Central & Eastern Europe

Exploring the Industrial Side of Riga in Andrejsala

November 15 2020 by Megan Starr 5 Comments

Once upon a time, I sat in Riga, Latvia for two weeks waiting for a visa to Belarus. A visa that ended up being invalid, but nevertheless, I still had two weeks to hang around Latvia’s capital city and also time for a short couple of days in Daugavpils. I really should have followed a better two or one week Latvia itinerary, but I had my sights set on certain places and just did my own thing.

It is very easy for travelers to get lost inside of Riga’s Old Town and never see anything outside of the cobblestone alleys, the House of the Blackheads, and the impressive churches lurking around each and every corner. The first time I had ever stepped foot in Riga, I made that mistake. But I was only there on a layover from Kiev back to Oslo, so time was limited and it was cold. Cold takes on a different meaning during December in Riga. Trust me.

During my two weeks, I wanted to see parts of Riga I typically had never thought to see before. I met with Marta, who at the time worked for Latvia’s Tourism Board, and she tipped me onto some places I otherwise wouldn’t have considered. One of these places was Andrejsala, Riga’s industrial port and an up-and-coming spot for Riga’s imaginative inhabitants.

Keen to make it to Andrejsala on foot, I bundled up (I have been to Riga three times and never during the warm months), and started my journey. What looked like a short distance on a map turned out to be quite the walk. Or maybe I was just cold and hungry. Easy to find and just straight down the river, I finally arrived at what appeared to be Andrejsala.

Andrejsala- Riga's up-and-coming and industrial neighborhood

Andrejsala is like this weird little peninsula that juts out into the Daugava River. It is saturated with grey concrete block buildings and rickety trains with Cyrillic sprawled across each car. The wind off of the river gave me blistering chills as I was forced to pull my scarf across my face. And to my surprise, there was not a soul in sight.

Upon entering Andrejsala, I noticed an art museum, called Latvia’s Naive Art Museum. The museum just looked like it was a bunch of street and urban art all thrown into one. I didn’t care to go inside. I also saw a spirits and wine shop and I did see one person head inside. So there was life here in Andrejsala after all…

Scenes from Andrejsala- Riga's up-and-coming and industrial neighborhood

I walked and walked and walked. What I was told was a cultural hub to the city of Riga just appeared to be… deserted. As I walked further into the area, I did see some labor workers with hardhats, but not much life otherwise. I couldn’t possibly have been in the wrong place. I just assumed that maybe not too many cultural happenings were taking place at 2pm on a weekday afternoon.

I gave up.

I took my frozen hands and headed back towards Riga. But I wasn’t done with Andrejsala yet. Right on the edge of the peninsula and main area of Riga was a restaurant called Koya. There is great food in Riga but I wasn’t headed there for that… I needed a bathroom and food. And warmth. Lots and lots of warmth. I headed inside and sat by the window and watched the cruise ships on the frigid water. I ordered a batch of sweet potato fries and thawed out next to the fireplace, which the wait staff so graciously sat me beside. Riga never ceases to amaze me with the many things to do and the number of high-quality places to eat at (hey, those sweet potato fries were top-notch!)

After eating, I left Andrejsala.

Later that evening, I decided to research the area to see what I missed and if there was actually anything there in the first place. What I discovered was that Andrejsala is known for turning old crappy buildings into something cool on the inside. There may not be signs indicating life inside of those buildings, but it does exist. In fact, this area is one of Riga’s new ‘places to be’ during the warmer months. Well, damnit.

Nevertheless, I do recommend those traveling to Riga to head to this area. Regardless of what you may, or may not, see on Andrejsala, it is a nice change of pace to the center of Riga.

And be sure to dine at Koya when there! It can be found at Andrejostas iela 4. The eatery offers a winsome ambiance and overlooks the Daugava River.

Riga Sightseeing: 10 Unusual Things to Do in Riga, Latvia

November 15 2020 by Megan Starr 1 Comment

While Riga is famous for its nightlife, lip-smacking dishes, the Central Market and Vecriga (the Old Town), there are other jaw-dropping spots not everyone recommends to tourists. If you haven’t still eaten those baked piragis or potato pancakes to heart full, pack them up- I am taking you on a tour of unusual things to do in Riga!

Take along a bottle or two of the Latvian medicinal drink – the Black Balsam – to energize and really dip into Latvian lifestyle. And here is the list of unusual things to do while Riga sightseeing:

The World of Hat Museum

Not on everyone’s bucket list is this hat museum, situated in the Central District. Take a turn towards Vilandes iela from Elizabetes iela, and you will reach this quiet apartment. What started as a personal collection by Dr. Kirill Babaev is now a five-hall collection full of different headgears spread across traditions around the world.

