WHEN I TORTURED A BAD DREAM
Kherson at the height of summer is asphalt roads melting from the heat and red-hot stone labyrinths of city blocks. Of course, the locals are accustomed to such a climate. But visitors are looking for salvation.
Many people go to the sea. Others prefer to explore the surroundings. Where exactly to go is a matter of taste.
It's easier for motorists. Often interesting objects are found right on the way. For example, on the bypass road there is an institution under such an original name "Kurin". Here, as they say, there is where to eat and sleep. The restaurant sits comfortably on a hillock. Visible from afar. You won't miss. The cozy rooms are decorated in a “folk” style. Heavy wooden tables and chairs. Original decorations on the walls. At the heart of the menu, again, national cuisine.
And if you are thirsty, then the owner has a treasured cellar with life-giving drinks. Previously it was just a hobby. But, with a change in legislation, it has grown into a good business. Now the wines are produced under their own brand name "Kurin".
And they are sold not only in the restaurant. Not so long ago, two branded stores opened in Kherson. Owner Nikolai Khalupenko says, - Our dessert wines are not inferior in quality to well-known Crimean brands. For example, we have a wine that reproduces the taste of the famous Red Stone White Muscat.
And the First Ukrainian family winery also produces dry red wine Merlot Kurin, Cabernet Kurin, Saperavi Kurin, semi-dry white and red table wine, fortified dessert Muscat Ottonel Kurin, fortified dessert Muscat steppe Kurin, fortified dessert white Irshai Oliver Kurin, fortified dessert red type Cahors Cossack Kurin, fortified liquor white Muscat Sofia Kurin, fortified strong white vermouth Stepanovy farms Kurin, fortified strong pink vermouth Stepanovy farms Kurin. Decent collection.
Those who are very tired from the road or from the tasting are invited to rest in comfortable cottages. They stand among fruit trees. And the protection is carried by such nice little birds, vigilantly looking from their two-meter height at the surroundings. Sleep well, dear guests!
If you go on the other side of Kherson, then after just an hour - an hour and a half you can get to the area on the banks of the Dnieper-Bug estuary called the Kherson mountains. And they really are here. Steep clay banks rise to a height of thirty to forty meters. The deep ravines of the gorge conceal hidden secrets in their depths. And from above on the plateau, the smells of steppe grasses and trees overcome.
In ancient times, the cities of the Greeks and Romans stood on these steeps. And much earlier, settlements of the Proto-Slavic tribes stood before them. Already in the modern period, among the thickets of the silver sucker, the houses of the local boarding house could be seen. And now it's time for another revival.
It is worth noting that high banks are found along the entire lower reaches of the Dnieper. And one of these places is located on the outskirts of the village of Dneprovskoe, Belozersky district. At first glance, it becomes clear that they have come here for a long time. Massive wooden log cabins of the houses of the fishing and recreation complex “Delta of the Dnieper” seem to grow out of the ground itself. And around them is a well-groomed green lawn. Our own fleet of boats allows fishing enthusiasts to reach the most remote places. Well, and if you caught something special, then it’s not a sin to boast in front of the rest. For this, the hosts even created a special board of records.
The name itself says for whom this cozy corner was created. For those who fish and for those who talk about fish. The latter seem to predominate. Why, one asks, a huge new restaurant was built. In the form of a two-story stylized paddle steamer standing on the river bank.
And another highlight is the beautiful twenty-five-meter pool. It is located directly under the walls of the residential building. Probably for those who are too lazy to walk the extra thirty meters to the river. Or for those who like to lie in sun loungers near the water. Definitely with a glass of some exotic drink and obligatory conversations about fishing.
After rest, we are on the road again. Solemn passage through the outskirts of Kherson and after a while the road leads to the Antonovsky bridge. Strange, but it was built in 1985 at the widest point of the Dnieper. Its main task is to connect Kherson with its satellite city Oleshki. The total length from the railway line that goes to the Crimea and Oleshky is 10.7 km. Length across the Dnieper - 1330 m, about 330 m more - across the Konka River.
On the left bank of the Dnieper is the regional center Oleshki. I must say that people have lived here for a long time. Back in the 10th century, on the site of the previously existing ancient Greek colonies, a settlement arose, which was founded by ancient Russian warriors and merchants who traded along the Dnieper with Byzantium. However, in 1159 it was attacked and destroyed by Berladniks, semi-nomadic marginal vagrants, who became the prototype of the Cossacks of a later time.
In 1711, after the defeat of the Chertomlyk Sich, the Cossacks came to these places. The remnants of the Zaporizhzhya army, led by their ataman Yakim Bogush, hastily putting their goods and surviving weapons on oak trees with secret eriks and floods went down the Dnieper to Turkish lands, where they settled near the tract Alyoshek and the Kardashinsky estuary. True, they did not live long - until 1728. From 1802 to 1920, Alyoshki was the center of the Dnieper district of the Tavria province
Now, the city of Oleshki stands at the crossroads. The road leads straight to the Crimea, to the left - to Melitopol, to the right - to the Black Sea resorts of the Kherson region.
Despite the weekend, the road to the Crimea is quite busy. However, a turn soon follows and the bus begins to wind between fields and numerous irrigation canals. Particularly impressive is the North Crimean. A real mighty river.
A little more and stop at the openwork metal gates. Forged figurines of animals and birds speak better than any plate about the purpose of this object. Biosphere Reserve. F. Falz-Fein "Askania-Nova" is probably one of the most visited and well-known places in Ukraine for tourists. In summer, tens of thousands of tourists come to this village lost in the steppe.
The protected area is divided into three parts - the zoo, the botanical garden and the steppe itself. The most interesting thing is a walk along the Bolshoy Chapel Pod. Deer and fallow deer retain their full independence. What a communication! The main thing here is to keep an eye on your rivals in the herd. Apparently they don't do it well. It's not for nothing that they have such luxurious branched horns.
Mighty buffaloes only look askance at this unnecessary fuss from their point of view. Of course, with a mass of under a ton, you can afford a lot. But a herd of saigas does not stay in one place for a minute. There are over two hundred of them here. Who does not believe can count. For reference: the speed developed by these artiodactyls reaches 70 km per hour.
But donkeys stand like stone idols in the middle of the steppe. Protect the territory. Whoever has the best will be lucky. After all, their ladies are very pretentious. But here at least there is freedom of choice. What can not be said in relation to the Przewalski's horses. To regulate their numbers, the herd had to be divided. According to the principle - boys to the left, girls - to the right. Not everyone likes it. After all, you really want to. And it happens that especially impatient people even jump over two-meter fences.
After the steppe run, you can calm down in the local zoo. Here everything is humbly and according to the schedule. But peacocks annoy with their cries. And why such a gift to poor birds?
The end follows.
