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Author Topic: Things to do in Kharkov in early winter  (Read 10730 times)

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Offline SL0413

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Things to do in Kharkov in early winter
« on: October 02, 2018, 07:07:04 PM »
Hello all,

I will be heading to Kharkov in mid November and will be staying in the area for about 3-4 weeks.  Any suggestions for things to do or see in Kharkov or the surrounding area?

Cheers,
sl

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Re: Things to do in Kharkov in early winter
« Reply #1 on: October 02, 2018, 07:20:18 PM »
Code: [Select]
Hello all,

I will be heading to Kharkov in mid November and will be staying in the area for about 3-4 weeks.  Any suggestions for things to do or see in Kharkov or the surrounding area?

Cheers,
sl

Ice skating at a local rink could be both fun and romantic IMO, head to a cozy bar for a warm drink later.

Cheers and congratulations! ???tiphat

Offline Steveboy

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Re: Things to do in Kharkov in early winter
« Reply #2 on: October 03, 2018, 08:13:19 AM »
Get out of there as soon as possible before you get fleeced...

The winter is long and harsh with no money.. :ROFL:

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Offline SL0413

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Re: Things to do in Kharkov in early winter
« Reply #3 on: October 03, 2018, 08:43:49 AM »
Get out of there as soon as possible before you get fleeced...

The winter is long and harsh with no money.. :ROFL:

Fleeced?

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Re: Things to do in Kharkov in early winter
« Reply #4 on: October 03, 2018, 09:07:20 AM »
Steve tends to have a rather negative view of all things Ukraine and the United States.

For what it is worth Kharkov was the capital of Ukraine in the interbellum period, under the Soviet Union. It is in fact the 2nd largest city of Ukraine.

There is a professional member in Kharkov who can assist you named, I believe Mila. She will check in here from time to time. But you should be able to get her contact details.

A while back I viewed an exhibition in Kiev, a fairly large number of the paintings came from Kharkov so there must be notable museum there.
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Offline SL0413

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Re: Things to do in Kharkov in early winter
« Reply #5 on: October 03, 2018, 11:15:19 AM »
I am in touch with a Mila right now about apartment rentals there.  I guess I should ask her about things to do/see as well.))

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Re: Things to do in Kharkov in early winter
« Reply #6 on: October 03, 2018, 11:26:52 AM »
Oh, I think I understand what Steve might be referring to. 

I am not going there to look for a girl/wife/one-night-stand/two-minute-stand/etc.  I will be there with my fiance for about 3-4 weeks for   meetings (for her).  She will have free days between meetings, including a 2 week gap between the first and second one.

We decided to hang out there instead of travelling a day back and forth to her hometown. We might even to go Poltava for a week - we have no set plans. 


Offline Steveboy

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Re: Things to do in Kharkov in early winter
« Reply #7 on: October 03, 2018, 01:10:28 PM »
Oh, I think I understand what Steve might be referring to. 

I am not going there to look for a girl/wife/one-night-stand/two-minute-stand/etc.  I will be there with my fiance for about 3-4 weeks for   meetings (for her).  She will have free days between meetings, including a 2 week gap between the first and second one.

We decided to hang out there instead of travelling a day back and forth to her hometown. We might even to go Poltava for a week - we have no set plans.

So why do you need the services of some translator to sort an apartment out???

Your fiancee can not do this? Im sure she would not be charging you , unlike a translator..

It would take me exactly 2 hours to arrange an apartment in any city in Ukraine , every thing is possible on the internet now.. even more so if you have a Ukrainian fiancee  ;D
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Offline SL0413

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Re: Things to do in Kharkov in early winter
« Reply #8 on: October 03, 2018, 05:29:12 PM »
I am not asking Mila to search for apartments for me.  She owns/manages 5 apartments in Kharkov; my fiance and I are in the process of selecting which one to rent that fits both our preferences.  I like apts 2 and 5 based on the photos and description, T prefers 3 and 5.  She will check them out in person this week when she drives up there for a meeting on Friday.

