Hello again from Gary. This post will be for me more fun than the last few about credit ratings, scams, etc.. I hope it’s fun for you too.

I had occasion on my 3 trips to Ukraine to ride the trains several times. Each train trip was for a fairly long (overnight) duration. And each trip, in its’ own way was an exciting experience.

For one thing, I love to see new places, so while daylight prevailed, I was glued to the window to absorb as much as I could about the country we were traveling through. And this country, while mostly farmland or rural was fascinating to observe for the differences between what I saw versus what I would see on an identical trip in America. There are several videos on YouTube that depict life in Ukraine. I posted one of them on our “Misc, Video Clips” page. Check it out for a realistic view of a train ride between cities in Ukraine.

While you watch the video, notice that you will see only 1 piece of farm machinery in action, a horse drawn wagon. As I traveled on the trains going through hundreds of miles of agricultural land dotted with farming communities, I kept looking for machinery and could not find any. I would see huge farms of thousands of acres of land under cultivation with several people, presumably a family, tending the rows off in the distance, but no machines. Apparently they have a system whereby tilling and planting and possibly harvesting too, is performed by collectively owned machines at appropriate times of the season. But from then on, tending and nurturing the crops even on huge tracts is done by hand by the local families that have an interest in each particular field. The whole scene reminded me very much of what I understand life was like in the very early days of America’s agricultural development of our “great plains”.

And too, all along and on both sides of the train tracks wherever there was an available space, small family gardens were being grown - - corn, squash, beans, melons, tomatoes, etc.; subsistence and cash farming to utilize available space, even though the backyards of most houses likewise had small gardens.  

And as far as riding the train, that too was a unique experience - - first a recollection. The trains are noisy. You want to try to be located toward the center of a car rather than at the ends close to the wheels. Otherwise, the “clackety, clack, clack” will grind into your very being after awhile. Want a dining car? Great, pack a bag with your own food. Wherever you sit is the dining car. There is though, sparse and infrequent waitered service whereby you can buy small snacks and coffee/tea for very reasonable cost.

And be aware that there are different classes of tickets. “Regular” class is like you see on the video I posted. It’s a car with rows of 3 person seats. Sparse but adequate for short trips or restricted budgets. But they’re pure hell at night for sleeping.  Then there’s “private” class  where you have a tiny private “cabin” with 4 berths. No sink or amenities (oops, I take that back - - there’s a tiny fold-down table). They have just 4 bunk beds, 2 on each side in a tiny room with about 3 feet separating the bunks. The toilet and sink (community) are located at the end of the car.

Now here’s the thing about a “private” cabin. It’s private only in name and elevated ticket price ($25 vs $10 for the “regular” fare on a ticket from Kiev to Chernovtsi which is Alla’s home city). The ride from Kiev to Chernovtsi is an overnight ride that takes about 18 hours to cover roughly 350 miles. During that time the train passes through many small communities. And it stops at a lot of them to pick up and discharge passengers. And naturally, in the middle of the night, people getting on a train want a place to lie down for some zzzz’s. And so, the conductor, knowing they bought a “private” ticket and knowing your cubby-hole has 2 extra bunks, puts them in with you. Very efficient, yes? And your new guests fumble and stumble (some gracefully, some not so) into their bunks and ride to their destination, a couple hours down the track. Then they leave and somebody else joins you. This goes on all night long. What a wonderful way to meet new people. (But you never know what life is going to dish up to you - - on one of these trips, Alla met a woman who was her children’s high school teacher).

On certain trips, you can get for more money what is called a “deluxe” ticket , which is basically the same cubby-hole you pay for with a “private” ticket but with the guarantee of true privacy. For the whole journey, even the conductor cannot enter your palace unless invited to do so.

So what’s the bottom line here? Would I ride the trains in Ukraine again? You betcha!! In fact I look forward to it. They’re efficient, timely, safe, and economical. And if you observe while you ride, you’ll get a tiny glimpse of the strength and character of this country’s people.

O.K., enough for now. Until next time, travel in peace and awareness.

Gary.

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