Trip to Belarus for soccer

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The Zaporizhzhya-Kiev train leaves the main railway station, and I load into one of the parlor cars. I am going on another trip, this time to the Republic of Belarus, to a soccer match between Belarus and Ukraine as part of the selection for the 2016 World Cup.

I arrive in Kiev very early. I want to pass some time, so I go to Syrets station, where I find Syrets Arboretum and walk around it for a while. The weather is getting better, the sun is getting hotter.

I go to the center, where I eat in a pusataya hut, and then, to the bus to Chernihiv. However, I do something incredibly – amazingly stupid and get the wrong branch. I get off at Kharkovskaya. I can get to the station I need by bus and it takes about 40 minutes more. These 40 minutes will still play their role.

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Belovezhskaya Pushcha – unique remnants of prehistoric forests

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Belovezhskaya Pushcha is one of the main sights of the Republic of Belarus. It is well known not only in the territory of the former USSR countries, but also all over the world.

This primeval forest, miraculously preserved to this day, with an area of more than 161 thousand hectares, occupies part of the territories of Poland and Belarus. In this article I will tell you more about this wonderful place.

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Pylyshenko’s home zoo or how I looked for lions in the village

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The situation is quite interesting. An acquaintance came to visit me, and we went to Vasilievka. This is Zaporozhye region, Ukraine. And here we are walking with her through the streets of this town, or rather already judging by the scenery – outside the city. The phone rings. A friend picks up the phone and says: “Sorry, I can’t talk. It’s cold here. I’m near Zaporozhye, we’re looking for lions. Yes, they are around here somewhere.” I guess you could think we were out of our minds, but….. We actually knew exactly where we were going! We were going to the Pylyshenko family home zoo!

The city of Vasilievka continues to open its secrets for tourists. I once wrote about Popov’s castle, which is a must-see for everyone who visits Zaporizhzhya. At the other end of Vasilievka town there is a zoo where you can see famous lions, tigers, bears. And even a man who lived in the same cage with the lions!

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Nikitsky Botanical Garden in Crimea

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Because Crimea has been on the front pages of most newspapers and news sites for several years now, I wanted to put aside this silly politics, hatred and animosity. I just wanted to remember what a wonderful place this is! So that this marvelous peninsula could be associated only with positive things again!

I have been to Crimea twice, as a young green kid, with my parents. But this did not make my impressions worse. I remember a lot of things and I am pleased to recall those warm and sunny days. I got all these photos and prepared a series of reports about Crimea! And I will not tolerate any hatred and anger in the comments, which I warn you about at once!

In this article I will talk about Nikitsky Botanical Garden (and no idea why everyone calls it Nikitinsky). All photos are old and were taken on my very first soapbox back in 2008, so for the quality please do not swear =)

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Albanian girls in photos

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Albanian girls are beautiful. No, of course, it is in Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, and Belarus that you find the greatest number of beauties. But on the Balkan Peninsula you quickly get used to rather stiff faces of Balkan girls with sharp cheekbones. And then you get to Albania! A country ruled by the toughest tyrant in Europe. Which only 20 years ago was able to breathe more or less calmly from the oppression of the rigid hand of socialists. And you see, the girls here are delicious.

It is worth noting that despite the very good natural data, here it is difficult to meet a woman painted like an Indian, on which it is impossible to understand – is it a night moth or just overdone with makeup lady? That’s how, how do they do it? Almost complete absence of makeup on the face, fashionable and beautiful clothes, as if with a needle, but absolutely not provocative … No disgusting “leopards” and panties that can be seen from the jeans. There is something to learn from these beauties!

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Mezhyhirya in March

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I have already shown you the residence of the former President of Ukraine, who fled the country after the revolution, from the inside. All the luxury, chandeliers worth millions of euros and closets the size of a Khrushchevka apartment – all this was already there. However, I forgot to show the territory itself, which according to the documents was a children’s health resort.

I was here in March (I came to the Verkhovna Rada for a meeting), so do not expect any special beauties. You should definitely come back here in the summertime and ride around the area on a bicycle. However, the overall picture can be appreciated.

Getting to Mezhyhirya is not difficult, especially if you have your own transportation. I, as you may already remember, went by regular bus. But it is only 20 – 30 minutes drive. At the entrance I buy a ticket – 20 hryvnias. And I go inside, behind the fence, which recently seemed impregnable (even air defense groups were located on the territory to protect from air attacks).

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Train Belgrade – Bar. One of the most beautiful and dangerous railway routes in the world

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One of the most scenic and incredible rail routes on the Balkan Peninsula. The train winds its way through the mountains from Serbia to Montenegro, offering its passengers breathtaking scenery.

I am not a particular fan of railway transportation. When I have to travel by rail across Ukraine, even at the stage of buying tickets through the Ukrzaliznytsia website, I start to “spit” at the thought that I will have to spend 8, 10, or even 24 hours doing nothing, in a stuffy carriage, watching my neighbors unpack another smoked chicken or eat boiled eggs. However, this route won my heart back when I first read about it in some LiveJournal community dedicated to traveling. And when I was in Serbia, I couldn’t refuse to drive along it.

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Krakow is for the restless. Day five. Old Town

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Once again, I wake up bright and early. And the reason for this is not even the change of time zones (in Poland the time is an hour behind the Ukrainian time). At home I can sleep until 11. No, for some reason it’s always like that when traveling. You’re exhausted, fall asleep “without back legs”, and then you just wake up and go about your business.

Went out to the living room with my laptop, decided to get a little work done, checked the comments on the blog at the same time. A lot of new ones, modeled them, but it’s hard to answer – the keyboard on the laptop works every once in a while. I booked a hostel for the night for 30 zloty.

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Mostar. The City of a Thousand and One Bridges

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Mostar is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A city of amazing destiny. It is not for nothing that they say: “As you name the boat, so shall it sail”. This name was first mentioned back in 1468 in the documents of the Ottoman Empire. And hundreds of years later it continues to bear this name. And it became famous thanks to one of its bridges. Probably everyone who has seen pictures of the Balkan conflict has seen its photo.

Here, in this small and cozy town, I spent most of my time out of all the time I lived in Bosnia in 2013. Looking through these photos makes me want more than ever to be back on these narrow, ancient cobblestone streets. To enjoy the rushing streams of rivers that cross the city (here they were not put underground like in many other countries). Let me share some memories with you too. It was a hot March. Despite a slight cold, we went for a walk around Mostar…..

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Electronic visa to India – how to get it online in 2024

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As many of you may have already heard, the Indian authorities have allowed citizens of more than a hundred countries to obtain a visa online. All you need to do is fill in the application form, pay for the visa and print out the invitation that you receive in the mail.

On arrival in India, on the basis of this invitation, you will get a visa and a stamp in your passport. All this is official, without the services of intermediaries and extra payments to cunning travel agencies. This is an incredibly convenient option that will save Russians, Ukrainians and other tourists from having to go to the Indian Embassy to get another visa.

But it is worth noting one single restriction! This visa is valid only if you arrive in the country through an international airport (i.e. by airplane). In all other cases, you need to apply to the embassy in advance, where you can apply for a regular visa.

In this article, I will discuss how to get an e-visa to India using a clear example, with an illustration and even in video format. I hope you will understand, although if you still have any questions, I will be happy to answer them in the comments.

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