Empowered with a belief of going to gain a new life experience, but totally unaware of how it would be, our way to Crimea was about to start!
Nobody said it was easy; we knew it was not going to be. The adventure started after a short but intense sightseeing in Kiev, with a long way onwards: over 18 hours (almost 1000km) for less than 13€! Not the typical tourist ride. “Plattzkart” (a 3rd-class night train) is definitely the way you should experience your trip to Sevastopol.
The train itself was full of surprises for us. Like “playmobil houses”: it is possible to build beds from where -even in your imagination- you wouldn’t be able to fit any extra ones; in tiny, truly well-engineered spaces.
We unsuccessfully tried to imitate the locals’ behavior: some arachnids realized we were fresh blood, and other travellers smilingly and insistently asked about a chance for us to be Italian. NO, we weren’t.
May the reason be that we were not totally in the mood of such a place, as we were not (yet) hanging around in our underwear.
The Sevastopol adventure
Eager to know with whom we were about to share our TSU adventure, we found a bunch of smiles from other participants and organisers. Let us remark how idyllic the first rapport was: the context couldn’t be set up any better, (no idea up to how much of it was on purpose). The ingredients were a salsa master class, in front of the most outstanding Sevastopol white buildings in the maritime front, and the sunset to be seen over the bay. And organisers leading our hips. Close to each other. With love. Of course, we ended up cooling down, with drinks on the beach and a midnight bath. Unforgettable.
We must admit sometimes it was difficult to feel that it was real. An example of this was the visit to historical ruins of Khersones Taurica; imagine yourself swimming into the sea, diving, enjoying the sun and when you open your eyes and you pay attention to what is surrounding you, you just see a Greek colony blended into the landscape. Isn’t that a dream?
It was soon the time for European Night. Hungary, The Netherlands, Germany, England, Finland, Belgium, Spain and Ukraine were represented. Everyone had the chance to try traditional food and drinks from these countries. In addition, deserving a highlight, we danced Ukrainian traditional dances -but not everyone was as good as our main organiser. Even the basic movements are so physically hard! God, more than one ankle ended up swollen… thank you, Gopak dance!
We were also delighted with our day trip to Balaklava, which was a truly complete trip in every sense. It combined historical and cultural visits with some hiking and relaxing on the beach. We were shocked by the fact that Balaklava had been a hidden city, holding a secret centre where USSR submarines were repaired. Once out of its bunkers, we headed up to the hill, where we enjoyed the gorgeous views, and hiked towards the silver beach. Simply amazing! This time, we went back to Earth by boat.
The trip to Fiolent was another wonder. In order to arrive to that beach, we needed to take 800 steps up on the stairs. However, the effort was totally worth it. The place completely captivated us. We understood why some organisers spoke about hanging out with their dates in Fiolent (now you know when you’ll get an intimate invitation there!).
I cannot honour its beauty with any description, this place is made so special by the marriage of mountains with the sea, leaving out tiny paths flirting into rocks, spotting the immensity of open sea waters. Leaving natural, empty beaches and caves reachable just by swimming; all in all it culminated in the construction of a dominant orthodox church/monastery on the cliffs.
Visiting the Grand Canyon of Crimea is another adventure which totally deserves to be mentioned. The fun of this trip was in the travel itself: pure air, transparent waters and wild nature. Towards the end of the road we could jump into the “the Bath of Youth”. Who knows, maybe we got younger, but for sure, with more eagerness to live.
It was so appealing that our main organiser decided to go into the water without thinking. His camera, mobile phone, wallet… were apparantly not considered important in this context. The train staff didn’t really think the same when they were checking on our soaked tickets though. The day was completed with a stop in Bakhchisaray in our way back. This city is the model of Crimean Tatar culture, including its Kahn’s Palace. And its also notorious for its restaurants where local specialities are prepared! Delicious!
Yalta adventure
In the well-known municipality of Yalta we had the chance to visit many historical and cultural places such as the Vorontcov’s Palace, the Livadia Palace, the Massandra Palace and the Swallow’s Nest. We could actually check why National Geographic set the Crimean area as a not-to-be-missed destination in 2013.
We went through the purest marshrutka experiences: how can you fit in when there is no space in public transport? Japanese metro pushers? NO! Marshrutka spirit! We were waiting for this medium-sized van with some seats and a corridor (an average urban ride is 0.2€).
The van arrived but was already full of people, so we were shaking our heads while saying “it is not possible”. But we followed the voice which said “go, go, go!”. Surprisingly when we entered, we fitted in after all. Once inside the sensation is rather weird: You cannot move, it was even difficult to breathe -especially for short people- but you cannot fall down either! People around are holding you up!
Our Yalta experience was completed by several parties, of which some were finished by a midnight beach bath. A good way to get back to reality after going out, especially when vodka-effects and Ukrainian-techno-music-effects are involved.
Please, double check any information incoming from rumours about this TSU. Titty bars, The cave of Carlos, and several other romance stories in Crimea were never completely proven to be completely true from a scientific point of view. The Gossip box is not able to confirm none of these happenings either.
