My Travel Blog for past, present and future countries and cities visited.
Ukraine 2018 - Day 2: Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps
Today I would be joining a 2-Day tour of Chernobyl. I left my suitcase at the hostel as I would checking back in again in 36 hours. I had to use Google's translate app to communicate with the Ukrainian lady but it wasn't a problem. You can download language packs for offline use for any language before you travel this can be really handy. With just a backpack and 1 change of clothes i walked around the corner to the pickup point for the tour near the station.
Remains of a house with a rusted car
We would be using a minibus and there was around 15 of us in total including the guide. We started the drive north of Kiev to Chernobyl which would take the better part of 2 hours with a toilet break. Upon arriving we had a quick passport check at the checkpoint before we were allowed through. The Chernobyl exclusion zone approximately covers a 30km radius. We were first taken to see a theatre and the houses that surrounded it, to see the houses of the people that used to live here. Many of their possessions are still here with various books and clothes on the floor. We then moved on to a photo stop at the Chernobyl sign and saw the only church(St. Elijah) that remains open inside the exclusion zone. We then took a break for lunch.
Memorial to the firefighters
In the afternoon we passed a Lenin statue before checking out an old port. Next was a memorial to the firefighters who lost their lives preventing the situation from worsening and we were shown other vehicles that were used to prevent further spreading of radiation.
In the late afternoon we visited Duga radar, which was an old Soviet era antiballistic missile warning system. It is so big that many of us struggled to get the whole thing in 1 photo. Just next to this was a control room where many old servers and computers lay in piles of rubble.
Duga radar
Early evening saw us visit a kindergarten, this is where the Geiger counter we had been provided started to beep for the first time at the base of a tree. Entering the building there were children's dolls and other toys scattered all over the floor. Upon leaving the exclusion zone at the end of the day we got a long distance view of the new sarcophagus that has now been put over reactor 4 to prevent further leaking of radiation. A 40 minute train journey took us to our overnight hotel in Chernihiv and we even temporarily crossed the border into Belarus.
Kindergarten
Video of this day can be found here:
In the next post I would further exploring the Chernobyl exclusion zone by visiting Pripyat so please check it out.
Amsterdam is a city that I visited several times now, with my first visit been in August 2014. The most recent time was Summer 2016 on the Expat Explore Northern Explorer tour as this was the start and end point. Amsterdam is also a very common connecting hub for international flights into Europe at Schiphol Airport just 10km away from central Amsterdam. Amsterdam is most famous for its bicycles and canals. So on the first evening of our tour we took a cruise around the canals of Amsterdam. As we got to know our group we had the chance to have a pizza and some ice cream on board. Another top sight is the I Amsterdam sign. This is a great spot for tourists to get their group shots. The building just behind that is the Rijksmuseum(Shown below). This has arts and history of the city of Amsterdam and costs €17.50 at the time of writing. I have never been in and have only walked under the archway to get to the canals. Other places of interest in Amsterdam are: Van Gogh Museum...
I have been to several cities in Germany, I decided to put them together in 1 blog. Berlin I visited Berlin as part of an Expat Explore's Northern Explorer tour in August 2016. We drove in from Poland on the coach and spent roughly 36 hours here spending 2 nights in the hotel. On the first evening we had a quick visit to Checkpoint Charlie and then onto a meal at a local restaurant which was included. Checkpoint Charlie is the name given to the border crossing between East and West Berlin during the cold war. The following day was a full free day to ourselves. Some of the main activities to see are: The Berlin Wall(Free) remains all over the city and some parts remain in good condition with original graffiti to view. Brandenburg Gate(Free) Reichstag Building(Free with advance booking) is where the German parliament is. Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe(Free) Brandenburg Gate. My video from my video in Berlin can be found below: Munich I visited Mun...
Raining once again as I left Tokyo transferring to the airport. I had used transfers in all 3 different countries to and from the airport, all of them were on time with no issues. Tokyo Airport I used my last few Yen coins trying some limited edition Japanese mint flavoured kit-kat which were very nice. I would be flying with Aeroflot for both of the flights back to London. Soon after we boarded we were informed that the in-flight entertainment system was broken, which was not ideal for a 10 hour flight. We were offered several drink refills, 2 meals and a yoghurt/ice-cream throughout the flight tho which was nice. Aeroflot plane Moscow Airport I had a 3 hour connection here, so I grabbed a few croissants and tried to grab some rest in the corner somewhere. The next onward flight to London would be 4 hours but it was OK as I had enough leg room on this flight. Heathrow Airport I arrived into London and cleared border control around 21:30pm. I would be staying overn...
Comments
Post a Comment