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Sevastopol-Ukraine
Sevastopol, Ukraine. Britain,
France, and Turkey invaded Ukraine in the Crimean War because they
wanted to control of commerce in the Black Sea. It’s too bad people
can’t live their lives without outsiders wanting to grab more. There
are many monuments here, for war heroes and lost soldiers from the
Crimean War and World War II. The Germans killed 27,000 people in
Sevastopol and took 30,000 more back to Germany to use for hard
labor. The Germans destroyed many monuments that were rebuilt by
Sevastopol and Ukraine in the early 1960s. On our tour this morning
we saw a huge (5,000 sq ft) 360 degree panoramic painting with a
diorama in front of the painting. The combination was fantastic.
They were blended so well that sometimes it was difficult to
determine where the diorama ended and the painting began. This
exhibit is a memorial to the Ukraine soldiers who fought during the
Crimean War first assault on Sevastopol.
Sevastopol was, and is, a base for
Soviet Union, Russian, and Ukraine submarines.
Food. Ah, wonderful, delicious
food. For lunch, how about chicken-broccoli on rice, then lots of
fruit. Let’s top that off with a fruit/pastry dessert, followed by a
sunday (vanilla fudge ice cream with chocolate chips, chocolate and
marshmallow toppings, and whipped cream. Oh no, they also have
macadamia nut cookies. Okay, a few of those also. What do you
think…. should I walk a few laps around the ship? You know, one
could get spoiled here.
Yesterday while we were on the
tour, at the building for the panoramic painting/ diorama, several
men and women needed to use the toilet. The guide showed us the
direction to the Water Closet (WC) (toilets). Thankfully there were
separate toilets for the men and women. At the entrances to both the
men's and women's toilets, we were surprised that there was a women
collecting $1 Ukraine currency (20 cents in $US, because $5 Ukraine
currency = 1$ US). None of the men or women on the tour had Ukraine
currency. I gave the WC woman $1 US, and said 5 men should be able
to go in. In very rough, broken, English, she said "no". I insisted
again, with the same reply. Eventually she let one additional man
in, with my dollar. It was the same situation on the women's side;
two women were let in with $1 US. I decided to let the over-payment
be a donation to the local economy, and a tip to the woman who has
toilet cleaning as her job.
There are three other couples at our dinner table. One couple has
been married 41 years and the other two couples are on their second
marriages, with a length of about twenty years. One of the couples
lives in Perth, Australia. The wife's parents came from Ukraine, and
she has cousins in Ukraine. This couple was with the cousins in
Odessa, Ukraine. In Sevastopol, Ukraine, the couple took a tour bus
to Yalta. The guide spoke in Russian, so the Ukrainian wife (from
Australia) couldn't understand the guide. The wife asked the guide
to speak in Ukrainian. There was almost a riot on the tour bus, with
great hostility from the other people, who were Russian. Eighty
percent of the people in Ukraine are Russian. The wife then found
out that the tour bus would not return to Sevastopol until 10pm, but
the ship was leaving at 5pm. After much arguing about money that
should be or not be paid for the tour that wouldn't be taken, the
guide called for a taxi to come and bring the Australian couple back
to Sevastopol. When the taxi arrived, the driver announced, in
Russian and broken Ukrainian, that he wanted to be paid in Ukrainian
currency. The Australian couple told the driver that they had only
British Pounds and Euros. The driver said he would drive back to
Sevastopol with an empty cab, but the Australian couple explained
that that didn't make sense because if he didn't bring the couple he
would make no money, so the driver took the couple. While coming
back, the Australian wife asked the driver why more people didn't
speak Ukrainian. That sent the driver on a tirade that lasted the
entire trip back to Sevastopol. Russians feel that Ukraine belongs
to Russia, and is not really an independent Ukraine.
The next day we are in the Aegean
Sea, and going through the Dardanelles.
This morning we sailed through the Bosphorus, also known as the
Istanbul Strait. The Bosphorus is the strait that forms the boundary
between the European part of Turkey and its Asian part. This is the
world's narrowest strait that is used for international navigation.
It connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, which is
connected by the Dardanelles to the Agean Sea, and thereby to the
Mediterranean Sea. The strait is 18 miles long and about 4/10 of a
mile wide at the narrowest part. There were always several
freighters around us, and numerous in view. The strait is a busy
shipping waterway.
Again, WOW. What pretty sights, and so close to the ship. |