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Published: October 6th 2009
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From Yalta it took a little under 2 hours for our bus to twist and turn its way along the coastal road to Sevastopol. We were dropped off at the bus station, conveniently located over the bridge from the train station. On arrival we were greeted by the sight of a stationary train with its cargo of an anti-aircraft gun! No doubt that was a reminder if one was necessary that we had arrived in a military town.
There are not a lot of accommodation options in Sevastopol but that wasn’t a problem as there were plenty of pensioners hanging around the station offering rooms or apartments. We went with one old lady who said, in English, that her place was in the centre. It wasn’t but it was close enough! We soon found ourselves in an old Soviet apartment complete with dodgy plumbing and creaky furniture which we really shouldn’t have moved around. Re-assembling it after it fell apart was quite a job! Still, we had a piano in the lounge to keep us entertained!! All this for around £12 a night - bargain!!!
As it turned out we were well located. We had a view of the
Black Sea Fleet’s harbour and were only a 10 minute walk from their museum. Unfortunately when we got there it was closed for no particular reason which was annoying. Instead we wandered further into town and just missed the departures for a sightseeing boat trip. We couldn’t be doing with hanging around for the next one.
Sevastopol is full of military monuments and memorials. The city itself was declared a “hero city” by Stalin during World War II after it resisted siege for the best part of a year. The monument to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War was the biggest one we have ever seen and it was amazing to walk around its base.
The city was ravaged during the war. Only 10 of the buildings date back before 1945. The rebuilding has been very well done though and the architecture is marvellous. We really enjoyed simply wandering aimlessly around and the place had a very pleasant overall feel to it. Even the bars and restaurants were friendly and efficient. For those that know us well, the fact that we left a 15% tip in one place will show you just how good we felt the
service was!!
Our plan had been to take a trip out to Balaklava but we shelved that in favour of doing all we could in Sevastopol. Not far from our apartment was the Panorama. We had seen one of these in Syria which was painted by talented North Koreans. The one in Sevastopol commemorates the Crimean War and was painted by a French artist living in Saint Petersburg. With an English language commentary (for an extra £1.50) we were blown away by the detail. It was truly difficult to see the joins between the front-stage diorama and the 360 degree painting behind.
We did finally get to see the Black Sea Fleet museum too. On the way there we were disappointed by the lack of ships in the harbour but at least there were a couple of submarines to keep us interested. The museum was great with all sorts of paintings, memorabilia, medals, flags and models. It’s a shame it was entirely in Russian but Trish was up to the job of translating!
Outside the museum a band was playing. There seemed to be some sort of officers’ reunion going on next door and they had a
musical reception. Their marching tunes seem quite different to the ones we are used to though, as you need different rhythms for goose-stepping! We then climbed a hill where we walked around an area reminiscent of the Admiralty in London. A sharp reminder that we were not in England was the giant statue of Lenin leading the workers to revolution!!
It was a fascinating place to spend a few days. We could have stayed longer but our train tickets to Kiev had already been purchased. This happened because our guide book showed little of interest and they are very wrong! Sevastopol is great, but we might go for a better apartment if we return. A nice touch was the military music which played as our train left the station on its way to the capital, just 17 hours away.
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Jeff
non-member comment
Currency and car rental
Hi, thanks for your blog. Have you any advice, comments or concerns about currency. I mean exchanges, how much US cash to take to exchange. What about Visa and debit cards, MasterCard and Travelers’ checks. I also plan to rent a car in Odessa to travel to Poltava. I am leaving New York next week. I would appreciate any help. Thanks again. Jeff J. California