Weekend update (and beyond)

Saturday morning we had breakfast at 8 am and left the lovely hotel behind and heading out to the end of the road- Kerch (another place we hadn't visited yet in Crimea.) We had decided the night before to shorten our trip and return to Nikolipoli after doing a little sightseeing there, instead of staying overnight.






It took less than two hours to drive there, in spite of the long drive out of Feodosia, past beaches filling up with tourists and this miltary convoy that Garry had to pass along the way.











We missed the famous landmark- a monument to the Great Patriotic War (WWII)on the top of the highest hill in the city- signage for tourist attractions are had to find; although there are a few in both English and Russian in a few places; we didn't see any as we drove thorough the city. We did drive all the way out to the port where you can catch a ferry over to Russia. Garry drove around and we checked out this WWII era memorial on the high hill over the town. There was a group of teenagers with maybe a teacher when we got there, and a cow just down the hill- you can see her in the photo looking toward the lighthouse.





Garry was hoping the see the site of the Turkish fort while we were up there; but no luck, so we started driving back to Kerch. As we rounded a curve there was a promising looking spot on a hill over the sea, and he turned off and followed a curvy road right along the sea, and as we rounded a curve, there it was!









It had had something built in the center of it at some (20th century)time, but like Friday's Greek ruins, no entry fee was needed, so we got out and climbed up the part by the road. A Ukrainian couple were taking pictures up there, and a very friendly half-grown cat ( Jonah would have liked the kitten, both boys would have liked the fort.)









Since we hoped to find the famous oblidisk yet, we continued back to the city, making a stop for gas along the way. Here's the only marker, attched to the wall, it is a brass plaque, I am not sure when they were put up, but they are on many historic sites.











It seemed everything was easier to spot heading west because we found the famous site; spotting it and driving close and finding a nearby parking spot. We walked thorugh a nicely-kept park at the bottom of the 431 steps up the hill.








We took pictures with the griffins that were a short ways up; they seemed very popular for picture posing. Griffins are the symbol of the city of Kerch, there were also some on a bridge as we entered the city.





You had to watch your step as you went up; some of the cement steps are crumbling, a few railings are gone, and the planters seem to be collecting beer bottles, rather than flowers. Halfway up we crossed a small roadway, there were homes along it, and when we climbed to the top (I admit to pausing to take photos a couple times, when I was out of breath) we discovered that you could drive up there! Of course we would have never found the road to take up, and exercise is good for you!













Kersh was named one of the 13 hero cities of the USSR in the Great Patrotic War, which is why this memorial was built there (it was also a closed city in Soviet days.) It is a little disappointing to see the state the stairs are in although the memorial is well-kept. Garry is standing by one of the stars for one of the cities- Odessa, Stanlingrad, Stevastopol, Moscow, Leningrad, and others.












We were puzzled by the blue and white structure higher up, (behind Garry in the photo) but we walked over and realized it was supposed to be the eternal flame we had read about. We realized we had seen a small flame as part of the lovely park below the stairs, I guess they decided to move it to an easier place.
















We also found the Greek ruins just over the hill, as you can see. Walking down the stairs was easier than going up, and we started driving back around noon.




We drove past some fields on fire before we got back to Feodosia, and took a small detour on a more scenic road, but made good time, getting home before dark. We stopped a bought a bag of the famous red crimean onions, which are being used for salads this week. Unfortunately by the time we got back to Zaporosia, I had told Garry we didn't need to stop at Mc Donalds, since my stomach was upset. In fact I was up several times that night, throwing up and spent Sunday in bed. Even Garry was feeling a little unwell Sunday, so he said we had food poisoning, but maybe it was a flu (the only meal I ate Saturday was breakfast).

















By Monday I was feeling more like myself, I even cooked dinner and picked up apples and made cake and applesauce. I took some pictures around the farmyard which I will put in the next post.