The collection, divided according to regions, contains hats from Europe, Asia and Africa. There are some from the United States as well. There are headdresses worn only on special occasions and the story of each is displayed there beside them. This small museum is a meeting point of many cultures and if you are curious about (hat) fashion around the world, give this place a visit.

You can see the photos next to the hats to get to know how people wore them and you can even try out many of those hats there. Moreover, if you are interested, ask when the next hat-making class is going live there. They organise it in English, Russian and of course, Latvian.

The Three Brothers

Situated at Maza Pils iela are the Three Brothers, three buildings said to be made by three members of one family. Built in the 15th century – in Dutch style with Gothic decorations – the oldest one is a one-room building. It had one large hall used for manufacturing purposes and trading, primarily, with Dutch merchants.

Unlike the oldest building, the middle one built in the 17th century has a spacious residential room with large windows. You will find Dutch influences in this building too but it has an eye-catching layout and details.

In the late 17th century, the youngest and smallest building was built. The narrow, green Baroque building has apartments on each floor, and a mask that is said to protect these dwellings from spirits. This complex serves as the Latvian Museum of Architecture and you can go inside, watch the interiors and learn more about Riga.

The Corner House

The Stura Maja (or the Corner House) is an Art Nouveau building at the corner of Brivibas iela where it intersects with Stabu iela. This building used to be the KGB headquarters in the Soviet era and here, they tortured the prisoners and even executed.

Latvian Occupation Museum designed and reopened parts of the building as a museum, and you can visit the cells where dozens of prisoners were stuffed in heat and without water. Explore the KGB headquarter, office space, the dark dungeons and get to know the dark period of Riga.

The Statue of Christopher

According to the legends, a giant lived beside the Daugava River, who protected people during floods. He would carry people across, and one day, the Christ child approached the giant to get help in crossing the river. Christopher (or the Christ-bearer) then found a pile of gold when he returned to his place, which he used to establish Riga.

People offered flowers to his wooden statue (which is now in Riga’s History Museum) and asked for his blessings. A new statue is in place (inside a glass-box) overlooking the river. Find it on 11 Novembra Krastmala, a few hundred metres away from Vansu tilts (Vansu Bridge). Definitely something fun to put on your Riga sightseeing list.

Tornakalns Deportation Memorial

During the Soviet rule, more than 16,000 Latvians were deported to USSR in railway wagons. In memory of that horrific event, one such car is on display at the Tornakalns Station, south of Riga. The deportations started in 1941 in such red-brown railway cars.

Apart from the wagon next to the station building, there are many memorial stones nearby which display various places where the rulers transferred the deportees. There also is a stone there that says another 42,000 were moved in the year 1949. In the premises, there also are some panels depicting the entire timeline of the deportation events. There also are maps to show the places where these trains went.

Tornakalns, by the way, is only about 5 km from the Old Town. This is one of many things to do in Riga that will teach you about the history of the city.

Rumbula

In 1941, Nazi killed about 25,000 Jews on two consecutive days – 30 November and 8 December – in the Holocaust. The venue of this massacre was the Rumbula forest and on the way to it. The victims were forced out of their houses and then had to walk up to the designated area. After the operation completed, they buried the bodies in the massive pits dug out in the forest itself.

As the path leads to the massacre ground, you will see some memorial stones there. And then there is the field with a large number of stones engraved with the names of the victims. There also are many graves there. And a tree-like structure with a list of the victims on a laminated paper attached near the roots.

It’s off the Maskavas iela and at a distance of about 15 km from the Old Town.

Latgales Tirgus

Have you already bought souvenirs to take back home? If not, this flea market is an interesting place to find some unusual Russian items as a souvenir. This market is in the Maskavas Forstate suburb, south of Riga and you can see almost anything here in those heaps of things.

There are many ‘weird’ Russian and German collectibles, but you may come across things useful at home. The area can be a bit sketchy at times and a lot of the goods are from the Black Market. So, you can get things quite cheap there. There are old electronics, bicycle parts, Soviet and Nazi pins, coins, books and whatnot.

If you fancy yourself as a soldier, you can find their uniform there, in parts though. Buy something for you or gift one of the old Soviet hats to your friends.

The Boat Tour in the Canal

While tourists come to Riga to see the museums and architectural wonders, they sometimes forget the city also has a canal even though it is right in the heart of the city. The pilsetas kanals, or the city canal, served as a moat to keep the town safe in old times. It now runs through the center of Riga separating the Old Town from the New Town.

