Kaizer Hotel Chernivtsi

... No dobra, jak 8 to ok. A więcej papierosów niż wagon na osobę mają?" "Nie, nie mamy" (to akurat była prawda). Puścili nas. 2 h później byliśmy po rumuńskiej stronie, w Suceavie... ENGLISH: We arrived to Cerniowce in the following morning and already there at the train station, there were drivers waiting for tourists to get them through the ukrainian-romanian ...

... were a few nice buildings, but not enough to keep us there. Personally, we made the right choice, and we were happy as we were going back to L'viv, back to the Kosmonaut and back to the place where the vodka flows like water !!! The Train We bought what we thought were second class sleepers, but in fact they were third class, and trust me, I would rather travel Indian second class than that ****. I didn't sleep, and when the train arrived in L'viv, I was happy.

... The cranky woman at the ticket booth seemed to be trying to explain it to me in Russian, saying that I could visit the grounds, but not the interior (but I didn't quite follow why at first, which really irked her for some odd reason). When I ambled on down to the site, the place was bustling with people, many of whom were dressed up in medieval garb. The immediate front of the castle was a mess of engineers setting up film equipment, young men ...

... my first stop of the day, as it's far and away Chernivtsi's most famous site. Built originally for the metropolitan Orthodox clergy in the late 19th-century by Czech architect Josef Hlavka, it's a wildly eclectic mix of architectural influences done in red brick. The Soviets gave it its current function after they moved into town, and it remains a center of learning today. That fact also means they're kind of picky about who they let in. The entrance is manned by a grumpy old ...

... and I needed a new room, now! Somebody's palace was turned into the university here, a rather well-known and special-looking one, in an otherwise very unattractive city. I managed to sneak in and fish around the university for a few pictures of the impressive interior.

... sits her home, 10 years going. She weighs 470 lbs. and her stomach hangs on the floor between her legs. She is very open about it and asks us what we can do for her. She has a beautiful, tender face, much life my Grandmother had. ...lying in your 9th floor apt. in your bed for 10 years due to an accident at work. The doctors are unable to help you. Maria is frail and speaks with an extremely high voice and has a former co ...

My final country will be Ukraine. I will fly from Dushanbe to Kiev, where I will meet my friends and colleauges. We will then board a train for the nice 15 hour ride to Chernivtsi. We will then return to Kiev for one full weekend before boarding the plane home.

The fortress of Hotin is build on the edge of high precipice on the river Dnestr. This fortress is looking more powerful and inaccessible then in Kamenets-Podolsky. In the yard of fortress there are guillotine:). The way to firtress is very interesting and beautiful: paved road over hills and some destroyed line of defend.

... there you have to go through the bridge which is above canyon 40 meters depth. The Old Town is full of old buildings, half-destroyed towers and walls. It has art gallery, where you can find old and modern paintings, common for Middle Ages Town Hall and beautiful ancient lanterns. The main sight of Kamenets is its Fortress. It is after the second bridge through the canyon.

... women-without-teeth-wearing-bonnets and looking very much the "Babuska" part! Then...I began to realize...I don't live in this back-in-time-hamlet! Time to go! Next thing I know...a local woman is yelling at me "Get On!" over and over (well, yelling in Romanian--hence my difficulty in understanding!). So...a spontaneous ride in a horse-drawn carriage I went--with building supplies, hay, mom, grandma and two grandchildren! Back to the main street, I paused to take another ...