To The Crimea:
Well, tomorrow our vacation officially begins. We will leave the office at 4pm and head to the train station in Kiev. The train departs at 5:50pm and we will arrive in Crimea at 8:50am the next morning (a 15-hour journey). Crimea's southern coast is along the Black Sea - which is pretty cool - never really expected to see the Black Sea.
Anya says that Crimea is one of the most beautiful places in the Ukraine... that it has wonderful landscapes and and tremendous historical significance. She asked how you would say it was a place within the blood of every Ukrainian and Russian - - I think you would say it just like that. She has been vacationing there since before she was born.
One historical fact - the Crimean war was fought there between 1853 and 1856 [Wikipedia]. In October of 1854 was the Battle of Balaclava. As the child of an extreme Errol Flynn fan - I was raised watching his movies. My cousins will remember ' The Charge of the Light Brigade'... Based on a true story, but completely historically inaccurate (as a movie) - Errol Flynn rides to his death during this very battle. A safe bet would be that Flynn himself never set foot where the actual battle took place -- but I will, and very soon.
Crimea was also the home of the Yalta Conference.
"The Yalta Conference, sometimes called the Crimea Conference and codenamed the Argonaut Conference, was the February 4–11, 1945 wartime meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union—President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and General Secretary Joseph Stalin, respectively—for the purpose of discussing Europe's postwar reorganization." [Wikipedia]
Considering FDR is probably my favorite president ever (him and Abe Lincoln) - I'm pretty excited about this.
Ok, it is getting late here now... and we still have a little 'glintvein' (warm-spiced wine) to drink. So, tomorrow we leave. I have a feeling I won't be blogging for a good chunk of days... probably not until early/mid next week. But, please make sure to scroll down for a little taste of Crimea. Also, I should mention that we are meeting Anya's brother (Jeka) and sister-in-law (Inga) in Crimea -- we are all excited for this vacation.
Below you can get an idea of where I am - and where I am going.
Charge of the Light Brigade, by: Alfred, Lord Tennyson
... Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse & hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!
... Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse & hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!