There is a 1-hour canal trip which starts at the Bastion Hill near the Freedom Monument. It gives you a view of the parks and tourist sites of Riga from water, and also the Daugava River. This a great way to do a little Riga sightseeing and check out many of the things to do in Riga.

Hiking in Saulkrasti

Saulkrasti is a town 45 km north of Riga. There is this White Dune there which offers a view of the sea on the Vidzeme gulf coast. The dune is formed by the blowing winds which brought sands and deposited it over the bed of clay. With the passage of time, the layers hardened and leveled.

Walk down the 4-km long Sunset Trail starting from the town to the White Dune. Pine trees cover most of the sandy slope which protects the dunes from slipping away, and the wooden trail passes through this forest. There are viewpoints on this trail to let you view the landscape, the Peterupe river valley, and the beach.

The Old Oak Tree

In the hidden corners of the Town Hall building lies a preserved old oak tree. This tree was found during the excavations when the base for the new building was being laid. The dating revealed this tree to be around 3500 years old which now lays sideways among the souvenir and the flower shops there.

You feel young now? Well, Riga has that power. Visit Latvia and some of these things to do in Riga and tell me which of these offbeat places caught your eye!

Comfort Hotel LT: Rocking with the Coolest Hotel in Vilnius, Lithuania

November 15 2020 by Megan Starr 1 Comment

I am very picky about where I choose to stay and especially where I choose to stay and recommend to my readers. A sweet spot for me is a hotel that is environmentally friendly or a hotel that just has a cool and hip atmosphere. It is very rare that you find a hotel that meets both the eco-friendly standard AND the cool and hip atmosphere one. But, Vilnius, Lithuania has a hotel that meets both and it is called the Comfort Hotel LT Rock ‘n’ Roll.

This hotel is undoubtedly the COOLEST place to stay in Vilnius and while I had previously heard others rave about how much personality the place has, I finally got to check it out for myself as I was recently a guest of theirs on my trip to Vilnius.

Eons ago, I stayed at a hotel in Vilnius that was so far out of the city center that it was situated near Akropolis Mall and needed a cab or public transportation to actually get into the center of Vilnius. After that trip, I vowed to always stay somewhere close enough to walk to the ‘action’ as I really don’t love public transportation during busy hours because I am claustrophobic. After that trip, my other Vilnius hotels and hostels have been absolute crap.

There is no other way to put it. In fact, the bad experiences nearly deterred me from ever returning to the city for an overnight. I am constantly asked for Vilnius accommodation recommendations, but I never have one to give, which makes it an extremely difficult selling point for a city, especially a city you have visited so many times and really love.

Comfort Hotel LT is right in the heart of Vilnius. You can walk anywhere from the hotel. We loved that it wasn’t directly inside of the Old Town, but was so close that we were there within five minutes. This gave us the opportunity to stroll an area that wasn’t as littered with tourists and see a different side of the city.

We had a large Iki grocery store across the street, tasty Armenian food a stone’s throw away, and we could take a different route into the Old Town by foot that allowed us to see and discover businesses we otherwise would never have even known existed. There are so many things to do in Vilnius, such as visiting the Museum of Genocide Victims, and we were able to do them all within a quick walk from the hotel.

Our room had a large bed, very spacious bathroom and shower, and had artwork that really added to the aesthetic of the place. It is so different than the aura of the other places around Vilnius where you’ll find tacky lace curtains and old rugs on floors. The room had so much personality and it was not a problem to find yourself comfortable in the room… so much that you almost wanted to pass up a trip to the city for the sake of chillin’ in bed all day (whoops).

Another thing that really impressed me in the room itself was the desk area. Too many places I stay at don’t have a desk inside the room and it makes working on the road extremely difficult for me. I often have to head to a café or somewhere where I feel obligated to spend extra money just to utilize a makeshift workspace and good wifi. My room alone had both and I didn’t need to head anywhere to get stuff done. It is not easy to take part in things to do in Vilnius when you genuinely didn’t want to leave your room!

Comfort Hotel LT also offers guests a daily, organic breakfast. Something that was on the breakfast buffet two of my three times eating it? DUMPLINGS. Consider me one happy customer. We were a bit late to breakfast every day, so it was nice to be offered a variety on the buffet that had traditional breakfast items such as granola and yogurt to things that can hold you over for lunch a bit such as dumplings, fried potato balls (no idea what they were, but I ate them in hoards), and chicken nuggets.

On second thought, maybe that part of the buffet was meant for children. Hm… either way, I loved it and I was able to enjoy both a breakfast and lunch at the buffet every day. The breakfast is included in the price of the room.

