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  • Kiev – Zhuliany Airport – Business Lounge East

    Zhuliany Airport in Kiev is one of two airports in the city and it’s of a manageable size, although that also means they’re running a little short of seats in the departure area. There are two lounges accessible with Priority Pass, although I’m unsure why they need that many, and I opted to visit the East Business Lounge.

    I was the only person in the lounge, although there were relatively few flights departing from the airport, only around one per hour. Around six or seven people came into the lounge when I was there, which was for a three hour period. The welcome was really friendly, the staff members seemed pleased that someone was there (or at least hid their disappointment) although there wasn’t an introduction to the lounge facilities.

    The colours of the chairs made for quite a bright lounge, although the chairs weren’t the most comfortable for sitting at a table with a laptop as they were a little low down. Judging from the official photos of the lounge, it does appear that they’ve had an overhaul and this seating is all new, hence the modern feel to it. However, everything else was pleasant in terms of the lounge environment, as it was quiet, at a cool temperature and it felt a relaxing place to be.

    I wasn’t entirely taken with the open sandwiches option. It was possible to buy food and drink from the restaurant next door and order within the lounge, although I didn’t see anyone do that during my visit. There were some free hot options within the lounge, but again, they didn’t seem particularly exciting and I wasn’t sure exactly what they were.

    With regards to these sandwiches, they remained entirely untouched for the three hours that I was there, so I do wonder whether they’re really the best thing to have. I can’t imagine they were particularly fresh after sitting there for that long and perhaps customers would have preferred something looking a little more presentable.

    The snacks were perfectly satisfactory though, there were crisps, chocolate bars and biscuits. The range of alcoholic and soft drinks was also entirely acceptable, although most of the alcohol were names that I hadn’t heard of and so not necessarily premium. There was a local beer though, and a selection of wines.

    There were numerous television screens around the lounge with the gate information on, with a staff member wandering around clearing away rubbish. This wasn’t a particularly challenging role for the staff member for much of the time as I was the only visitor, but everything felt rather clean and organised.

    Although the lounge was relatively small, there were two toilets within the lounge so that customers didn’t have to return to the main terminal. It also has the advantage of being only a short walk from all of the gates, so there was no rush to leave the lounge. Although since I’m always nervous of there being some sort of additional security check I always leave early anyway…..

    Overall, I’m not sure that it would be worth paying the £20 for a visit for those with lounge cards who pay per visit, as Ukraine is relatively cheap and the airport restaurant would perhaps provide better value. However, since my Priority Pass card is unlimited, it was a comfortable way to spend three hours.

  • Poltava – Poltava Battle History Museum

    The Battle of Poltava is an important battle for the people of Russia as it was when Peter the Great defeated the Swedish army. If the battle, which took place on 27 June 1709, had gone the other way then it isn’t likely that we’d refer to Peter as Great and it’s not likely that the Russian Empire would have been as substantial as it is. But we might have had a lot more people speaking Swedish.

    To make the whole thing even more complex, the Ukrainians like Ivan Mazepa, because he sided with the Swedes against the Russians. It was the beginning of the end for the Swedish Empire and they lost around 7,000 men, compared to the Russians who lost around 1,500 men.

    The museum is located a bus ride away, which is another story, from the city centre and it is situated in what was once a hospital for veterans of the Russian-Turkish wars. It’s well laid out and is larger than I thought, with the admission price costing under £1, even with the photographic permit that I felt the need to buy.

    A diorama of the battle scene. There was also a film showing on one of the TV screens in the museum which was the most graphic representation of war that I’ve ever seen. There were more stabbings, explosions and heads falling off than you could shake a stick at, although there were shaking lances in the film as well.

    I’m slightly sceptical, but this is the clothing which allegedly belonged to Peter I, his caftan (tunic) and camisole (undercoat).

    The death mask of Peter I.

    And a painting of Peter 1.

    These are the coats of arms for towns in the area, from top to bottom (and left to right), (i) Poltava, (ii) Hadyach, (iii) Lubny, (iv) Pryluky, (v) Pereyaslav and (vi) Myrgorod.

    A cannon thing.

