Feodosia, July 2010
This year, as in the past, my vacation turned out to be in the “solo” format. There was no desire to go abroad - after all, there are so many wonderful places in Ukraine! I realized that I missed the Crimea and began to look for a city where direct trains from Kyiv would go (so as not to change in Simferopol in the heat with a suitcase). After some deliberation, Theodosius was chosen. I was there as a child, so I remembered something.
For a long time I surfed the Internet in search of a suitable hotel - so that the price was not exorbitant, but at the same time there was a normal level of comfort and not far from the sea. I found several options, called somewhere... In the end, I booked a single room at the Helena Hotel (I’ll tell you more about it below). I was ready to send an advance payment, thinking that there were probably not enough places during the season, but they told me: “No need, pay on the spot. ” It's nice to be trusted.
Two trains run from Kyiv to Feodosia - No. 205 and No. 214. I chose the 214th (tickets for it are somewhat more expensive) and I was not mistaken: after all, the conditions there are better than in ordinary Ukrainian trains, comfortable compartments with ladders for climbing to the second shelf, air conditioning, cleanliness and order, remarkably polite conductor. Of course, it was very hot - well, how else, summer after all. Surprisingly, I was lucky with the neighbors in the compartment: they were three middle-aged deaf-mute women (one of them, however, could speak a little and seemed to hear). They constantly communicated with each other, but since their conversation was silent, they did not interfere with me at all, and, most importantly, for obvious reasons, they did not impose their company on me! This is what always infuriates me on train trips - when neighbors in a compartment, strangers, try to drag me into a conversation at all costs. At the same time, all three ladies were polite and courteous. In a word, a dream, not a neighbor.
But in the neighboring compartments there were people with small children, somewhere from 2 to 5 years old. Throughout the whole day, this crowd (of 5-6 children) rushed around the car, screaming, stamping their feet, lying on the floor - and so from seven in the morning until ten in the evening... I am simply amazed at the behavior of the adults accompanying them. If you are already going on a long journey with a small child, then you need to take care of activities for him in advance so that he is not bored and does not interfere with others - take children's books, coloring books, quiet toys, board games and the like, organize what - a quiet game. But modern parents often do not care that their child, not knowing what to do with himself, violates someone's peace on an already difficult trip due to the heat.
Arriving in Feodosia, I wandered a little along the seaside streets in search of a hotel, simultaneously repelling the attacks of taxi drivers and housing agents. The hotel turned out to be a bright two-story building on Zemskaya - one of the pedestrian streets in the very center of the city, very close to the railway station, the art gallery of I. K. Aivazovsky, city beach. I was accommodated in a cozy, fairly spacious single room on the ground floor. The window has bars and blinds. The room has air conditioning, a refrigerator, an electric kettle, the minimum necessary set of dishes, a telephone, a TV, a bathroom with normally working plumbing and hot and cold water around the clock (the latter is the number one criterion for me in choosing a hotel). A comfortable wide bed, furniture, even a picture with a seascape on the wall - everything is chosen with taste, neatly and unobtrusively.
At the reception there are three administrators working in shifts. Taking this opportunity, I express my gratitude to all of them for their sincere and benevolent attitude - they are always ready to help, but at the same time they will not disturb them once again. Both the administrators and the security of the guests know by sight, so there have never been any stupid situations like “stop, who is coming”.
