Lviv on the 8 May 2004, which I did, but in the mean time my friend and I had an argument, because she promised to find me a cheap apartment to stay when I was there but 7 days before my arrival she had done nothing about it. After this episode we did not meet again, when I was in Lviv or any other time and we only e-mailed to each other just a couple of times.

Having booked my flight I was now faced with the dilemma of cancelling my trip or having to look around and make my own accommodation arrangements. I placed a post on BRAMA (Ukrainian information board on the internet) in the travel section and a woman who lives in Harrogate but is of Ukrainian decent and has family in and around Lviv, answered with a lot of good suggestions. She introduced me to her friend Irene who accepted to act as my guide and interpreter, whilst visiting Lviv. At the same time, she gave me details of the local travel agency she uses every time she visits Lviv and I booked a very nice apartment through them for $20 per night. During my first visit to Lviv Irene guided me around and I fell in love with the place.

<a href="http://www.ukraine.ukgo.com/lviv/photogallery/pic01.html" target='_blank'>Lviv Photo Gallery</a>

On my return to England I decided to start a small tour operation there but I have encountered expensive airfares, so very little is been done during the year 2004. I have created a web site

<a href="http://www.ukraine.ukgo.com" target='_blank'>www.ukraine.ukgo.com</a>

and there you can read all the necessary information about Lviv. Also, by reading the pages in my web site you will find out why I fell in love with Lviv.

I went back to Lviv on the 5th January 2005 to see their Christmas on the 7th January. I was told that they have big celebrations, which is true and I had a great time. I had in my previous trip made a few friends and I expect that helped me a lot.

For those of you who may think that I went to St Petersburg and Lviv for the Ukrainian beautiful women, I have to disappoint you because I had a friend back home then, with whom I had 20 years relationship.

Why I loved Lviv?

I loved Lviv because it reminded me of my hometown, when I was young. It is not over commercialised like a lot of Western cities and has a calming and relaxing atmosphere which I adore. I can spend several days there doing very little, but admiring its excellent architecture similar to Vienna, which is in abundance, yet still not get bored.

<div class="quote">wiz33 said:</div><div class="quotetext">

My love affair with Ukraine and Russia...

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Thank you for sharing. I like all the photos from St. Peter and Liviv was revealing for me. I enjoyed very much the photo of the two men playing chess at the bench; that is a very nice photo.

My love affair with FSU started in my childhood as a platonic love when I met a Russian gymnast princess. Then it continued in college and higher education when I got more interested in the Soviet Union and the various social movements claiming a better life for people. Later it took a real life shape when I visited a Siberian beauty who had immigrated to Ukraine in her childhood. We met in Kiev. She introduced me to Russian culture and values, family and social life there, and since then it has been a learning process. When Elena made reference to the past, she always said "our former soviet union." That was really touching; it condensed her feelings about her life in the past.

The first FSU country I visited was former East Germany (Berlin) just after the wall came down, and it had a significant impact in my perception of the whole FSU. It takes time to learn first-hand about the culture. As an outsider, I like to see social life in a constructive way whereas I am more critical when it comes to politics in these countries. All cities and towns I have visited seem to be changing; some slower than others. While the buildings have a visual and aesthetic impact, IMHO nothing substitutes human interaction, social life and values. That is what I appreciate the most about these countries.

<span style="font-size: 21pt">Kiev</span>

At the World Travel Market, which took place in London at the beginning of November 2004, I met representatives from Ukrainian Airlines, who offered me their special fares to Kiev. For this reason I decided to go back to Ukraine and organise some hotels in Kiev to facilitate the new fares and provide an alternative solution for my packages to Lviv. During my second trip there I had a fascinating time and I was fortunate to experience, with my own eyes, history in the making, I arrived at the highest point of the Orange revolution and felt the excitement and zest for democracy of the Ukrainian people.

<span style="font-size: 14pt">About Kiev</span>

Kiev (Kyiv) is the capital of Ukraine and one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. This 1500-year old city, with a population of nearly 3 million people, is a leading industrial and commercial center of the country. Kiev is distinguished for its rich architecture and cultural life.