If you eat too many chicken nuggets, you can head over to their in-house gym. I have seen many hotel gyms (from the outside) and this one stands superior to everyone I’ve seen in past hotels. It is spacious and the equipment is top-level.

If you’re allergic to gyms like me, you can wander over to the front desk where the staff has a collection of drinks that will please anyone. They even have draft beer. And… craft beer. Needless to say, I enjoyed this part of the hotel the most. We frequently went down to the lobby to enjoy a nice, Lithuanian craft beer before heading into the city to explore or learn more about its coffee scene.

One of the unique things I loved about Comfort Hotel LT was the massive map of Vilnius they had and the ability for guests to put a post-it note on the map of a secret place they found or business they loved in Vilnius. There were amazing coffee, bar, history, and architecture tips on this map and it is really a great way to discover places that would not have normally been on your Vilnius itinerary. It was such a fun way for guests to interact with the hotel and I think that was one of the many things that made the stay at Comfort Hotel LT an interactive and enjoyable one.

Restaurant TIME is located in the lobby and is a nice addition to the hotel. It is where you’ll enjoy breakfast in the mornings, but you can also stay in-house and enjoy dinner there too. We saw several locals coming in for an evening dinner, which I thought was cool. The décor is very hip and there is colorful artwork of famous musicians on the wall.

If you’re looking to escape the hotel for dinner instead, you can head next door to the new food hall. YES. A food and drinks hall in Vilnius! Right next door is the Uptown Market and it is a paradise for food lovers, hipsters, or just those wanting to support small, local businesses. You can find everything from Baltic craft cider at Sarkozy to live music. It is such a great addition to the city and one that you may end up spending a lot of time at.

I absolutely enjoyed my time at the Comfort Hotel LT Rock ‘n’ Roll in Vilnius. I can’t even think of anywhere I have stayed in the city that comes close to the experience I had at this hotel, and I’ve been to Vilnius about ten times!

I highly recommend the Comfort Hotel LT to anyone traveling to Vilnius that wants a place that will give you a favorable impression of the city even before you step foot in it! Click here for things to know before you visit Lithuania if you’re in the planning stages of your trip.

Slavutych, Ukraine: The Soviet City Built for Chernobyl Refugees

November 14 2020 by Megan Starr 28 Comments

I have witnessed the Chernobyl disaster go from being a globally-recognized mass tragedy to a clichéd source of trite tourism where travelers go in with their cameras hugging their hips, all ready to shoot the perfect photo (which has inevitably been taken 3,790 times already that same month) for bragging rights about how they visited such a creepy and dangerous place.

They will leave being able to boast about what an adventurous soul they are for having visited Chernobyl. They’ll never make mention of the fact that Chernobyl gets well over 10,000 visitors a year. Furthermore, the travelers will leave knowing nothing more about the place aside from that it was a nuclear disaster and that people died and survivors were evacuated.

I may very well fall into the type of traveler mentioned above. After all, I did write a post and showcase photos from my time in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. I’m not here to judge (okay, just a little bit), but the thing I find the most painful about hearing about someone’s trip to the exclusion zone is that there is never any mention or curiosity regarding the people that lived there.

What happened to them? Are they safe? Where are they now?

The “Where are they now?” question has lingered in my mind since I was a teenager and did my first report on the Chernobyl tragedy. I knew the answer; I had done my research. But the place was out of reach and not really a place many people visit, let alone know about.

Slavutych, Ukraine

Slavutych was the last city the Soviet Union built. About 40 kilometers from Chernihiv and nearly 200 from Kyiv, Slavutych was named after the old Slavic name for the Dnieper River.

Construction of this purposely-built city began in 1986 and its first residents arrived in October 1988. Its new residents? The once inhabitants of Pripyat and those working at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

The city of Slavutych (population of around 25,000 people) was built to be a 21st-century city and still to this day is one of Ukraine’s most affluent and prized cities. Interestingly, 8k of the residents that relocated to Slavutych were children. The city was built around that and was supposed to be a safe haven for the children that had experienced so much in Pripyat.

Building Slavutych

Slavutych had to be built at a moment’s notice and as quickly as possible. The unique circumstances led the city to be constructed in a manner foreign to nearly every other city of the Soviet Union.

Workers and architects from eight Soviet countries joined forces to build Slavutych, and each country built a district of the city in their typical and traditional architecture. These districts, or quarters, were appropriately named after the capital cities of each country.

The countries that combined efforts to build Slavutych were Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, and of course, Ukraine. The photo above is a monument dedicated to the capital cities of each country.

