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Post by William Wilson on Sept 7, 2017 10:23:22 GMT
Doesn`t even look as if Aeroflot fly from Moscow to Simferopol. That doesn`t inspire confidence in the overall situation. Don`t really fancy Rasputin Airlines or the like, but needs must. Maybe this is the time for that Yak Trek you've always hankered over? At least I wouldn`t be hit by a Buk ground to air missile, on the way down there. Have done a bit more research, and it does look as if Aeroflot do fly from Moscow to Simferopol. Possibly. Might send them an email; see what they suggest. What was just a vague idea a few days ago, is now becoming something I really want to do. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2017 10:29:04 GMT
You'll need to pack one of these....Then you could really re-create the Charge of the Light Brigade. Skipping down the Valley with one of these would give you an overpowering sense of realism that would be unmatched by anything else...I think.  |
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Post by William Wilson on Sept 8, 2017 6:48:23 GMT
Imagine the look on the customs officer`s face, when he opens your suitcase and finds that.
From my experience of Russians, seeing the funny side of life doesn`t appear to be high on their list of priorities.
They put me in mind of Strenlikov, the Tom Courtney character from the film, Doctor Zhivago.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2017 8:08:49 GMT
I can't go into my experiences with the Russian I know as this is a family site. All I can say is that they are very good memories.
True Dit:
You mentioned going through Custom's with something dodgy in your case. Here's my tale:-
Years ago, I was visiting Australia, and while there I thought it would be a good idea to turn up, unannounced, at my friend's place. He's a sh1thead, and over the years he constantly refers to 'Irene' as a blow-up doll, and 'Irene' was my sex life! The plan was to knock on his door, complete with 'Irene' wearing a Rovers shirt.
So, before leaving Germany I popped into a sex shop and bought a blow-up doll. This went into my suitcase.
I didn't think about it, until I was walking towards the Custom's at Sidney Airport, and it suddenly struck me that if they searched my case, what on earth would I say when they see the blow-up doll?..."um...er....it's for a friend".
Luckily, I didn't get stopped and searched, but I did have a sweat on!
I did turn up at his house with 'Irene', and much Whisky and Beer was drunk, and I do believe she is still there in Australia as he regals me with lurid e-mails detailing his alleged goings on with the unfortunate 'Irene'!...the durty sh1thead !
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Post by e4bandrobinstubbs on Sept 8, 2017 9:36:04 GMT
Aeroflop to Simferopol? Has to be better than the ancient Donbassaero Yak 42 I went on from Kiev! The photos on the website showed a nice gleaming Boeing 737, but maybe they didn't want to bring it out unless it got dirty.
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Post by e4bandrobinstubbs on Sept 8, 2017 9:36:54 GMT
Anyone been to Baku ? Any hotel recommendations ?
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Post by William Wilson on Sept 8, 2017 10:10:22 GMT
I can't go into my experiences with the Russian I know as this is a family site. All I can say is that they are very good memories. True Dit: You mentioned going through Custom's with something dodgy in your case. Here's my tale:- Years ago, I was visiting Australia, and while there I thought it would be a good idea to turn up, unannounced, at my friend's place. He's a sh1thead, and over the years he constantly refers to 'Irene' as a blow-up doll, and 'Irene' was my sex life! The plan was to knock on his door, complete with 'Irene' wearing a Rovers shirt. So, before leaving Germany I popped into a sex shop and bought a blow-up doll. This went into my suitcase. I didn't think about it, until I was walking towards the Custom's at Sidney Airport, and it suddenly struck me that if they searched my case, what on earth would I say when they see the blow-up doll?..."um...er....it's for a friend". Luckily, I didn't get stopped and searched, but I did have a sweat on! I did turn up at his house with 'Irene', and much Whisky and Beer was drunk, and I do believe she is still there in Australia as he regals me with lurid e-mails detailing his alleged goings on with the unfortunate 'Irene'!...the durty sh1thead ! Shame, you couldn`t get a blow up Dean Windass for him. |
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Post by William Wilson on Sept 8, 2017 10:25:03 GMT
