*I swear that neither the Russian government nor my place of employment have paid me a kopek for the 10,000 words I have written about how “Crimea is Awesome” – though on second thought they should totally comp me this vacation. So, why did I go? I had specific goals for this vacation: regain some…
For weeks before my Crimea trip my mother was imploring me to check out the farmers’ markets in Novy Svet and Sudak, for the freshest fruits and berries in all the land! The markets did not disappoint, and I tried everything from the in-season strawberries and raspberries, to homemade cheeses and sausages. I cannot even…
Here’s a little taste (hehe) of what the food and drink you can grab on the go in Crimea. Not pictured — all the draft beer, wine and kvas (traditional Russian bread-based soft drink) sold by the glass at small stands all throughout town and along the beach. All the cold beer you want, all…
Every time I travel I expect to eat or drink at least one thing that blows me away, changes my whole food paradign, and/or becomes forever associated with that place or experience. Recently, in Florida, it was this cocktail and this dish. Before that it was salmon cream soup in Saint Petersburg and Hellboy pizza…
My Crimean vacation wasn’t all rosé and roses. Let us dispense with the unpleasantries first. 1. Rain Nobody loves rain more than I do. It’s cozy. It’s romantic. It’s beautiful. But when rain takes over half of your summer vacation, it becomes a pain in the ass. In Crimea a day of heavy rain meant…
I didn’t really know what to expect. I had been fishing before – pike fishing in the forest streams near Moscow and deep-sea fishing for 8-lbs somethings in the Atlantic. But what would the Black Sea bring? Whatever it was that I was not expecting, this was… something else. Left and right tiny silver creatures…
Port. Home. Safe haven. Comfort and protection from the Forces of Nature. Sounds about right. Port pretty much saved my life in Crimea because… RAIN AGAIN I know I mentioned this before, but let me expound on the subject a bit. A month before I came to Crimea everyone was freaking out because the region…
Of all of Crimea’s palaces, the one that belonged to Count Vorontsov – the hero of Napoleonic wars and later the governor-general of Crimea – is probably the most peculiar and magnificent. I say “probably” because it’s the only major Yalta / Alupka palace that I got to visit, as my pre-purchased excursions to Massandra…
Breathtaking. That is the only word to describe the Eminé-Bayir-Hasar caves located at the bottom of Chatyr-Dag (“Tent Mountain”) plateau that is part of Crimea’s main mountain range. The name itself is a preview of things to come – translated from Turkic it means “a vortex on the side of a mountain near an oak…
Apparently, what’s considered extreme travel everywhere else is just a casual stroll in the park for Crimea’s tour guides and the unsuspecting Russians/Ukrainians they manage to lure in. My two guide-assisted ascents to mountain waterfalls – on the same day, no less! – made parts of my solo hike to Czar’s Beach seem positively tame…
Home & Away 