On Tuesday afternoon I go to the trainstation, and go into the train from Moscow to Simferopol (Crimea). We go through Ukraine, stopping in Charkov and 2 other stations. Before leaving Belgorod, we get Russian passport and customs control. There are no problems. After 1,5 hours we arrive in Charkov, and here the Ukrainians control everything again. Passport is no problem, but customs want to inspect my netbook computer, looking for terroristic information and other forbidden files. There are only 2 people in our whole wagon (intended for 54 passengers) and they spend half an hour checking my netbook. When they see the armwrestling photo’s, one of the guys wants to armwrestle me. He is proud that he wins. I am totally not interested in a serious match with this guy in this situation. I am surprised and disappointed by this totally unprofessional behaviour of Ukrainian customs.

After a night in the train we get the whole procedure in the other direction. The Ukrainians do not let the train go. We have to wait an extra hour after all the controls are finished. And I hear that we are lucky, as some trains have stood for 5 extra hours at the border. It seems that the Ukrainian authorities are just teasing passengers. I have only once in my life seen bad behaviour like this. The Russians on their side, half an hour later, are very correct. When the man of the passportcontrol sees my Dutch passport, he asks “Do you speak Russian, sir?” When I answer “some Russian” the whole conversation goes in English. Not earlier during this trip I met someone of the officials of customs who spoke so good and polite English.

We arrive at Simferopol in the morning. It is hot already, and I take a bit of time to feel the atmosphere. Crimea has switched sides between Turkey (Ottoman empire) and Russia several times. So the atmosphere is not only Russian, but also quite southern. That you feel already in Simferopol.

I take the longest trolleybusline in the world, from Simferopol to Yalta, 85 km. Even the seats in the trolleybus are numbered, and you get a ticket with the number of your seat. The bus takes more than 3 hours for the trip, going over the pass in the mountains which separate Simferopol and Yalta.

With some trouble I find my hotel and get my room. A quite nice room with airconditioning (which is no luxury in this climate). It is the house of people, who have built a few extra rooms to rent them. The terrace has a great view over the city and the mountains.

During my 3 days in Yalta I enjoy the town with all its different cultural influences, send some postcards (also to myself, I want to have a postcard with a mark Yalta and Russian stamps on it) and take the time for 2 excursions. One of them goes with a cable-car to one of the highest peaks near Yalta. Afterwards we climb another 150 meters, and we have a magnificent view over the mountains, Yalta and the sea. The other excursion visits some of the most famous palaces along the coast. One of them is Livadiiski Palace, where the Conference of Yalta 1945 is held. Here Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill divided the world as it would be after the second World War. We do not go into the palace, but later I go back on my own, and I visit the rooms where the treaty was negotiated and signed. Very impressive to stand in precisely these rooms where history was written which would decide about the world political system for the next 70 years. Also I go on a boat trip to see something of the sea and the coast. But the most interesting is that we see wild dolphins swimming in the sea. It is not announced that this would be possible, but of course everybody is excited, including me. I have never seen dolphins in the wild.

Yalta is quite a touristic place, but even at this moment, when it should be high season, it is too quiet. I like it as it is, but for the people who live from tourism, it is too thin. They really need more tourists. The Russians do not come yet in big numbers as transport is still a problem. They are really scared to travel by train through Ukraine and have 4 times border one way, and flights are not yet fully operational. The Ukrainians are not really enthusiastic anymore as Crimea is Russian territory now, and they also have trouble with the bordercrossings by train, and there are no planes from Ukraine to Crimea. And the western cruiseships have forgotten Crimea totally now.

My experience is that the situation is totally quiet and stable. There is less police control than in other places in Russia or in Ukraine, and from the army I have seen no trace at all.

After 3 days in Yalta (much too short I realize), I change to Feodosiya. It takes more than 4 hours by bus for the 180 km. When I arrive in Feodosiya, I find out that the busstation is quite far from the centre where my hotel is. I get already more experience in negotiating, and get a better price for the taxi than earlier. The man is glad he has another job to do. In Feodosiya I visit the museum of Aivazovsky. He is one of the very famous Russian painters, who lived from 1817 till 1900, and who painted a vast amount of seascapes. He has lived a great part of his life in Feodosiya, and left his house and workplace as museum to the municipality. The museum is interesting, but in bad state and it does not have as many paintings as I had expected. But still I am happy to have seen the museum.

Yalta is more chique, and Feodosiya is more simple and shouting amusement. The whole coastal zone of Feodosiya is spoilt with cheap small shops for everything, including loads of fast food. Everywhere loud music. Yalta had some atmosphere, but the centre of Feodosiya is not very interesting.

