Viking 'Footsteps of the Cossacks' (Ukraine)

[Peregrina651]

EGGS were all over, at all the craft areas. They had plenty of them in Odessa and I liked the park/craft area there very much. There were just a few craft areas in Yalta that I remember, but probably if you walk around, you will see more there. In Odessa also, there were craft areas right outside the Opera House as well. Eggs were plentiful and all different colors, etc. I bought most of mine for about 20 HUA (I hope t hats the symbol for the "Greivnas", so they were really very reasonable and I got those for Catholic friends who celebrate Easter and/or other Ukranians. I also bought about 5 black boxes and they are pretty pricey on the ship. I got some good priced ones for about 60 HUA on the craft street up the hill in Kiev. Hey, I wish someone had told me this before I went! Anyway, it's a good place. I was busy trying to get Wifi half the time because the Wifi was out on the ship for at least 5 days. Anyway, I heard that on that same street, all the way up the road were some lovely scarves to buy and I did see a few that I think one of my friends bought for $7. The boxes were lovely and handpainted, and again, I looked for signatures on the bottom if possibly, but I didn't see anything that looked Chinese, thank God. It was bad enough checking for Chinese nesting dolls. I think some of the eggs at one craft place even went for 10 HUA, but can't remember where that one right now, but I think it may have been in the park in Odessa.

 

As far as going on a tour in Odessa, there are tons of great looking restaurants in Odessa, and some of our new friends tried them and found them delightful. We were busy hanging out at the Opera house or shopping. I'm a master shopper and there were some neat typical Ukranian crafts here, so you can feel free to ask me about them. I did not buy any clothing, except for 3 t-shirts, purchased 2 in Yalta at a marketplace very close to the ship and l in the park in Odessa craft area. Hope this helps!!!

Ukrainian currency is the Hryvnia, abbreviated UAH. Read about it on Wikipedia. Ukrainian hryvnia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

The shopping street in Kiev that Ocean is referring to is Андріївський узвіз, Andriyivskyy Descent. It is near St. Andrew's Church. Google it to find it on a map.

 

 

Edited May 26, 2013 by Peregrina651

[doobieb]

Well, before I google that street, I am going to figure out how you wrote using the Ukranian alphabet- impressive. (I know their alphabet has another name but I'd have to stop and go look that up too.);)

 

I love all the details about the shopping. Thank you all for sharing those pesty little points that will probably make the difference between fruitless looking and actually finding the best places.

We have decided to do two of the Odessa Walks tours. They both are fairly inexpensive and more appealing to us for using our free time than the optional Viking tours. I am very appreciative to have the feedback from others who have been before. I pledge to add my two cents worth when we return.

Perhaps we can share a toast on board with some of the cc travelers in June.

 

Debbie.

[Peregrina651]

Well, before I google that street, I am going to figure out how you wrote using the Ukranian alphabet- impressive. (I know their alphabet has another name but I'd have to stop and go look that up too.);)

 

Debbie.

 

LOL! Not so impressive. I just copied and pasted it from the Wikipedia article. I googled "Andrew's Descent."

 

The alphabet is called the Cyrillic alphabet. In spite of Russian ancestors, I can't read it or pronounce it.

 

 

.

[poolplayer]

Tickets in! Checked all the websites for advise on tours now only 2 weeks to go until we leave. Thanks for all the help

[Peregrina651]

:D Glad to be of service. We are here if you have any last minute questions. In the meantime, here's another tease, just to make the waiting even more unbearable.

 

Kiev from the river:

 

 

[silkismom]

Poolplayer, have a great trip and let us know all about it. We don't leave till the end of Sept. How is the ship--besides old--

[ocean999]

Well, before I google that street, I am going to figure out how you wrote using the Ukranian alphabet- impressive. (I know their alphabet has another name but I'd have to stop and go look that up too.);)

 

I love all the details about the shopping. Thank you all for sharing those pesty little points that will probably make the difference between fruitless looking and actually finding the best places.

We have decided to do two of the Odessa Walks tours. They both are fairly inexpensive and more appealing to us for using our free time than the optional Viking tours. I am very appreciative to have the feedback from others who have been before. I pledge to add my two cents worth when we return.

Perhaps we can share a toast on board with some of the cc travelers in June.

 

Debbie.

Hi Debbie,

You are so welcome! They really do have some pretty crafts! I just am in LOVE with the dolls.....Enjoy!!!!! I heard today it's pretty warm in Ukraine so dress cool!!!! Have a fabulous time to you, and Poolplayer!!! I'll be thinking of you!!!!

Ocean999

[doobieb]

Hi Debbie,

You are so welcome! They really do have some pretty crafts! I just am in LOVE with the dolls.....Enjoy!!!!! I heard today it's pretty warm in Ukraine so dress cool!!!! Have a fabulous time to you, and Poolplayer!!! I'll be thinking of you!!!!

