7-day trip to Kiev and Crimea
The Ukraine has seen a lot of conquerors in the course of its history, but the 19th and 20th century had ordeals at hand, that were not imaginable by any standard. On this trip you will see Kiev, the capital of the Ukraine and Crimea, one of the most wonderful spots on earth.| Day 1 |
1. We fly with Ukraine International Airways in a modern Airbus to Kiev. Upon arrival we will check into the hotel Dnipro. We then do a sightseeing trip through the city and will visit the extraordinary “Great Patriotic War Museum” and the “Statue of the Motherland”, a memorial of the Great Patriotic War. The statue itself is 62 meters tall and the overall height is 102 meters. We then continue to Babi Yar. When the Nazi forces captured the city in mid-September 1941, within less than a fortnight, on the 29th.and 30th., nearly 34,000 Jews of the ghetto were brought to a suburban ravine known as Babi Yar, near the Jewish Cemetery, where men, women, and children were systematically machine-gunned in a two-day orgy. In subsequent months, most of the remaining population was exterminated. This, the most appalling massacre of the war, is often alluded to as a prime example of utter Jewish helplessness in the face of disaster. After this emotional visit we will return to our hotel for Dinner. |
| Day 2 |
Flight to Simferopol and transfer to Yalta to the luxurious Oreanda hotel. We will visit the Livadia Palace, built of white Crimean granite in the Neo-Renaissance style. The Yalta Conference was held there in 1945, when the palace housed the apartments of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and other members of the American delegation. We will then return to the hotel for dinner. |
| Day 3 |
Travel to Sevastopol where we will concentrate all day on the Crimean War (1854-1856). We will start the Balaclava, the main supply harbour fort he British forces and the beginning of the Crimean light railway. We will see the “valley of the shadow of death” where the “Charge of the Light Brigade” was stopped by Russian gunfire. We will go to Inkermann where a battle was fought on November 5, 1854 and resulted in a British and French victory under General Bosquet against the Russian forces under General Menshikov. Our next stop is Fort Malakow. The Battle of Malakow resulted in an allied French victory under General MacMahon and in the killing of all major Russian admirals: Pavel Nakhimov, Vladimir Istomin, and Vladimir Kornilov. The French zouave Eugène Libaut installed the French flag on the top of the Russian redoubt. A great museum deals with this event. We then continue to the Sapun Hill to visit the world-famous Sevastopol Panorama which was was opened on May 14, 1905. It's a huge 360 degree re-creation of the defence of Sevastopol, consisting of a 4m high painting which forms a 115m circular backdrop to a life-size reconstructed view of the defences. The painting by Franz Roubaud is cleverly merged into the foreground model work so that a real sense of perspective is created. After this impressive panorama we will return to Yalta for dinner. |
| Day 4 |
We will head again towards Sevastopol and investigate on the German siege in 1941/1942 , the loss of the Crimea in 1944 and the Cold War. We will kick start at the German initial positions and trace the conquests of various forts such as Maxim Gorki I & II or Fort Stalin. We will drive to the city of Sevastopol and board a launch to investigate from where von Manstein launched his final attack across the harbour to finish the siege of Sevastopol. We will then return to the hills of the city and visit the Sapun Hill. During the time of liberation of the city in spring 1944 this natural 8-km long obstacle on the way to Sevastopol became the scene of fierce fights. Today you find a terrific Diorama of the "Storm of Sapun Mountain on May 7, 1944". The museum complex includes an open air exposition of various equipment, weapons and vehicles. At the end of the day we will visit a real sensation: the secret submarine mountain port of Balaclava. We will then return to Yalta for dinner. |
| Day 5 | Today we will investigate the Russian amphibious operations in Feodosia and Kerch in 1941. We will travel to the harbour of Feodosia and learn how the Russians surprised the German Wehrmacht. We will continue to Kerch where we check on the situation back in 1941 and 1944. We will see the Russian bridgeheads, the memorial of the guerrilla fighters in the Ajimushkay catacombs and the Obelisk of Glory on the Mount Mithradates. Adzhimushkay is a small village located 5 km from the city of Kerch. From 1830 onwards, limestone was extracted there, both in quarries and in catacombs. Over the years, a complex of underground tunnels was created connecting the Great and Small Adzhimushkay catacombs. These catacombs were already used during the Russian Civil War by pro-Soviet armed groups. In November 1941, a squad of partisans operated in the catacombs. In May 1942, the German forces forced the Red Army to retreat from Kerch leaving behind a strong force of almost 10.000 volunteer soldiers, partisans and civilians. They resisted the Germans until they surrendered on October 30, only 48 survivors fell in German hands. We will investigate on the events and visit the nearby museum. Then we will return to Yalta. |
| Day 6 |
Today we will travel through the hinterland of the Yalta Mountains. You will see Bachtschissaraj, the capital of the Crimean Khanate and the centre of political and cultural life of the Crimean Tatar people as well as the Hansaray, the only extant palace of the Crimean Khans. You will also pay a visit to the Swallow's Nest, a mock-medieval castle near Gaspra, Yalta. It was built between 1911–1912 on top of 40-meter (130 ft) high Aurora Cliff, to a Neo-Gothic design by the Russian architect Leonid Sherwood. The castle overlooks Ai–Todor cape of the Black Sea, and is located near the remnants of the Roman castrum of Charax. Swallow's Nest is one of the most spectacular visitor attractions in Crimea. We will then return to Yalta. |
| Day 7 | Return flight to Germany |