The next destination of my trip is Kiev where I am visiting my cousin. Kiev is the capital and the biggest city in Ukraine. For the trip we decided to take a train - the most popular way of travel over here. Tickets are fairly cheap (around $10-20 one way) and not hard to get unless you travel to hot destinations (like Crimea in summer time).
A few notes on buying train tickets. You can’t get tickets over the phone or using the Internet, you have to do it by coming in person to the train station which is a huge nuisance if you buy in advance. Also, you will need to show passport for each traveler when you buy tickets and when you board the train. The rule is fairly lax however and any form of ID will do.
There is often a line of people at the station so be prepared to spend some time. Since the trains are owned and operated by the government there doesn’t seem to be any incentive to change the system. People who have money and want to avoid the wait have to find ways around it. The usual approach is to find a friend or relative of someone who works at the tickets booth and arrange a transaction privately. 10 Hryvnas ($2) in the passport usually do the magic.
Trains in Ukraine run on diesel except for local ones that use electricity. Most of them are fairly old and often dirty inside. Our train was a nice surprise. We took Kharkiv – Kiev “Express” which is a different kind. Unlike a usual train in Ukraine, “Express” is very clean, has friendly stuff, and LCD monitors where they run movies during the entire trip. I was later explained that similar “Express” trains run between all major cities. Tickets are twice as expensive but are well worth it.
I told you earlier about dogs in Ukraine. The dogs on the picture live at the train station and harass passers by. I counted a total of 9 dogs while waiting my train. One couple was attempting to engage in sex. Good my kids were not with me or I would have had difficult time explaining what the little doggy is doing. ;-)
I have recently learned that besides “dogs problem” Ukraine also has “cats problem”. My grand-mom complained to me on the phone that several cats visit her house every day and make mess in the backyard. And just as she said, as we came to visit her last week I saw 3 of these creatures sleeping on the yard fence.
Ukraine is a beautiful country. The central part is flat and has very scenic views. I took this picture of sunflowers as we were leaving Kiev for my hometown. Karpati Mountains cover south-west. I never went there but my friends tell me the area is very nice as well. Crimea Peninsula is the southern part of Ukraine. Crimea has sub-tropical climate and is a popular vacation destination among Ukrainians and Russians.
My next blog post will be about Kiev, the city of churches and construction sites. Until then, hang on over there!