Before construction even began in Slavutych, the workers had to lay down two meters of uncontaminated soil. While the city is in a livable area and didn’t suffer nearly as much radiation damage from Chernobyl as areas slightly closer, it still had a fair amount of contaminated soil that deemed it unlivable until taken care of.

Eighty percent of homes in Slavutych are in apartment blocks and the other twenty percent are stand-alone houses. The city is home to a youth center, modern community center, town hall, internet cafe, very modern clinics, sports facilities, and a hotel. They also have a few restaurants, cafes, and bars.

Slavutych Today

Slavutych today is an utterly fascinating place. The city was declared a Special Economic Zone as most residents lost their jobs at the nuclear power plant by 2001.

While some 3,000 are still employed at Chernobyl, most other residents had to be retrained by the Ukrainian government in order to build their skills in another field. The train station in Slavutych actually still has a train sending workers daily to Chernobyl.

My Time in Slavutych

I was the only tourist in Slavutych when I was there. For all I know, I was probably the only one for weeks. I started my day out by grabbing some food after my marshrutka ride from Chernihiv. The Old Tallinn restaurant was the first place I stumbled upon and the food was actually really tasty.

They had a set lunch menu, a rather common thing in Ukraine, and I received a bowl of borscht, some beef and potato dish, and fruit in a bowl for dessert.

As I went to pay for my meal (I sat at the bar as the restaurant was packed with locals and researchers), the bartender told me there was no charge and proceeded to explain why. I never understood what he was saying, but I certainly didn’t complain about it.

After my early lunch, I walked around for a few hours. The city took me in and out of courtyards, playgrounds, and through each and every district. I was enamored by how much the construction varied from district to district. The styles brought back fierce memories of Armenia and some of the other places I had visited.

The Yerevan quarter was my favorite as the buildings all had a pinkish hue to them reminiscent of the ones I remembered from the Armenian capital. In a way, walking about the city felt like stepping into several countries at once. It was something I had never felt in any other city I had ever visited in the former Soviet Union.

I stayed in Slavutych until dusk. I had dinner at Old Tallinn Restaurant (a big heaping bowl of borscht and some pelmeni sans dill because dill is evil) alongside a giant beer.

While Old Tallinn restaurant had been packed for lunch, there was not much of an early dinner crowd aside from an American researcher who had been working at Chernobyl for some years and a local guy who accompanied him. English was the last language I expected to eavesdrop on that day, but on a day of pleasant and unexpected surprises, I should have known better.

Slavutych remains one of the oddest places I have ever visited in regards to its history and construction. It wouldn’t strike too many others as odd, but I know a great deal about the Chernobyl disaster and everything about the birth of this Soviet city intrigued me.

In Slavutych, I found extremely friendly people, clean grounds, and a city with soul despite its riveting past.

<This was inside of the Yerevan district of the city>

<The medical center and its grounds>

<inside the Georgian district>

<on the way to Slavutych>

How to Get to Slavutych

Apparently, there are buses that leave a few times a day from Kiev. I couldn’t find definitive information about this, so I opted to use Chernihiv as my base. Turns out, Chernihiv is pretty cool in its own right, so I am beyond happy with the decision I had made now looking back on it.

From Chernihiv, you can take a train to Slavutych from the main train station around four times a day or you can take a marshrutka there. I took a marshrutka (which leaves rather frequently from the main train station in Chernihiv).

There were no set times, so you just need to show up early to the train station and wait for the next to leave. I didn’t pay more than $1-2 for the ride there and back.

There are plenty of grocery stores and kiosks within the city that you can visit for food and drinks. As for a meal, I highly recommend the restaurant Old Tallinn which can be found at Tbilisskiy Kvartal 1 in the city center.

Looking for more things to do in Kyiv? Check out my guide.

Duga: The Russian Woodpecker inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

November 14 2020 by Megan Starr 10 Comments

The Soviets never did anything in an unostentatious manner. Not even radars that were supposed to be kept a secret from the rest of the world. Such is the case with “Duga” (meaning “arc” in English), commonly known as the Russian Woodpecker.

I have long had a desire to travel to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. I had arranged to go there in 2011 when I was in Kiev, but I later had to change my plans as the tours were shut down for corruption purposes.

My reasoning for wanting to go to the Exclusion Zone had nothing to do with photographing abandoned buildings taken back by nature or the bragging rights of saying I’ve had been there, but instead to put a lot of my research papers on the place to actual use.

At university, I wrote two research papers on the Chernobyl catastrophe. The first was brief, but the second was around sixty-pages long and involved copious amounts of research and time.

I have seen documentary after documentary on Chernobyl and had previously visited the museum in Kyiv after the tours were discontinued in 2011. In a way, I knew as much as any person directly unaffected by the tragedy could possibly know.