Ocean999

 

Will prepare to be hot! I think we have just enough shipboard credit to cover our laundry and have figured we'll ration it out because of the heat! I have my little hang-around-the-neck fan ready to go.

This forum has been so helpful. I would not have even known about the dolls- will certainly make a special effort to check them out. And I love that this forum has focused on the cultural aspects of this trip and what to appreciate. When I ask my husband why we are going (as everyone asks me), "because we haven't been there". Usually it is to look at the art in the churches, or the museums. This time, it must be the entire experience and meeting the people and the architecture....your input has added to the joy!

 

Debbie:cool: (wearing sunglasses now!)

[Peregrina651]

Usually it is to look at the art in the churches, or the museums. This time, it must be the entire experience and meeting the people and the architecture....your input has added to the joy!

 

Debbie:cool: (wearing sunglasses now!)

 

The art in the churches is pretty spectacular, too. Viking doesn't take you into many of them but you can go yourself with your free time in Odessa, Stevastopol, Yalta and Kiev.

 

Read up on the iconstatsis. It is an important element in the Orthodox churches--and totally foreign to some of us--and will help you understand what you see when you visit the churches.

 

Most of the major churches were destroyed or re-tasked in the Soviet period but have been rebuilt or restored and the artworks returned--a major, major undertaking. (Ladies should be prepared to cover heads; no shorts for the ladies either--bring something to cover up with if needed. Men removed your hats in the churches.)

 

There are wiki-articles on most of the churches and some of them even have their own websites with pictures and English translations.

 

Ukraine has been a cross-roads, Odessa an international city because of its location on the Black Sea. As you will see, many cultures have left their mark on the architecture of the country.

[Peregrina651]

Fishing is an international pastime and this lone fisherman along the quai in Yalta reminded me of the men fishing along the Bosphorus in Istanbul, just a little further south.

 

[ocean999]

Peregrina, great pix. Did you go to Istanbul? If so, do you have any pix of the palaces there? I heard they were very beautiful.

[DorisBetty]

Peregrinations

I just read and printed out your journal since I am taking the same Viking Cossack cruise with Kiev extension in July. I plan to send it on to my traveling companion and, if we have any questions, can I get back to you?

I live in Kansas City but am a Boston transplant and still have family back home. Our flights to Odessa would be much easier if I was still there as would be the ones back from Kiev. Thanks for the heads-up on the return thru Frankfort.

DorisBetty

[Peregrina651]

Peregrinations

I just read and printed out your journal since I am taking the same Viking Cossack cruise with Kiev extension in July. I plan to send it on to my traveling companion and, if we have any questions, can I get back to you?

I live in Kansas City but am a Boston transplant and still have family back home. Our flights to Odessa would be much easier if I was still there as would be the ones back from Kiev. Thanks for the heads-up on the return thru Frankfort.

DorisBetty

 

DB, absolutely! Just post whatever questions you have here and I'll be happy to try to answer them --and so will Madi, who just returned from her trip a few weeks ago--and who therefore has fresher information (and a better memory) than I do.

 

I'm sorry that the links to the maps I tried to make for Kiev don't work. I haven't had a chance to figure out how to fix them.

 

 

Madi, we did Istanbul with my parents in 1999. It was a cruise with the old Renaissance line--3 nights in Istanbul, 5 night cruise and then 3 nights in Athens. I have tons of pictures but all on film. It was an amazing trip--and great because it was January so it wasn't tourist-filled.

 

 

[DorisBetty]

I've sent the pages from your blog dealing with the Kiev airport to my travel agent. She is going to call Viking tomorrow and see if she can get us some help in the airport. We are using the "two little old ladies" routine that has worked before. We are just that, but not helpless at all since we've traveled in all 7 continents and departed and arrived safely but are not adverse to using our status to help.

By the way, where in Boston are you located? I was brought up in Newton, married someone from Worcester, moved to Needham and am now in Kansas City. I still have family, including son in Arlington, so visit often. I don't have any ancestors from Odessa, like you. Mine came from Minsk or Pinsk, but I do plan to do the Jewish Kiev tour and maybe the one in Odessa.

I'm traveling with my daughter-in-law's mother who lives in top of a mountain in Boulder. her husband doesn't like to travel and mine doesn't like to "rough" it but neither mind us leaving them at times. We call ourselves the "odd couple"

DB

[Peregrina651]

I've sent the pages from your blog dealing with the Kiev airport to my travel agent. She is going to call Viking tomorrow and see if she can get us some help in the airport. We are using the "two little old ladies" routine that has worked before. We are just that, but not helpless at all since we've traveled in all 7 continents and departed and arrived safely but are not adverse to using our status to help.

By the way, where in Boston are you located? I was brought up in Newton, married someone from Worcester, moved to Needham and am now in Kansas City. I still have family, including son in Arlington, so visit often. I don't have any ancestors from Odessa, like you. Mine came from Minsk or Pinsk, but I do plan to do the Jewish Kiev tour and maybe the one in Odessa.