Yalta was also the scenario of several group-dynamic courses. The kiss-killer game was its brightest example. Among the ridiculous situations which took place to kill-kiss, we would like to applaud one of our strongest gamers; when she locked herself in toilet and screamed for help through the window in order to avoid a passionate death in her own room. Regarding the complete game, our compliments go to Marius Mair (AEGEE – Karlsruhe), for being such a strong, effective, kiss-killer.
Sudak adventure
After 95 km in a trolley bus (the longest trolley ride of the world) and a complimentary bus ride, we arrived in Sudak. Our new accommodation was a high-quality one, it made our day! Sudak combines two main aspects that are somewhat opposing: it is a touristic place but still maintains its natural wealth. Apart from the beach, Sudak offers an impressive Genuese Fortress: “Soldaia”, which we visited under the rain.
Not only the good accommodation was highly appreciated at this stage of our SU, but also the tasty appetizers we were offered day after day. We all love Ukrainian food now. You can see how happy we were with the borsch in front of us!
So what happens when you go to a restaurant and there is only one lagman left? Well, a fight starts. Everyone uses a different technique. There’s whose who try to convince the others: “let’s share it, man”; some just want it all and keep fighting. Finally, the mightiest and strongest member won and enjoyed it without any regrets.
From Sudak we went to visit Novy Svet, a town just a little down a road which offers some stunning views over the coastal landscapes. From one and the same spot you can appreciate the sea in three different colours in each three different bays: Green Bay, Blue Bay and Robber Bay. It is truly spectacular!
Despite the rain, the Sudak area awakened a hiking addiction, and in our last day there -a free day- some of us went for a similar trip as before but this time with sunny conditions. Ignoring our destroyed feet and tired legs; we preferred to walk even more, explore more and see more.
This willingness to do more also applies to the nightlife: Sudak turned up to be a nice place for partying. We clubbed around the town, foam party included!
Simferopol adventure
The arrival in Simferopol was pretty mysterious. Our new accommodation was a cottage located in the outskirts of Simferopol up in the hills. From there, we could admire the whole city of Simferopol. Not only its location was special but the owners were so kind and friendly with us, they even provided us with homemade Kbas!
Some of us decided to visit the Red Caves and the Waterfall Su-Uch-Khan which are located next to Simferopol. There was a general spirit of people who desperately want to travel; and it had its price, or actually various small pleasures… Our hike started with the aim of going ahead to the Caves, and pretty much without noticing; at one moment it seemed we were alone in the world. There we were in the middle of the wild nature in the hills surrounding Simferopol, breathing the peace and listening to the silence. Arriving to the waterfall area, where the water was hugging the mountain everywhere, we were given a completely refreshing sensation in the summer heat of Crimea. The caves themselves were a mysterious place, rocks melting and water flowing inside the mountain, as if contemplating the most primary process of nature. On our way we also came across the best shaurma of the trip, a tasty wrap which we ordered again and again until our hungry stomachs were satisfied.
The last day together with an organised programme was as intense as the others. We first went to Yevpatoriya which was originally a Greek city. So, once again we could see other Greek remains in Crimea, as well as its historical center “little Jerusalem”, which includes some diverse and bright religious temples.
Our next destination was the salty lake of Saki. This gave us the pleasure of swimming and floating without any effort, it was possible to read a book in the water with no problems! The atmosphere became completely magic when the sun started setting in the lake.
However, the peacefullness was already lasting too long: we had to run to the station to make sure we would not miss our train. Thankfully we made it there in time -by that time, we were well trained! In fact, we even had to wait for some minutes for the train, time during which cruel mosquitoes, attracted by our salty skins, tried to take advantage of our sweet warm blood.
See you soon, Ukraine
Honestly, we knew very few things about the local culture before arriving to Ukraine and the fact that there was a whole world to discover was one of the reasons to choose this TSU. During these two weeks we could experience the history, tradition, culture and even some of the language first-hand.
What is more, we now care for the people in Crimea, and in Ukraine. It awakened a strong deep feeling of friendship and strength to fight for life, dreams and passions. The entire team of organisers deserve our personal respect and admiration for all that.
After the difficult experience of saying goodbye, or “see you somewhere in Europe!” what we bring home -together with tons of pictures- is loads of memories and the wisdom. The most important being a deep belief in the one rule during our TSU:
IN UKRAINE, EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE.
THANKS AEGEE-SEVASTOPOL!
Many thanks for pictures to Marlen Osmanov, Anna Monika Nazarenko, Aleksey Sobol (AEGEE-Sevastopol); Natalia Garrido (AEGEE-Brussel); Zoltán Prohászka (AEGEE-Budapest); Marius Mair (AEGEE-Karlsruhe) and Maria Jose Pérez (AEGEE-Barcelona)
Written by Nacho López del Blanco and Maria José Pérez, AEGEE- Barcelona