    A map of the battlefield.

    All in all, a well presented museum which had some interesting artefacts. I wasn’t entirely sure exactly where the battlefields were in relation to the modern geography, but they seemed to cover a bit of an area and the memorials we walked by to get to the museum suggested the approximate location.

    The whole site was a scene of great pride for the Russians over the centuries, although it’s a more challenging site for the Ukrainians. It was though fascinating to see this area, as it’s one of those wars which changed the landscape of European politics and ultimately led to the expansion of the Russian empire at the cost of the Swedish empire.

  • Poltava – Prince Ihor’s Stone

    This stone marked the life of Prince Ihor, the Grand Prince of an early Slavic country, who reigned from 912 until 945. He is seen as being the leader of the forerunner of Ukraine although I can’t see any other obvious link between him and the city of Poltava.

  • Poltava – Ivan Mazepa Statue

    Ivan Mazepa is one of the more controversial people in Ukrainian history, having been shunned by the Russians and quite recently he has been fêted by the Ukrainians. The Russians don’t like him because he changed sides before the Battle of Poltava, supporting the Swedes instead of the Russians. The Russian Orthodox Church excommunicated him in 1708, and they still haven’t relented. That’s a proper grudge.

    Anyway, Mazepa is now becoming a bit of a national hero and he’s appeared on the back of a 10-hryvnia banknote, which is something to write home about. Or it would be if Mazepa hadn’t died in 1709.

    However, even this statue has been a bit of a problem for the authorities, as it was halted before being given the go-ahead. It was unveiled on 6 May 2016 by Petro Poroshenko, the current President of Ukraine.

  • Poltava – Sign

    A nod towards tourism, the Poltava sign in front of the Assumption Cathedral.

  • Poltava – White Rotunda of Friendship

    This site, with extensive views over the nearby hills, was once the site of the Poltava’s bastion where lookouts could keep an eye on any threats to the city. In 1909 the local authorities thought that it’d be a good idea to construct something to mark 200 years since the Battle of Poltava which had taken place in 1709. They decided upon a White Rotunda and this was duly constructed and an event held to mark the anniversary.

    The 200th anniversary was certainly a big event for the city, the Tsar of Russia came along and there were numerous services held to remember those who had died at the Battle. The Tsar also went to have a little look at the battlefield itself, although I imagine he didn’t have to faff about waiting for the number 5 bus like we did…. But that story is for elsewhere.

    Unfortunately, the Germans decided that they thought it’d be a good idea to destroy the White Rotunda and they demolished it during the Second World War.  However, in 1954 plans were put forwards to reconstruct the arch and this is what is currently at the site.

    The views over the surrounding area.

    And me. How lovely.

  • Poltava – Poltava Dumplings Monument

    This is meant to be one of the most photographed locations in the city, but it is marginally less appealing in the snow. It represents the local cuisine of dumplings, with what are 12 dumplings in a bowl with a giant spoon in front of them.

    The work was unveiled on 1 April 2006 and the choice of date was deliberate, and the dumplings aren’t meant to be taken seriously. Although it seems some locals don’t like the whole arrangement and the city authorities had to move them to their current location from elsewhere in Poltava due to complaints.

    I thought that it was a rather fun artwork and it has some meaning, so I’m sure it’ll remain a popular place for photos to be taken.

  • Poltava – Beer House

    My first impressions of this pub weren’t that positive from the exterior, as it looks a little generic. However, it was well reviewed by others and my second impressions were much better after we entered it.

    It wasn’t particularly busy inside, although given that it was 3pm on a Saturday, that wasn’t entirely unsurprising. The whole environment was clean and comfortable and the welcome seemed genuinely friendly.

    They had a dark beer, which was decent although it didn’t have a particularly strong aftertaste or notes of particular ingredients. However, it tasted fine and was at the appropriate temperature.

    I’m not sure that there are that many English visitors to Poltava, so it wasn’t surprising that they didn’t have an English menu. However, the waiter got someone else over to help and they were able to speak excellent English. I was struggling with the pizza section of the menu a little, particularly as I’ve forgotten the Cyrillic alphabet which might have helped. However, I could work out the BBQ pizza, so I went with that.