I'm traveling with my daughter-in-law's mother who lives in top of a mountain in Boulder. her husband doesn't like to travel and mine doesn't like to "rough" it but neither mind us leaving them at times. We call ourselves the "odd couple"

DB

 

DB, it is great that you have someone to travel with!

 

We did the Jewish tour in Odessa and I was actually a bit disappointed with it. It took place on Saturday rather than the Friday afternoon after the included tour of the city as was indicated in the materials we received with our docs. Because it was Saturday we could not visit any of the synagogues and the tour was basically a drive around the city pointing out this building and that building that you could barely see as the bus zoomed passed. We got off the bus at two places-- the main synagogue to stand out on the sidewalk and listen to the guide (you can walk here from the ship) and the Holocaust memorial (worth the visit; take a cab). IMHO, you can learn more from reading the chapters on Ukraine in Jewish Heritage Travel: A Guide to Eastern Europe (by Ruth Ellen Guber and published by National Geographic) and from reading Wikipedia and other websites.

 

We did not do the tour in Kiev because we did not want visit Baba Yar. We did walk to the Main Synagogue in Kiev and went in for a few minutes. DH looked into the main sanctuary and I climbed the steps to the mehitzah so I could see more.

 

Kiev and Odessa airports are small but they don't have jetways. That means buses to and from the airplanes--and lots of steps. Frankfurt, on the other hand, is huge and getting transportation from gate to gate will be very helpful. Frankfurt is ready to deal with your special needs; I can't say about Kiev or Odessa but the little I saw in terms of customer service in those airports was not impressive. Confirm with the flight attendant when you board the plan in Kiev that you will be met at the gate in Frankfurt and gotten to your next gate (don't bother asking the people who run the counter in Kiev anything because they have no concept of customer service, not even the people who work the Lufthansa desks; they only care how much your bags weigh).

 

[Peregrina651]

This is Zaporhozye. It is a large, industrial city along the river.

 

 

 

[Peregrina651]

Here's a big BON VOYAGE for Doobieb as they arrive at the Lomonosov!! Have a great time and let us hear all about it when you get back.

[HDS]

Doris Betty,

 

The Kiev Jewish tour in October 2008 was very worthwhile for us even though we have no ancestral connection to the European continent or survivors/victims of WWII. The tour was low key, the guide was informative but not overwhwelming and left plenty of time for exploration and quiet reflection. I will carry the memories of Babi Yar and the evocative memorial with me forever.

Best of all there was no souvenir shopping.

[poolplayer]

We arrived on saturday no problems with flight. We waitex at airport about 2 hours as some ones luggage did not arrive so hurried to buffet before it closed. Food is the pictures that everyone has shown. The first did we did both tours of odessa and the second day was only optional tours, 30 ukraine dollars to take a taxi into town. If you questions let me know so far internet has been good. Ship is exactly as described staff is greT have olga as our tour guide. They give you as much wine as you wish with meals

[silkismom]

I read somewhere that ladies had to cover their heads, also no pants, longish skirts only, is that still true, the Lonely Planet book I got from the library is from 2008.

[poolplayer]

At the churches they like ladies to wear scarve or hats on their head. They prefer a skirt. Some of the skirts were very short. They tell you when you need to wear this type of clothing

[ocean999]

I read somewhere that ladies had to cover their heads, also no pants, longish skirts only, is that still true, the Lonely Planet book I got from the library is from 2008.

Silkismom, I wore no skirts on this trip, and it was fine. Bringing a scarf or something to cover your head is a good idea, but no worries. I wore slacks and capris and was fine. I can't find your email, Silkismom and wanted to write a personal note to you. Can you write to me with it, please? Thanks.

Ocean

[ocean999]

Well, before I google that street, I am going to figure out how you wrote using the Ukranian alphabet- impressive. (I know their alphabet has another name but I'd have to stop and go look that up too.);)

 

I love all the details about the shopping. Thank you all for sharing those pesty little points that will probably make the difference between fruitless looking and actually finding the best places.

We have decided to do two of the Odessa Walks tours. They both are fairly inexpensive and more appealing to us for using our free time than the optional Viking tours. I am very appreciative to have the feedback from others who have been before. I pledge to add my two cents worth when we return.

Perhaps we can share a toast on board with some of the cc travelers in June.

 

Debbie.

Hope you're having a fantastic trip!!! Glad the shopping hints were helpful. Look forward to hearing about your adventure...

[silkismom]

Ocean--I just sent it to you.

[poolplayer]

Just leaving for yalta. Volka testing was fun. Enjoyed the tour of panamra and tunnels. Loved drive to palace but really did not enjoy palace. The stairs were rough for mom but it was a younger able body that fell down the stairs and lucky only scraped themselves.