But there was one part of the Exclusion Zone I knew very little about…

Duga.

Duga was a Soviet radar system that existed between July 1976 and December 1989. It released a signal reminiscent to that of a very sharp and continuous tapping noise, hence the nickname “Russian Woodpecker”. Several countries had intercepted these signals on shortwave radio bands transpiring into several complaints globally. And a lot of denial from the Soviets.

Getting into specifics is challenging, but if you want to read more on the Russian Woodpecker, you can check it out on Wikipedia.

I considered detailing it a bit more here, but I honestly find the information a bit stale for the overall point being so freaking fascinating. Just typing about radio wave specifics would have put me to sleep… my apologies. And no need to reinvent the wheel when the information is already out there on the web, of course.

So, what does this have to do with my trip? Well, the Russian Woodpecker is located in the Exclusion Zone and is a rare piece of the Zone that I know very little about. Getting to see this with my own eyes was something I greatly desired to do.

Not every tour makes it to the Russian Woodpecker (and Duga just opened in recent years and was completely off-limits beforehand unless one obtained special permission). It is an ‘if we have time’ stop on most tours and there is no guarantee you will go there unless you book something a bit more private. I was grateful that the first stop we made was to Duga.

The Woodpecker is about a twenty-minute drive through the radiation-ridden forests and is in a clandestine location compared to the reactors, Chernobyl town, Pripyat town, and everything else. It was very evident that the Soviets wanted this monstrosity kept a secret, except for the fact that the structure is gargantuan.

Once you arrive at the Woodpecker, you must go through a gate and onto the property. You will walk a bit- strolling past decrepit buildings, rusted deposits, and lusterless propaganda on the sterile, concrete walls. Eventually, you will end up at Duga, which will inevitably be one of the most obscure and cryptic structures you will ever lay eyes on.

We were permitted to climb around on the heavily-oxidized mass, but I passed knowing my clumsiness would probably shorten the entire tour. I spent the entire time just enamored by the framework and its history (and the vagueness that surrounds that history).

We stuck around the Woodpecker for quite a bit of time and then carried on to the next place on our tour, the famously abandoned city of Pripyat. And while I enjoyed visited Pripyat, nothing quite mesmerized me as Duga did.

A Travel Guide to Soviet Kharkiv, Ukraine

November 14 2020 by Megan Starr 14 Comments

I remember the moment that I booked that train to Kharkiv from Kyiv’s central station. I wasn’t sure what I was doing, but I knew I had wanted to head east and Kharkiv just seemed like the obvious option. I booked my ticket a few weeks in advance on the ‘fast train’, but I never really got around to planning the trip.

Aside from Derzhprom, I really didn’t know what there was to do in Kharkiv. I booked a solid three days there but just planned to sit around in cafes and write… or cry because I was missing my dog.

I’ve already shared my coffee post here and my impressions of Kharkiv, but I was most eager to share a post about my favorite buildings and architecture from Soviet Kharkiv.

I accidentally deleted the fancy Google map that I had made and was overcome with total discouragement as some of the places weren’t easy to find because the addresses online weren’t always accurate. I have finally redone the map and can share some of my favorite (and some overrated) sights in Kharkiv.

This map and guide are by no means conclusive. If I had more days in the city, I would have ventured outside of the main city a bit to discover another side, but I only (stupidly) planned three days in Kharkiv.

In between exploring the coffee culture and craft beer culture there, I wasn’t left with a whole lot of time. Please do leave additional places in the comments so I can check them out next time I get back there!

Derzhprom

Ahhh, Kharkiv’s most famous Soviet masterpiece. I have spent a great deal of my life seeing this behemoth of a building in books and on architecture websites and was super stoked to finally see it in person. Maybe I had hyped it up a little too much in my mind, but I found it to be a bit of a letdown.

Maybe I was in a blasé mood that day or something… but I found the exterior to be pretty and the interior to be a bit boring which is basically the opposite of what I like in a Soviet building.

Taking photos of Soviet buildings in the sunshine also kind of ruins the mood (I am sure about 4% of you reading this will understand where I am coming from). Nevertheless, it was great to finally see this building with my own eyes and I think I will trek back that way in winter to see how it glistens in the snow and grey skies.

While I found the building itself to be a bit of a letdown, the history of the building is anything but boring. Derzhprom was designed by Sergei Serafimov, M. Felger, and S. Kravets and was unveiled to the world in 1928.

A Soviet constructivist showpiece, the building was the highlight of Kharkiv, which at the time was the capital of the Ukraine SSR.