    My expectations were a little low as I realised that it might just mean a pizza with BBQ sauce, but it was much better than that with pieces of BBQ meat. It looked like it was wood fired and it had a crispiness to it with a range of tastes of textures. It could have been a little hotter in terms of temperature, but it still exceeded what I expected. Very nice.

    And the seed things which came with the beer, salty and very moreish.

    The bar had a set-up which meant that they needed to take a card at a nearby location, so it seemed easier to just pay with cash. I didn’t work out what the nearby location was, but it was perhaps a fixed card machine they couldn’t easily move. Either way, the prices were very reasonable and a pizza and beer cost around £3.

  • Lviv – Night Train to Poltava

    Although it’s not the cleanest train that I’ve ever seen, this former Soviet workhorse still looked impressive as it pulled in. It was to take us on a 16-hour journey to Poltava, in the east of the country.

    Passengers starting to board.

    The embarkation process was a little complex as some of the carriages didn’t have a number on them. However, after asking two staff members who got us closer each time to where we wanted to be, we found the correct carriage.

    This is a first class compartment, with the journey costing around £27 each. The difficulty for the rail network is that the falling cost of air fares is making it harder for them to compete, but there is still the tourist market and it’s much easier to catch a train than go through the hassle of catching a flight.

    Most elements of the carriage still looked as though they were from the 1970s, but there was a much more modern control panel which had been inserted into every compartment. This controlled the lighting, informed passengers when the toilets were in use and it also allowed me to charge my phone. The latter was absolutely essential of course.

    There was a member of uniformed staff on board in what was a grand uniform, reminiscent of long gone days in the UK. He was ultra-efficient and seemed to have an awareness of when I was in the corridor area, so my first attempt at the above photo had him at the end of it looking surprised. I took another photo to avoid him being in it…..

    The main problem for me with the journey was that it was just too hot in the carriage, and there was no way of opening the windows. There was a window in the toilets, but it was locked shut so that passengers didn’t throw things out of it. Combined with the heating in the carriage, it was a little more uncomfortable than I would have liked.

    At one end of the carriage there was a samovar, effectively a boiler, which provided constant hot water and this was convenient for the arrangement of noodles that I had purchased for the journey. There were a limited number of things which could be bought on board, but there was nothing like a Greggs buffet compartment and that would have been nice.

    There were though bottles of water provided at the beginning of the journey, and the facility to have tea and coffee brought in sachets, although they didn’t bring a cup to put them in.

    I say that the main problem for me was the temperature, but that’s really a lie, as the main problem was that I didn’t have any wi-fi. I was able to connect briefly at a station very early on in the route, but then not again until the end of the journey. That meant 15 hours of not being connected to the outside world, which is the longest period that I can recall in years. Certainly not ideal when trying to follow the escapades of the British Prime Minister and her attempts to deliver Brexit.

    For much of the journey the outside was dark, which is perhaps inevitable with a night train, but the Ukrainian countryside isn’t really the most beautiful in the world. I didn’t see anything of particular interest other than the towns and cities which the train went through, and most of those were under the cover of darkness. I think that I saw a hill in the distance at one point and there were a few dogs visible, but that was the highlight of watching the world go by from the window.

    However, the train arrived on time in Poltava and shortly before arrival the conductor came in to tell us that we needed to depart at the next railway station. Everything was reasonably clean and comfortable on board, although the train didn’t feel particularly busy. At times the train made noises which suggested that it had left the track and was ploughing on along the road, but since we arrived in one piece I’m assuming that it was just a bumpy section of rail.

    Certainly an interesting experience and very pleased that I tried it. There are numerous trains which run throughout the night, which means that they are convenient for passengers who might want to arrive into a city early, or indeed a little later. Flights often don’t have that flexibility, and at least the night trains give passengers a chance to sleep.

  • Lviv – Lion Bars

    Another random post about food that I just happened to buy in Lviv, although these chocolate bars are made in Ukraine (and also exported elsewhere). I have nothing to add beyond the images of the chocolate bars, but they were very lovely.