The second day I go on an excursion to Novy Svet. We drive by bus along the coast, see the mountains more inland, go on boat trip and see the caves and coast from the seaside. Then we make a quite long walk along the coast. Great opportunities for photography. As usual on these excursions there are only Russian speaking people, and the big majority is women. Then we go to the museum of champagne. It belongs to the only officially recognized champagne factory of Crimea. We get a chance to taste the different types they make here. And of course we can buy something.

The third day I meet with Vasily and Janna, who wanted to give me accommodation in Feodosiya, but were away during my days here. They are just back and we have breakfast together. Not a continental breakfast as I wanted, not the Russian “kassja” (porridge), but pizza for them, and vegetable salad and “tort” (cake) for me. We have interesting talks about politics and the situation in Russia and Ukraine. They come from Transdnestria, which is a small piece of land between Moldava and Ukraine, with some Russian influence. They thought to have found the freedom in Ukraine, and now they are again under Russian influence. They are absolutely not happy with Russia, and give their opinion freely. But they are the only ones in Crimea who prefer the old situation. All the other people I talk to (in Yalta, Feodosiya and on the way), are very happy that they are under protection of big strong Russia. “Now we are sure of peace, and we know that we will not have a civil war with Ukrainian government like they have in Donetsk and Lugansk. We are saved from such horror” is the common opinion.

Vasily shows me the only working bankomats in the whole Crimea. All the bankomats are closed, except these few. I should have known this earlier, as I needed to have Russian money. Fortunately, I still had some cash Euro’s with me, which I could change at good rates in Yalta and in Feodosiya. Again this experience proves the necessity of enough cash money. Cheaper hotels and other accommodation want to be paid in cash, not by card. And also in most shops, cash is preferred or even the only way of payment. I did not know that the bankomats were a problem, otherwise I had brought extra cash roubles from Belgorod. But you cannot know everything.

In the end of the morning Vasily buys a Ukrainian SIM-card for me. In 1 minute it is organized. No passportcontrol and nothing. You buy them just on the corner of the street.

After a very interesting morning with Janna and Vasily we say goodbye. I hope to see them again somewhere in Europe, and talk more with them. I take photos of them on their mountainbikes, and go to my hotel to pick up my luggage. I have a busticket to Simferopol and a trainticket back to Belgorod. The trip back runs more smoothly then going to Crimea. We leave everywhere exactly on time, and there is no control of my luggage or netbook. I share the cabin with a young woman from Charkov, who assures me that in Charkov it is completely quiet. Just before our train leaves there is the train to Lugansk is leaving. And I have also seen busses departing and going to Donetsk. I am very surprised that from here you can travel so easily to these not really quiet areas, to say the least. Our trip by train runs smoothly, Russian customs and passport control in Belgorod lets me into Russia again, and I am back in Belgorod, after a trip to an extremely beautiful and interesting area. Crimea, I will be back for sure! I only do not know when. My multiple entry visa for Russia has been worth the effort. Otherwise I would not have been able to make this trip.

The last part of my trip to be published soon.

In the morning of 26th June we arrive exactly on time in Moscow. I take a taxi to my hotel, which is located between the train station of arrival (Leningradskaya) and the train station of departure the next day in the evening (Kurskaya). The train stations are quite close to another, and I have chosen this hotel so I do not have to carry my luggage very far. I manage to get a taxi from Leningradskaya to my hotel, but have to negotiate hard, and probably still pay much more than local people. The hotel complains that I am very early. Yes, I know, but I only want to store my luggage.

Then I go to Izmailovsky market, which is one of the biggest places for souvenirs. It is a kind of market, far far from the centre. I am just curious what it is and how it looks like. It is really like some kind of market, with only souvenirs. There should be much more attractions, but the souvenirmarket is most of all. I buy only a few little things, as I have already bought so much souvenirs. But here is the place to bargain and negotiate. People really want to sell their goods, and it is less touristic than in other places.

I go back to town and visit the factory shop of Tula samovars. I seriously planned to buy a new Russian samovar (tea kettle). They have them in different sizes. The one which I want to have is made of brass (“messing” in Dutch) and has a size of 7 litres. You can heat it both electrically and on wood (the traditional way of heating the water in a samovar). The thing is great, and I have the money, but I decide not to bring it with me. It is too big to transport it now, in combination with all the other luggage.