Aeroflop to Simferopol? Has to be better than the ancient Donbassaero Yak 42 I went on from Kiev! The photos on the website showed a nice gleaming Boeing 737, but maybe they didn't want to bring it out unless it got dirty. Worst plane I flew on, was between Cusco in Peru, and Puerto Maldonado in the Amazon jungle. No idea what it was, but it wouldn`t have looked out of place in an Indiana Jones film. When I first saw it parked up outside, I honestly thought that it had been left there as an exhibit from the early days of the airport. |
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Post by William Wilson on Sept 15, 2017 6:48:46 GMT
Hope you had a good trip & game. Used to go to Kiev a bit. Lovely city, and the Ukrainians are nicer than the Russians generally. Although the Russians are OK in my book. Anyone interested should go in the Springtime, around Easter. Good idea to get a grip with the cyrillic alphabet, which is a lot easier than it looks. Recommend Khortytsa VIP vodka. Did you ever visit Babi Yar? I thought that it was way outside the city, but I`ve just found out that it`s about four miles from the centre. I`ll wander over for a look round. |
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Post by e4bandrobinstubbs on Sept 18, 2017 18:12:35 GMT
Hope you had a good trip & game. Used to go to Kiev a bit. Lovely city, and the Ukrainians are nicer than the Russians generally. Although the Russians are OK in my book. Anyone interested should go in the Springtime, around Easter. Good idea to get a grip with the cyrillic alphabet, which is a lot easier than it looks. Recommend Khortytsa VIP vodka. Did you ever visit Babi Yar? I thought that it was way outside the city, but I`ve just found out that it`s about four miles from the centre. I`ll wander over for a look round. Yes I wandered around Babi Yar. It's quite a ,large park. There are Jewish people wandering around reading -i presume - from religious books. Easy to get to. I seem to remember a metro station is right there. Lots of memorials. Not my idea of fun. |
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Post by William Wilson on Sept 25, 2017 10:36:17 GMT
Did you ever visit Babi Yar? I thought that it was way outside the city, but I`ve just found out that it`s about four miles from the centre. I`ll wander over for a look round. Yes I wandered around Babi Yar. It's quite a ,large park. There are Jewish people wandering around reading -i presume - from religious books. Easy to get to. I seem to remember a metro station is right there. Lots of memorials. Not my idea of fun. I guess, history`s not always fun. But whether it`s good history or bad, I still like to see where it took place. I`ve just come back from a few days in Krakow, and I visited both Auschwitz and Oscar Schindler`s old factory. One was uplifting, and the other not so. |
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Post by e4bandrobinstubbs on Sept 29, 2017 17:39:50 GMT
Yes I wandered around Babi Yar. It's quite a ,large park. There are Jewish people wandering around reading -i presume - from religious books. Easy to get to. I seem to remember a metro station is right there. Lots of memorials. Not my idea of fun. I guess, history`s not always fun. But whether it`s good history or bad, I still like to see where it took place. I`ve just come back from a few days in Krakow, and I visited both Auschwitz and Oscar Schindler`s old factory. One was uplifting, and the other not so. If you go up to Arsenal Square you can see buildings riddled with bullet holes from the time of the Russian revolution. |
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Post by William Wilson on Sept 30, 2017 6:41:57 GMT
Thanks for the tip. I will do. It`s exactly the sort of thing I enjoy looking at.
As far as I can see, they still haven`t made up their mind what time the Dynamo v Shaktar game will kick off. I hope it`s an 8pm ko.
I joined the DK fan club and I tried to buy two tickets online. You can get so far in English, but when it comes to paying for the tickets, it intractably turns to Ukranian. Apparently you can buy tickets for the game from the old stadium, which is only a few hundred yards from our hotel.
Shouldn`t be a sell out. The crowd for the corresponding fixture last April, was 52,000. Ground holds 70,000.
Am looking forward to it all.
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Post by e4bandrobinstubbs on Oct 3, 2017 14:28:27 GMT
If you're up for war related stuff, the Gt Patriotic War museum is a must. I did also go to a small military museum in or near Arsenal Square. Run by two lovely old gents, but that was about 10 yrs ago.
The State Aviation Museum near Zhuliany airport is great too. Lots of military planes and civil ones, all outdoor. A good hour long visit. If you take the Elektrishka train and walk (20 mins) beware of the roaming dogs (dogs ? more like wolves !) as you follow the road around the side of Zhuliany airfield.
Are you staying in the Hotel Ukraina ? If so, naked girls dancing in the hotel bar after midnight is a "feature" !
Have a great trip.
