Vilnius is quite a small city so we soon got our bearings and found the sights.
Lost in Vilnius
Arriving in Vilnius
The truly great panoramic view from our hotel room didn’t quite make up for the old black knickers I found when I opened the curtains further to see everything.
A stroll around central Kiev
A walk along Kiev’s main street Khreschatyk is not very long but it is eventful, there are expensive shops, gardens, street performers, and stalls. I saw some toilet paper with Putin’s face on it among the Soviet memorabilia – a good souvenir!
Getting Around Kiev by Public Transport
Kiev is a great city to walk in with its wide tree lined roads but it is a big city so the public transport is very useful. We found the buses quite difficult because we couldn’t decide exactly where we were but the Metro was easy.
Kiev, city of churches, statues and parks
Kiev River Cruise
A planned cruise down the Dnieper from Kiev to the Black Sea was was cancelled when Russia annexed the Crimea in 2014 so we took the chance to spend a few days in Kiev as soon as we could. Continue reading
A Day In Chernobyl
On the television today was coverage of the 50th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster. I remember reading about this in the Evening Standard while on the tube in London on the evening it happened. In those days you didn’t know about things instantly by twitter and it was breaking news in the early evening. It got me thinking about whether I would ever view the village as a tourist site and of course I wouldn’t. However I did want to go to Chernobyl, the site of a disaster on an even greater scale. Continue reading
The Museums of Chisinau
Museums are a great way to spend a day while dodging rain storms.
Ten Hours in Transnistria
Transnistria – a break away republic formed in 1990 on a small strip of land between the Dniester river and the Ukraine, is strange. Trouble is its not that much stranger than Moldova where we were staying but its a tourist must so it had to be done.
A Few Days In Chisinau
Chisinau is not a tourist city and our hotel wasn’t really designed for tourists which is probably why we enjoyed its weirdness so much.