Ukraine, 7.10.-8.10.2010

Although we had initially intended to stay in the Ukraine a bit longer we soon decided that we would merely drive through. After all it was already October and the weather did not allow for a lot of outdoor fun anymore. Besides the first stretch of the Ukraine we went through was heavily industrialised and to get to the without a doubt beautiful Carpathian mountains would have meant a considerable detour which we were hesitant about. Kiew sounded promising but same as Moscow we would have preferred to visit these cities by themselves on separate trips and we did not feel like visiting big cities at the time.

The Ukraine was a mixed bag, and we did not enjoy it as much as I had hoped and in many ways it was a step down from the conditions in Russia. Entering the country in itself proved to be the first adventure and this was the only time ever that we had to pay an ‘extra fee’. Border procedures can be tiring and usually involve several stations: 1) Hand in papers for a first check to be allowed to enter the actual border compound; 2a) Do the immigration bit, optional: 2b) medical check; 3) Do the customs bit 4) When leaving compound hand in pieces of paper you have been given while doing 2) & 3). We thought we were lucky because apparently we had picked a border crossing which was not too busy. However, when Holger approached the first border point the following conversation allegedly happened:

Guard: You want to Ukraine quick?

Holger: Yes, only two days for Ukraine…

Guard: No, I mean QUICK!!!

Holger: ???

Guard (gesturing money counting): QUICK!?!

Holger shifting over 10 USD: ‘Ah, quick!’

Guard: You pay, you quick Ukraine: Two minutes!

Guard (gesturing more)…

In the end Holger payed 30USD ‘Extra Fee’ as apparently there were three people involved. In the end it took longer than 2 minutes because the border guards were in general confused (again I’d have to say) that two Germans would drive with an Australian car. We also had a feeling they were trying to get more money from us because suddenly one passport seemed to have gone missing but because their English was just as bad as our Ukrainian we were stubborn and after a couple of minutes the passport appeared and they let us go. We still don’t have a clue whether the 30 dollars sped anything up but at least there it was: Our bribe story ;o) Aaprt from the first 30 minutes, the Ukrainian people we met were again really helpful and nice. Even the policemen we met were cheery fellows, despite the horrible stories we had heard. To be honest, after the episode at the border we had expected to be pulled over regularly for money which had also curbed our enthusiasm for the Ukraine but thankfully this never happened.

In the two days that followed we had some fab Bortsch for breakfast...

...took the wrong turn several times, again came across a McDonalds (the last until Germany), slept in some really horrible beds where the linen had not been changed in a while but hey, it was half price because we only stayed 12 hours! We had some fantastic mushroom-omelette in a bee-style cafeteria we could just not drive by … The roads were pretty horrible and the landscapes and places we drove through ranged form heavy industry zones to the smallest little farming villages...

... and the living conditions seemed to be in general rather poor. In the end we were glad when we approached the Polish border but also sad that we did not get to see more nice sides of Ukraine – well, we have to go there again in summer, I reckon :o)