A walking tour, shopping and the ballet

There are only four of us left from the original group of 11 now and we decided to take a walking tour this morning. We were fortunate that this route didn’t really repeat the things we did yesterday. We were also surprised and delighted that this guide was willing to talk about ex-Soviet life as well as the current situation with Russia. It was probably the most candid conversation we’ve had with a local during our time in the region over the last three weeks.

One of the highlights of the walk was an old pavilion in the park that’s being restored. It was a lemonade stand and used to have 16 lemonade machines as well as a government bomb shelter underneath it.

We also learned that the city’s oldest park is thanks to a guy from Ukraine who moved here and wanted to plant trees but had no money. He started brewing and selling beer and with that beer money, ordered trees from Europe. Those trees are now well over a hundred years old.

Following the tour, we left our travel companions Jordan and Carolyn and set off to do a bit of shopping. By late afternoon, we got back to the hotel to have a bit of a rest before heading to the ballet with them. The ballet and opera theatre here is a miniature version of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. The performance this evening was a gala of the Academy, the preeminent dance school here. It was wonderful to see such amazing young talent and attend something that was not intended for tourists.

We had dinner after the show and said our see-you-soons. When we go to breakfast tomorrow, Brad and I will be the last ones here. Our flight isn’t until early evening.Read more