Sunday, February 22, 2009

Kharkov, Ukraine: A Look around Town

Thursday evening caught the overnight train from Kharkov, Ukraine to Kiev. That's pretty slick: A hotel on wheels and surely the best rate anywhere. Several express trains run daily between these cities, the two biggest in the country. Say, join me for a quick look around the city. . .


The Kharkov train station. (Click to enlarge.)

Another view of the Kharkov train station. Inhale, exhale, don't breathe! Good looks as though we got a good shot even w/out a tripod, something I'm not inclined to lug around.


The Soldier Statue on the corner of The 23rd of August and Lenin Streets. On the 23 of August, 1943, Fascist troops were driveт from Kharkov.


Just past the soldier, apartments being constructed. Metro entrance on left in foreground, 23rd of August station. Who knows you might decide to invest in Kharkov real estate. Or come to see the museums or visit wonderful churches. Then this will help get you oriented. And being oriented is a very good thing. BTW, the soldier is oriented westwardly. How about a time out for some colorful shots. . . we can revisit monuments later.


Florist across the street on February 15th. Valentine's is an emerging holiday here. They did a thriving business on the 14th. And I must say that I did my part!


In a fabric store, photo taken with my *hidden camera.* A rainbow of zippers. Got your choice of color and length. Saw a sign that said invisible zippers. And truly, they were.


Need a button? This bank of buttons is nicely organized, nearly twice as wide as seen here.


Okay, back to things memorial:
In 1941, things started getting rough in Kharkov. This monument is behind the soldier statue.


The war ended in 1945.


People pass these monuments every day in their comings and goings. The youngest war veterans are now elderly. Folks in their 80's were kids during the war and they still remember.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

My mother-in-law, Zhanna Arshanskaya Dawson, is a Holocaust survivor from Kharkov and her son's book about her was just published in the US. It's called HIDING IN THE SPOTLIGHT and you can learn all about it on our website: www.hidinginthespotlight.com
The Youtube video on the website shows some of our visit to Ukraine doing research for the book and there is a story about our trip as well. We loved the people and hope to return. Your pictures are wonderful. I hope you'll take a look at our website and write to me via the contact info.