Its construction took a whopping 5,000 people and cost 9 million rubles. When the capital was later moved to Kiev, it seems as though Derzhprom was kind of forgotten about. Even today, this gem has not reached architectural significance like some other buildings across the world have. In a way, that kind of makes a visit to it a tad bit cooler.

Kharkiv Circus

So I am actually working on a circus post of the Soviet circuses I have visited which will come out sometime this summer.

Standby for that, but for now, you can see the Kharkiv Circus on this Soviet guide because it is one of the oldest circuses in Ukraine and was most definitely built during the Soviet times.

The construction of this building began in 1966 and was completed and opened for its first performance on April 9, 1974. I don’t believe in circuses and their treatment of animals, but I am a big fan of the architectural style of many Soviet circuses, so this is a must-visit if you want to add to your list of Soviet structures.

Kharkiv Metro

Another post I am working on is about the various metro stations in Kharkiv. On my Sunday morning in the city, I rode the metro for hours and stopped to take photos of as many stations as I could.

Until I get yelled at, that is (which it took about an hour and a half before getting reprimanded for my horrible actions… which is impressive and better than my old days in Kyiv).

I actually had no expectations of the Kharkiv Metro and didn’t realize its greatness until I went underground to take the metro to where my hotel was.

It is pretty impressive and every station is slightly different. That Sunday morning, I actually rode for nearly three hours and used my phone for all photos… but it was one of my most enjoyable experiences in the Ukrainian city.

The Kharkiv Metro construction began in 1968 and was opened to the public in 1975. Only one line, Kholodnohirsko–Zavodska, existed at the time and the other two, Saltivska and Oleksiivska, didn’t open until 1984 and 1995, respectively.

The metro system isn’t privatized like the Kyiv system and has 30 stations. The system runs for 37 kilometers (23.4 miles) and has a daily ridership of nearly one million passengers.

Central Post Office

I actually have no photos of this building. I actually saw it twice, but couldn’t locate the photos I took of it… but don’t worry, if you are located close to the main train station, you can’t miss it.

It now serves as a police station, but it achieved historical status as a post office. Another perfect example of Constructivism, this Arkady Mordvinov designed project opened in 1929 after a year of construction.

Kharkiv State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre

My favorite building in all of Kharkiv. I don’t know why I was so drawn to this building, but I was enamored by its presence, details, and hidden elements.

The Theatre is located next to Shevchenko Park and is mammoth in size. It is actually Ukraine’s oldest academic theatre and was named after Mykola Lysenko, who was a famous Ukrainian composer, pianist, and conductor.

He briefly studied biology at Kharkiv University while studying music privately before being awarded a music scholarship to study further in Leipzig.

The theatre was erected during the constructivist period in 1925 and its first opera was “Sorochynska Yarmarka” by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky. The architect behind this building was Mirgorodskii.

While this building is a beauty as a whole, I found that its real beauty was covertly masking in its details and its secret corners on the side and rear of the building. Also doesn’t hurt that one of my favorite coffee shops, A7, was hidden in an obscure corner of this building.

Palace of Culture for Railway Workers

Another building I can’t find my photos from. I really should work on my organizational skills. The Palace of Culture for Railway Workers is right in the center of Kharkiv and is extremely easy to get to if you use my map above (another map I used was off and most information out there wasn’t accurate, unfortunately).

The building is large enough that you will have no issue finding it. You can use this photo as guidance.

The Palace of Culture’s construction began in 1927 and was officially opened in 1932, becoming another example of the Constructivism that dominated Kharkiv which still exists today. The architect behind the project was Aleksandr Dmitriev.

Hotel Mir

I find that every large post-Soviet city has a desirable Soviet styled hotel. Kyiv has Salyut, Almaty has Hotel Kazakhstan, Chisinau has quite a few, etc. Kharkiv’s is Hotel Mir, and the brilliant building is still open today.

I went inside to see if the hotel had a bar as I have this thing for drinking or staying in every renowned Soviet hotel across the former Soviet states but I failed to do the obvious… go to the top to get a view of the city. Apparently, but don’t mark my word, you can get a killer view of Derzhprom from up there. Perhaps next time.

Hotel Mir is located 50 yards from Botanichesky Sad Metro Station and has a sauna and billiards inside. The staff was pretty nice from my interaction with them. It is also located across the street from my favorite craft beer bar in the city, Black Door Pub.

Ukraina Cinema and Concert Hall

Inside of Shevchenko Park, you will find the Ukraina Cinema and Concert Hall. A small building really, it was designed by Vadym S. Vasiliev in 1963 and dons a wide Soviet mosaic on its front. I didn’t have many expectations for this building, so I don’t really have a whole lot to say about it.

