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Journey to the Borderland

May 7

Posted by Lindsey Whissel on 05/07 at 03:48 PM

Fun in fair Feodosia…

We started the day with a boat tour of an extinct Volcano named Kardag. Gorgeous scenery and great weather! We learned lots of interesting history and legends about the Feodosian coast.

Next stop was a wine tasting of local vino. We sampled four or five different brands before selecting an Aligoté to purchase for dinner. We also toured a local clean water factory where we got to tast different kinds of mineral water. We had a short hike to the second well and our guide told us there were foxes and wild boar in the woods. Ashley was excited by this and said she loved pigs and hoped we got to see one, I on the other hand could happily live out the rest of my days without this experience, so I’m happy to report there were no boar sightings.

After lunch, we were given a tour of the Aivzovsky Art Gallery. I am embarrassed to admit I had never heard of him before, but he was a famous Ukrainian painter who mostly focused on the sea and was an expert with regards to light. In one of the halls of the museum, Ashley pointed out a paining of the Niagara Falls—one of the last sites I’d ever expect to see in an art gallery in Ukraine, but our guide explained Aviszosky visited America at one point in his career (though he didn’t care for it and only stayed a couple of months).

Following the tour, we stopped at a bookstand and (let the jeering begin) I bought a copy of “Twilight” in Russian. I know no one will believe this, but I only bought it so I’d have a way to practice my Cyrillic reading skills with a book I already know.

We then went to visit a local orphanage and got to meet some of the children. There was one little girl who stole my heart; she was precocious twelve-year old and kept asking when we would be back to visit and promised to practice her English so she’d speak perfectly next time she saw me. Needless to say, it was hard to leave.

Next stop was a tour of carbohydrate heaven, aka the MbM bread factory, a brand famous in Crimea for its use of natural ingredients and high standard of quality. We were given three bags full of different kinds of bread and pastries. It will be difficult to eat it all, but we will consider it our patriotic duty as visiting foreigners to finish it down to the final crumb.

We made a final stop at the seaside for a short walk before dinner. The weather was perfect, warm with a cool breeze. For dinner, we were treated to a feast by one of the areas famous cooks. The home we’re staying at has a kitchen set away from the main house and an covered patio where meals are served.

Unfortunately, we received some bad news at dinner—we will be spending tomorrow night on the train from Simferopol to Dnipropetrovsk. I mean no disrespect to the Ukrainian rail system (I am actually a big fan of train travel), but if it’s anything like the last ride we had, we won’t be getting a whole lot of sleep. However,  this is a small price to pay for the wonderful experience of being a GSE’er.

We ended the night in the most wonderful of ways—a nice refreshing sit in the sauna (right in our host’s house). The absolute best part of this was the hats- Ashley and I were told we weren’t allowed to go in without wearing a hat for health reasons, so were given some to wear and they are without a doubt the best hats we’ve ever see! At first we thought they were Viking helmets, but I think they are some type of Cossack headdress- completely with horns and braids. Simply amazing and we are determined to buy some to take home.

Word of the Day: свинья (svin-yah)- pig