The hotel has no restaurant, no bar, no playground, no swimming pool. For me personally, this was a plus - there are no unpleasant kitchen odors, music until the morning, drunken vacationers and children's screams. Quiet and peaceful. There are no discos around, the railway, contrary to my expectations, was also not audible. In general, there were few vacationers in the hotel for all two weeks, and this pleased us. Only the conversations of passers-by outside the window could disturb me - but I did not pay attention to it. In general, I got the impression that Helena is not intended for family vacations, but rather for business travelers or tourists like me, for whom the best service is when they leave me alone : )
Theodosius herself makes an ambiguous impression. On the one hand, I really love the seaside cities, with their special air, saturated with breeze and the smell of flowers. Feodosia is a very ancient city. In the courtyard of the local museum of local lore (by the way, a charming place with a unique energy) you can see the remains of ancient buildings and sculptures. A wonderful art gallery, which exhibits works not only by Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, but also by other artists. I also really liked the Sea Garden (a small but beautiful and shady park), and a little further - a very, very old Armenian church and next to it - the grave of Aivazovsky and his wife, and around - coniferous trees, flowers and silence... An interesting fountain Aivazovsky, and the fountain-monument to the "Good Genius" generally touched almost to tears. The name of the famous marine painter sounds everywhere, and this is good news - people are not indifferent to their cultural heritage.
But on the other hand, it was a pity in places to observe poverty and some kind of neglect of the city: bad roads, buildings that had not been renovated for a long time, ugly buildings of still Soviet sanatoriums, lack of normal public transport. It's a shame.
Parallel to the waterfront with its entertainment is a long alley selling all kinds of souvenirs and paintings by local artists. There everyone can find something interesting for themselves. I usually bring herbal teas, juniper products, oils, ceramics, dry lavender, and wines from Crimea - but more on them below.
Once I went for the whole day on an interesting excursion to the Sudak fortress and the winery. We were driven through the Feodosia region, along a mountain serpentine among vineyards. Along the way, the guide told a lot and interestingly about the history of Feodosia, about famous people who lived here at different times: Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, Maximilian Voloshin, Prince Golitsyn and other historical figures.
Then we arrived in Sudak. We examined the famous, well-preserved Genoese fortress of the 14th century from the outside, then went down to the pier and boarded the boat. The walk along the bays of the New World - Blue, Green and Blue - was wonderful. We saw a juniper grove growing right in the sloping rocks above the water (once again I was amazed at the power of plant life), the Golitsyn path, which once led through the mountains to the wine cellars carved into the rocks of Prince Golitsyn, the owner of several estates in the Crimea and the famous winemaker . In the Blue Bay, the boat made a stop for swimming in the open sea. I also decided to do this for the first time in my life, after putting on a life jacket (without it I would never have dared to go overboard! )
After a boat trip, we were taken to a winery, which, it turns out, is the first of the enterprises of the Massandra association. The tour was conducted by a lady who had worked for many years at a wine factory, who knew and loved her job well. We were shown the wine cellars where barrels of wine are stored, the Madeira area, where Madeira - “ladies’ cognac” is being prepared in the sun for five years, we were told about the technology of making wines, about the history of the construction of the plant and winemaking in general in the Crimea. Once again I felt proud for my country, for the fact that we managed to keep Crimea, this treasury, which never ceases to amaze me with every visit.
The next stop on the tour was a wine tasting. We went into a wonderful bright hall, stylized as ancient Greece. On the walls were images of Greek gods and sayings of poets and philosophers about wine. The walls and furniture are white with gilding. I expected the tasting wine to be served in plastic glasses and was pleasantly surprised to see an elegant glass tray in front of me with eight glasses, each filled with a little wine. The tasting turned out to be incredibly interesting, since the guide Irina Ivanovna spoke a lot and fascinatingly about each of the wines, quoting from poetry on the topic. At the end, I got a little drunk. The wines that I tried were strikingly different from those that we usually buy in Kyiv. I think that from now on I will choose wines for the holidays and as gifts more carefully, I will not save money and will try to purchase a truly natural product.
After the tasting, all the tourists visited the company store at the winery. Many bought several liters of wine and cognac. After thinking, I opted for one of the most expensive muscats (for the birthday of a loved one in September) and two types of dessert wines on tap.
The road back also brought pleasure - I admired the views from the window, although I was already overcome by drowsiness. The impression of the trip was wonderful.