Water Pavillion Kharkivska – 1

Another great from Vadym Vasiliev, the Water Pavillion Kharkivska-1 can be found inside of Sarzhyn Yar Park. It was opened for public usage in 1960 and the obscure structure has stood since, giving thousands of Kharkiv locals access to clean drinking water daily.

To easily see the Pavillion, you can enter Sarzhyn Yar Park after visiting Hotel Mir (and kicking back a few pints at Black Door Pub, of course) by walking into the park and finding the small lakes where locals and children will be fishing. You truly can’t miss it.

Kharkiv Cable Cars

On my map, I gave the exact location of where to take them from up on the hill, but you can actually take them from inside of Gorky Park too. I just did things the other way around as I made it my mission to visit the water pavilion above first (and walk up the hill to the cars).

These cars used to be greyish beige and black and numbered and looked like prison cars. I really wish I had gotten to see that. But they painted them in 2014 and now they are an assortment of colorful hues.

They also never used to have windows. Perhaps adding windows was in my best interest as I tend to be a bit clumsy sometimes.

The cable cars have a rather intriguing history as they were never intended for public use after their opening in 1971. They were built for workers of the Kharkiv Aviation Production Enterprise and Kharkiv Machine building factory called “FED” as it gave them easier access to their workplaces from the Pavlovo Pole area. They only just opened to the public in 2012. The ride is a total of 18 minutes long and really is a must-do when in Kharkiv.

Even The Guardian ranked this ride as one of the world’s best cable car rides. I suspect it would have been cooler feeling like I was off to a prison in the beige and black ones, but this ride was pretty dang fun too.

I am not sure if it is still there as it was under heavy construction when I was there, but at the beginning of the ride (not the Gorky Park entrance), there was a large Soviet mosaic inside of the entrance hall that was interesting. I imagine it is gone by now, but if someone gets an update on this, please let me know.

<the end of the cable car ride leads you to Gorky Park, pictured above>

Roofed Market Saltovskyi

The one place on this list I didn’t have a chance to make it to. I had planned on seeing it on my last day as there was a coffee shop in the vicinity I wanted to check out, but I just never ventured there. I still wanted to keep it on this list as it looks wicked and worth stopping at.

Be sure to use the map I provided above as the other maps were off (I double-checked with locals and Google satellite). To read more about this piece of architecture, you can click here.

The Roofed Market at Saltovskyi is currently listed as Kruglyy Rynok and is found in Microdistrict 524 (near metro station Heroiv Pratsi). To see a photo of what it looks like- check out this link.

Soviet Tank Graveyard

While these tanks may be Soviet, the place certainly isn’t abandoned. I read an article about this place several years back and decided to check it out for myself. It was a letdown. Many of the tanks have been moved and it is no ‘graveyard’ of tanks. It is simply a factory that has tanks inside of the property’s walls.

You may be able to climb over the walls, but why would one want to? I did decide to walk there myself and see what was happening. The walls were high and I’m short, so I didn’t have much luck seeing inside, but I did get some photos from lower sections of the wall and through the occasional hole.

Nothing too exciting, to be honest. But I listed it here as everyone that goes to Kharkiv inquires about it.

To get to the area by foot is another story. And it may make this ‘tank graveyard’ worth the trek, after all. In order to get there on foot, you really need to set aside a few hours of your day. If you follow the map I have above, you can cross the bridge before it after walking through a super-residential area of Kharkiv.

There are homes, some small shops, and quite a few stray dogs loitering this neighborhood. You will eventually come upon a bridge. Don’t be alarmed at how small and decrepit it is. I was certain I was at the wrong place when I approached it… but you’ll be on the right track.

Simply cross that bridge and you will see a massive gated wall… that is it. If you circumnavigate the premises (which is massive), you can check for gaps and holes here and there.

If you’re with someone, you can probably get them to give you a boost to see above. Just a note- you can take public transport here (a bus) but that is kind of boring, now isn’t it?

Children’s Pioneer Pool

This pool is kind of off the trodden path of Kharkiv and took some research and major trial and error to find. I have it listed correctly on the map above… but other maps don’t have the address correct or its location.

The Pioneer Pool was designed by R. Zarb and N. Kozhevnikov and opened in 1977. It is hidden in a residential area near a shopping plaza, but once you see that crazy roof, you will know you’re at the right place.

There are many other Soviet structures that can be found in Kharkiv, but these were the most notable or were my favorites. I’d love to have some updates or other places listed… so if you have any others worth mentioning, please list them in the comments.