Although Kiev is not thought of as one of the world's premier holiday destinations, it offers many forms of entertainment and sightseeing for visitors in the spring and summer months and brave enough to weather the Ukrainian winter too. This ancient city never looses its mystique despite sub-zero temperatures. Neither residents nor tourists are deterred from exploring the historic streets, enjoying the thousands of square meters of parks, or walking and people watching on the main street. If the outdoors get too extreme for you, there are more than enough restaurants, theaters, swank night clubs, museums, and quaint cafes to keep anyone busy through the winter months.

Ukraine has a long history of looking both east and west. Kiev's notoriety as the birthplace of Slavic culture is reflected in the language, architecture, art, and traditions of the city's inhabitants.

Geographically speaking, Ukraine is part of Europe and since the country's independence from the Soviet Union has been redesigning itself along the lines of Western European capitals. In the last few years, the center has undergone extensive changes, with mixed feelings from the city's natives. Cobbled concourses and rustic cafes have been replaced by slate paved plazas and underground shopping malls in an effort to make the country's first city a representation of the modern, prosperous country that Ukraine is struggling to become.

There is an anecdote that goes "Ukrainians will find any excuse to have a party, Russians dont need an excuse." In keeping with this stereotype, Ukrainians have a few extra winter holidays than there are in most countries, or rather, they celebrate the same ones twice.

The Julian calendar was used in the Russian Empire of which most of Ukraine was part until 1918 after the Revolution, when the Gregorian system was adopted. The 13-day difference in the two put Christmas on the 7th of January by the old system, the day it is still celebrated by Orthodox Christians and as a state holiday.

Popular observation of New Year's Day was understandably changed to conform to the Gregorian calendar, and New Year's Eve is celebrated in much the same way as in the rest of Europe. The 25 of December is usually referred to as Catholic Christmas, and receives little recognition on a national scale. However, any visitor will agree that there is something special about spending the holidays in a country where Christmas comes but twice a year.

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<div align="center"><span style="font-size: 21pt">THE ORANGE REVOLUTION</span></div>

THURSDAY 25 Nov 04

London Amsterdam Kiev

I am travelling to Ukraine today and I have to make an early start. My flight was scheduled to depart at 6.30 but it was delayed until 8.30, when we finally took off.

Arriving at Amsterdam we were put on stacking (holding) for about 45 minutes due to the fog around the town and the airport. Finally we touched down at 11.05, which was the departure time for my flight to Kiev. Luckily, when I arrived at the departure desk, discovered that the flight was delayed but no more information was forthcoming from the KLM ground staff.

The flight to Kiev departed with one hour and thirty minutes delay. It was a very smooth flight with good smiling staff offering good service and they were very apologetic for the delay.

At Kiev airport I could see that our cases were out before we even managed to get through immigration but the pretty female officer, despite my visa, wanted to know who has invite me here and what kind of business I am here for?

So I gave her my sarcastic peace of mind, describing a nice blond lady from Lviv with big boobs. Of course all that went over her head (she only spoke pigeon English) and finally she let me enter her paradise which is called Ukraine.

Customs was not a problem...just straight through despite the fact that I went through the red line deliberately.

My Taxi driver (Shasha) was waiting for me just outside the exit and the 45-minute trip to centre of Kiev was very pleasant.

The hotel Ukraine where Iam staying, is a very imposing building of 370 rooms in 12 floors. Is situated right at the edge of Maidan Nezalegnosty (The Independence Square), where all the demonstrations of the Orange Revolution are taking place.

Kiev if full of snow and the temperature is well below 0c. I am brazing the cold weather and go out to sample the atmosphere in the square. Went out for about 10 minutes and witness the amazing scene of thousands of people (1000's) braving the cold snowing weather, chanting various slogans and especially the name of the opposition leader Yushenko. Every body wears an armband or a raincoat, scurf or a hat, all of course in orange colour. They are cheering, singing and making a lot of noise until the early hours of the morning.