In the evening we have armwrestling training at the Moscow club. A new friend of mine from Moscow joins and  I get a chance to train with one of the heavier junior ladies who is preparing for the world championship in Lithuania in September. Artur, her trainer, is glad I want to train with her, after she has finished off her brother. He is so tired that he cannot continue. I manage to give her resistance till the end of the training. She is teasing me that I cannot beat her. Well, it is only training. And I tease her back: how often are you training? (3 times a week she answers). And do you know how often I am training? 3 times a year! Artur hears the conversation in Russian, and he says that’s a good remark. We will remember that one. After training, Artur takes me to the same café as earlier. He is in a hurry and I eat quickly. Afterwards his wife picks me up in their huge car, and they bring me to the metro. Artur is glad I was at the club again.

In the night I am bad again, and the next day I am feeling very weak. My stomach does not appreciate yesterday evening’s food. The breakfast of rice with boiled vegetables is not for me, I only take the tea. I had planned to meet with a Czech friend of mine in the late afternoon and evening, but she has no time, so I have the whole day for myself. I visit the Kremlin, which is quite impressive. Security control before you can enter is massive, and not very efficient. This is the heart of the Russian government power. But at the same time one of the biggest tourist attractions of Moscow.

I am a little bit disappointed, as there is not much more to see from the inside than 3 of the famous churches. But because they are so famous, it is crowded with tourists, and you do not have much time to enjoy them quietly and slowly. My disappointment probably is also partly caused by the cold weather (only about 12 degrees) and my own illness. Because I do not feel well, I do not like any food. In the afternoon I visit the Gorki park again (which is now abandoned, as it is week day and not good weather), and one of the famous bookshops of Moscow. Walking around the streets on your own and taking public transport gives me a little insight in how people are living. I sometimes can even understand the phonecalls which they are making.

I see that there is an interesting exhibition about landscapeplanning in the Netherlands at some architectural institute. Even though it is already past 6 pm, it is still open, and I manage to have a quick look. Different Dutch companies present the project which they have done in the Netherlands for town renovation and enlargement. Quite interesting to see this here in Russia.

I sit down in the café of a bookshop near to the National Library, and take my time to relax and write my travelreport. I now really have to fill my time till my train to Belgorod is leaving (11 pm).

The train turns out to be the direct train from Moscow to Simferopol (Crimea), which, (according to the schedule of the Russian Railways) is not operating at the moment. The windows of all the cabins are decorated with clear signs “Krim”. This train has to ride for 10 hours or more through Ukraine. This is not very diplomatic.

Tamila picks me up the next morning at the train station, and we walk to her hostel / guesthouse in the centre of Belgorod. I get a bed in the 4-bed dormitory. There is hot water from the new boiler. In many Russian towns the hot water system is switched off in summer for several weeks per district to do renovation works. So the houses which are only connected to the central hot water system do not have hot water for some weeks then.

During my stay in Belgorod Tamila takes me to their private location near the town (30 minutes by bus from the centre). Here they have 1500 m2 of land, on which they have some buildings. Not everything is finished yet, but it has the potential of being a golden location. Land here is really cheap compared to Netherlands. Tamila tells me that land where you can build a house at this location costs something like 12 Euro / m2.

I walk around in Belgorod a lot on my own, and discover how green the town is. Like many towns in the western part of Russia it has suffered heavily from the second world war and the fighting. Near Belgorod there has been the decisive battle between Russia and Germany, which was the turning point of the war in this part of Europe. I try to go there, but the museum is closed on Monday. It is difficult to reach the place, and even more difficult to get back. For the first time since long I hitchhike, and get a ride quickly. The man is busy calling, signals me to go in, and then we go. Only after a few km he has time to ask me where I want to go. No, Belgorod is not his destination. But in the end he drops me of in the north of the city. I believe he has made some extra km especially for me. When he hears that I am Dutch, he is very positive about Dutch football and the world cup team.

Belgorod has a great outdoor sportsfacility in the main park. In the evenings it is used very intensively. On Friday I look what is happening, and a big group of youngsters (15-25 years old) is playing a game something like volleyball. After some time they ask me if I want to play with them. I say I do not know these rules, but they tell me they will explain. It is a lot of fun playing with them. One of the girls, who plays volleyball very well, tells me that she has finished secondary school, and will study from September in St Petersburg. For them it is completely normal to travel about 1300 km to university. That happens quite often. They invite me to come again the next evening, and are sad when I on Sunday evening tell it is the last time I play with them.

On Sunday I have booked my trainticket to Crimea and back. So, I will go there. If there are direct trains, it can never be so dangerous that I can not go there. I book accommodation over the Internet, and Monday afternoon I will take the train. I agree with Tamila that I will leave my big suitcase in the hostel, and Crimea, here I come.

More in a few days.