First the whole world followed the unrest in Kiev. Now the eyes of the world are on the Crimean peninsula and the city of Sevastopol. Crimea is an autonomous republic in Ukraine, where a majority of the population speaks Russian. It voted in favour of Viktor Yanukovych in the 2010 elections and now many Crimeans believe he was the victim of a coup d'état.
"A spark can cause war"
Yesterday, 2000 Russian soldiers reportedly landed at an airbase outside Sevastopol. "Now a spark can cause war", an expert tells DN, and the whole world is holding its breath. Read more about the crisis at Aftonbladet and DN.
We visited the Crimean peninsula in 2008
We visited the Crimean peninsula in the summer of 2008, when we tried a sun and sea holiday on the Black Sea. We flew to Odessa, took a train to Simferopol and from there a bus to Yalta on the coast. We remember Crimean peninsula as a mountainous and beautiful peninsula, where the air was fresh and full of holiday spirit.
The women were fashionably dressed in hats and high heels and the men sat back in the bars with their big bellies in the air. The exotic feeling was one of blending in visually but struggling to be understood.
We got by on slow simplified English combined with basic Russian phrases. Now we, like the rest of the world, are holding our breath. Here are some pictures from our trip in Crimea.
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Marina says:
Ugh yes, it's scary when you realise how many places are burning and the question is how long it will take before it becomes more than that...
01 March 2014 - 9:47
Deciree says:
It looks great:) But it is so boring when it is like this. Why should people fight? Imagine if everyone was happy. What a nice world we would have then:-))
01 March 2014 - 12:22
BP says:
Well, we have been following the situation via the BBC and now there are 6,000 soldiers there.
I think it's great that you show "normal" holiday pictures from Ukraine for us to see what it looked like.
All pictures - except the tourist boat - are very reminiscent of Sopot and Jurmala/Majori - the same "Russian" piece - even the train.
01 March 2014 - 15:53
Agneta says:
Yes, it is unfortunate that developments there are so tense. The next few days will probably be decisive and we can only cross our fingers and hope that war is avoided.
Looks like a nice place for a holiday
01 March 2014 - 18:34
admin says:
Marina, we are following developments with concern...
Deciree, it may not be easy to be satisfied if you experience injustice. But why do leaders who already have so much have to have more... one wonders?
BP, we have so many nice memories from Ukraine, so it's sad that you only see pictures of soldiers now... Of course there are some similarities with other Eastern countries. For example, you can see people standing up and sunbathing.
😉
Agneta, yes, it is unsettled these days, and you wonder what is happening. Ukraine is (usually) a great country to holiday in!
02 March 2014 - 16:30