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Friday 26 Nov 04

The breakfast at the hotel is a joke. The staff has no idea what service is all about and how to treat their customers. None of them speak any English and the administrator is a fat and rude woman, so that is a bad start and we dont get on. I would like a coffee first and then Breakfast but instead she gives me a plate with omelet, cold salad, bread and tomato juice to eat.

After that I am going out to the square and mingle with the people taking many photos. The atmosphere is full of energy and the noise of their chanting and singing very loud. I can feel that they are expecting something to happen and soon realised that the opposition leader Yushenko is on the podium. He starts talking to them and every so often they reply by chanting again and again his name.

I feel also excited despite I have no knowledge of Ukrainian or Russian so to understand what is going on. I am just amazed how the hell they managed to keep out there all the time, with temperatures well below 0 C.

Looks that there is a lot of organization and support on the ground for drinks, food and clothes.

I tried asking somebody where I could buy a hat (shapka which covers the ears with fur) and he took me over to the site of the square, by the building of the Federation of Unions, which had been taken over peacefully by the demonstrators. I get a nice brand new Shapka to cover my freezing ears for free. I was also offered an excellent jumper and pair of socks (all new) but politely declined as I thought some other poor sole must need them.

The noise is deafening, the constant chanting Yushenko etc. is nearly non-stop but is very exciting but it keeps the momentum of their Orange revolution.

The place is full of TV crews and cameras and nothing is going unrecorded. At either side of the podium there are two huge screens, where you can see the speakers on the podium. During the day also show any proceedings from the parliament, news and what ever will be of interest to the demonstrators.

<img src="http://www.russianwomenforums.com/upload/kiev41.jpg"> <img src="http://www.russianwomenforums.com/upload/orange1.jpg"> <img src="http://www.russianwomenforums.com/upload/orange2.jpg"> <img src="http://www.russianwomenforums.com/upload/orange3.jpg">

I am going to the restaurant for something to eat and find the place full of TV crews and correspondents. I meet the BBC Moscow correspondent, Damian Gramatticos, of Greek origins. Later we have a good chat with all of them in the Bar in the ground floor of the Hotel.

I make the observation that everything seems very friendly and quiet on surface but the BBC boys tell me it does not take a lot for something to happen. I think actually they are wishing of something to happen so they can make their reporting more juicy. Blood and bodies lying around makes good TV pictures for them and they have a lot to say, instead of reporting the same boring scenes, of people making speeches, chanting and singing.

I hope for the sake of all Ukrainian people that nothing happens and the outgoing Cuchma Government does not bring the tanks to disperse them and all ends up well.

I must admit I have never felt any fear or apprehension from the moment I arrived here. On the contrary I feel very excited witnessing history unfolding in front of my eyes.

Saturday 27 Noveber 04

It has becomes apparent that the center of Kiev is paralysed, but what I find amazing is that all shops are open for business. Of course Macdonalds and other similar type shops, as well as the ones selling drinks do roaring business. Of course little or large stools, selling everything, from food to crafts are everywhere. Early in the morning are not that many people around but by afternoon the place is heaving. Cant go walking anywhere without pushing and shoving. Trade of the Ukrainians...and the Greeks of course.

Right in the front of the hotel and in an inclined covered position is an excellent shopping mall with a lot of nice shops, including Mother Care. Right in the middle floor there are 2 nice cafe and patisseries. One of them has tables along the span of the glass roof/wall overlooking the square. One good thing is that I can smoke everywhere except in the Internet Café!!!!!

So I can enjoy a nice coffee, cake or cigarette and watch the world go by. I can also see what is going on in the square and take pictures too.

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Under the square the shopping mall continues and is full, in 3 floors, of many type of shops. Had a good look around but I find their prices similar to UK (bloody expensive). Only a big Mac meal is cheap, £1.20!

Well the place everywhere is full and very difficult to get anything to eat so I change my manners and I become a Greek again and do like the Ukrainians do, rude, aggressive, push and shove and do not apologise to any one.

Tommorrow morning I am going to Lviv for a couple of days.

shame that the photos are not showing.... looks whoever has changed the software on teh forum... forgot about this function!