There are several beaches in Feodosia. The closest to my hotel was the first city or "Kameshki" - long, pebbly. I went to see it in the evenings because it's not far away, although I actually can't stand pebbles. The second city is a little further, a mixture of pebbles and sand, I didn’t like it there, it’s crowded. Sandy beaches were far from the city center, I had to take a minibus to get to them. Driving around the city, even at an early hour, is very difficult: minibuses are packed to capacity, extreme heat and stuffiness, citizens who have lost their patience constantly swear... But it's all worth enduring for the sake of a wonderful beach with clear water and coarse shell sand. The beach "Kilometer 117" is especially good, it is already outside the city, there is clear water and wonderful golden sand. There are fewer people there than on city beaches, and mostly they come in their own cars. There is also the beach "Pearl" (it is also called for some reason "40 robbers"), it is located in the city, the "Plyazhnaya" stop, not far from the bus station. Of course, there were a lot of people on the city beaches - after all, the peak of the season. I came to the beach until seven in the morning, and at ten I was already leaving - it was getting hot and crowded. The middle of the day is incredibly hot, you need to hide either in an air-conditioned room or in the shade of a park. For the second time that day, she went to the sea by six o'clock in the evening. I think my body is grateful to me for such a regime - I have never burned in the sun, I have not overheated. The sea of optimal depth is not like “do not go beyond the buoys” : ), but not an abyss either. The water is quite clean, the beaches themselves are also cleaned. Many attractions, from a trampoline for children and karaoke, to parasailing behind a boat and taking pictures in stage costumes. In my opinion, the embankment is too noisy, but people seemed to like it. On the beaches you can rent plastic sun loungers (30-40 UAH/day), stationary umbrellas (15 UAH/day), in some places a beach shower (5 UAH), luggage storage (10 UAH/day), changing cabins (fortunately , so far free).
A little about nutrition. There are many canteens in Feodosia (they are called canteens, although the name “bistro” has already become familiar to us). They are popular with vacationers. I was once only in one of them, "Greenwich" - in general, not bad. Although, probably, in order to give an objective assessment, it was necessary to visit several establishments and repeatedly - but I did not have such a goal. In the summer I eat mostly light food, so I bought food at the cooperative market - vegetables, fruits, cheese. Prices are slightly lower than in Kiev. Many grocery stores have culinary departments, several times I bought ready-made meals by weight there - the quality is normal. Lots of stalls with fresh pastries. Prices fluctuate: the closer to the center, the more expensive, but not significantly. Shrimps, mussels, smoked fish are sold near the beach - I love all this very much, but I didn’t dare to buy it - it’s dangerous to eat seafood stored without a refrigerator. Of the supermarkets, there is only ATB, and, unlike Kiev, it is quite good, it works around the clock.
A few words about the service and attitude of people. Tourists often complain that, they say, “terrible” service in Crimea. I share my personal experience: neither this time in all two weeks, nor in my previous visits to the Crimea (in different years to different resorts), thank God, I did not encounter anything “terrible”. No one was rude to me, did not deceive, I never came across low-quality products or goods. Very satisfied with living conditions. The sea is always beautiful, even if there are a lot of people around. Prices are different, you can always find something that will suit you. If there is anything to complain about in the resorts, it is the behavior of fellow vacationers. But, again, it cannot be deserted at the height of the season at a seaside resort! And the Crimeans themselves are mostly wonderful people, easy to communicate with, with humor and dignity. Their behavior does not contain the message “What do you want? ”, but there is “Make yourself at home, but do not forget that you are visiting! ”. I suspect that it is just the latter that angers some of those who are dissatisfied with the rest in their native open spaces. There are comrades who are sure that as soon as they come somewhere to rest, the entire local population should automatically become their personal servants, bow their heads, smile obsequiously and fulfill the most stupid whims. Fortunately, I am not one of those, so I did not skimp on politeness and a friendly attitude towards sellers in shops and on the market, guides, hotel employees - and they always answered me the same. Crimea is a good place for people who understand that the quality of their vacation depends only on themselves, on their willingness to pay the appropriate money for decent quality, and, of course, the main thing - a positive attitude.