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Post by William Wilson on Oct 3, 2017 15:11:15 GMT
If you're up for war related stuff, the Gt Patriotic War museum is a must. I did also go to a small military museum in or near Arsenal Square. Run by two lovely old gents, but that was about 10 yrs ago. The State Aviation Museum near Zhuliany airport is great too. Lots of military planes and civil ones, all outdoor. A good hour long visit. If you take the Elektrishka train and walk (20 mins) beware of the roaming dogs (dogs ? more like wolves !) as you follow the road around the side of Zhuliany airfield. Are you staying in the Hotel Ukraina ? If so, naked girls dancing in the hotel bar after midnight is a "feature" ! Have a great trip. Many thanks for the tips. Had already planned on the Gt Patriotic War museum, and had made a note of the State Aviation Museum. We`ll almost certainly do that too. My mate used to have a private pilot`s licence, and is a real aeroplane enthusiast. We`re staying in the Hotel Dnipro, but it`s not far to the Ukraina. Especially if there`s alcohol and unclothed females there. Have been reading up about the "Death Match". en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_MatchThere is a memorial to the Dynamo players who took part, in the former Syrets concentration camp near Babi Yar. Also the Zenit Stadium where the game took place is still in existence, so I shall visit that too. Am really looking forward to it. If you think of anywhere else we should see, I would be glad to hear of it. |
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Post by e4bandrobinstubbs on Oct 4, 2017 11:41:13 GMT
Try the Museum of Russian Art - I think it's called "Київський музей російського мистецтва". If you're into Soviet era Russian art then it's a good gallery to visit.
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Post by William Wilson on Oct 26, 2017 7:09:44 GMT
Had a great time in Kiev. Saw Dynamo play Shaktar, visited the war museum and the Holodomor museum, wandered round the parkand of Babi Yar, and took photos of what`s left of the Start Stadium, where the death match took place in 1942.
We went round the city several times on the hop on hop off bus, which is always a good way to see the most important sites. The Arsenal area was certainly worth a couple of hours.
Also spent a day up at Chernobyl and Pripyat, which was a good way to see what happens when human beings f**k up.
It was pretty cold while we were there. Dry and bright, but with a wind that made it feel like Siberia was only about thirty miles away.
You can just imagine what the occupying German soldiers must have felt: If it`s this cold in the third week of October, what`s it going to be like at the end of January?
The Dynamo game was an experience that I wouldn`t have missed, but it did have several disappointing aspects. The crowd was only just over 20,000 in a 70,000 stadium, and the game itself was very poor. 0-0. Shaktar played some neat football but never looked like scoring, whilst Dynamo were just plain abysmal.
Ollie Clarke would have fitted admirably into their midfield, with his willingness to pass to an opposition player at every opportunity.
But the 20,000 who were there, did create quite an atmosphere. And the thunderflashes going off every minute or so, certainly kept you awake.
That`s it for me now, until Budapest next Spring. Hopefully get to see Honved play.
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Post by e4bandrobinstubbs on Nov 3, 2017 17:09:31 GMT
Had a great time in Kiev. Saw Dynamo play Shaktar, visited the war museum and the Holodomor museum, wandered round the parkand of Babi Yar, and took photos of what`s left of the Start Stadium, where the death match took place in 1942. We went round the city several times on the hop on hop off bus, which is always a good way to see the most important sites. The Arsenal area was certainly worth a couple of hours. Also spent a day up at Chernobyl and Pripyat, which was a good way to see what happens when human beings f**k up. It was pretty cold while we were there. Dry and bright, but with a wind that made it feel like Siberia was only about thirty miles away. You can just imagine what the occupying German soldiers must have felt: If it`s this cold in the third week of October, what`s it going to be like at the end of January? The Dynamo game was an experience that I wouldn`t have missed, but it did have several disappointing aspects. The crowd was only just over 20,000 in a 70,000 stadium, and the game itself was very poor. 0-0. Shaktar played some neat football but never looked like scoring, whilst Dynamo were just plain abysmal. Ollie Clarke would have fitted admirably into their midfield, with his willingness to pass to an opposition player at every opportunity. But the 20,000 who were there, did create quite an atmosphere. And the thunderflashes going off every minute or so, certainly kept you awake. That`s it for me now, until Budapest next Spring. Hopefully get to see Honved play. Glad you enjoyed Kiev. My fave time to visit was springtime. Any particular vodkas stand out ? A hop on/off bus ? Wow. Couldn't even get enough cash from the cash machines when I was last there ! |
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Post by William Wilson on Nov 15, 2017 8:25:35 GMT
Didn`t touch the vodka, mate. More of a scotch man myself and when I`m abroad, I tend to stick to beer. Certainly had a few of them in Kiev.
Yeah, they had a hop on hop off bus. The whole place was very western, I thought. Even on the metro, the announcements were made twice. Once in Ukranian and again in English. And most people spoke some of our language, which made things a lot easier.
And I`ve got a nice Dynamo Kiev scarf to help keep me warm this winter.
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