We already checked online for apartments on Airbnb and Booking.com.  We've pre-selected a few and will decide which one is best (along with Mila's) for features/location/price.   ;D

Anyway, getting back on track -- anyone have suggestions about things to do in Kharkov?  Or Poltava.


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Re: Things to do in Kharkov in early winter
« Reply #9 on: October 03, 2018, 08:13:55 PM »
Anyway, getting back on track -- anyone have suggestions about things to do in Kharkov?  Or Poltava.

Not sure if you are into 2nd World War history but there was an Allied (mostly America) base near Poltava. In the historical museum of Poltava there are fair number of artifacts. In the early 18th century there was a battle between Sweden and Russia also near Poltava. The Russians won decisively.
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Re: Things to do in Kharkov in early winter
« Reply #11 on: October 05, 2018, 08:56:44 PM »
Was digging around about Kharkov and came across this article. It is a long read.

In any event do not head East or South. While I am confident some might not agree is shows how complex life in the Borderlands is.


http://carnegieeurope.eu/2018/09/12/how-eastern-ukraine-is-adapting-and-surviving-case-of-Kharkov-pub-77216
“If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?” T.S. Eliot

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Re: Things to do in Kharkov in early winter
« Reply #12 on: October 05, 2018, 09:31:06 PM »
A very good article. Thankfully the dirty tricks and sabotage coming from the East did not work although it's an uneasy truce between Kiev and Kharkov due to the corrupt Oligarch still protecting his turf in Kharkov.

Separatist resistance to the new Ukrainian state authorities came in the form of sabotage, explosions, and shootings. The SBU reportedly foiled thirty-five of thirty-nine cases of terrorism, identifying twenty-three criminal groups with more than eighty participants. In February 2015, an improvised explosive device killed four people and injured at least nine people during a march commemorating the Euromaidan victims. Similarly, another explosion injured eleven people in November 2014 at a pub belonging to a volunteer who was helping the Ukrainian Army.


http://carnegieeurope.eu/2018/09/12/how-eastern-ukraine-is-adapting-and-surviving-case-of-Kharkov-pub-77216

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Re: Things to do in Kharkov in early winter
« Reply #13 on: October 06, 2018, 10:21:53 AM »
Yikes!  T wants to visit a small resort area South of Kharkov, near Sloviansk.  It’s just across the border in Donetsk Oblask.

She is there today, after spending two days in Kharkov at a meeting and checking apartments...

Offline SL0413

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Re: Things to do in Kharkov in early winter
« Reply #14 on: October 06, 2018, 07:48:30 PM »
Well, plans have...shifted.

T let me know that after the meeting in mid Nov, the next meeting in Kharkov will not occur until the first week of Dec.

So, we will spend 3 days in Kharkov, then head to Kiev to visit her sister and celebrate her nephew's birthday.  In order to make up for the change of plans, she bought us tickets to Europe!....to Bratislava, Slovakia...

So...any suggestions on what to do in Bratislava?  We will spend about 4 days there and then hop on a train to spend a weekend in Vienna.

Oh, and the Dec. meeting in Kharkov is not definite - it depends on the result of the meeting in Nov.  If all goes well, we will spend 3 weeks in Kharkov, and then eventually I will help her move to Kharkov in Jan. 

Fun times!

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Re: Things to do in Kharkov in early winter
« Reply #15 on: October 06, 2018, 08:22:17 PM »
Well, plans have...shifted.

T let me know that after the meeting in mid Nov, the next meeting in Kharkov will not occur until the first week of Dec.

So, we will spend 3 days in Kharkov, then head to Kiev to visit her sister and celebrate her nephew's birthday.  In order to make up for the change of plans, she bought us tickets to Europe!....to Bratislava, Slovakia...

So...any suggestions on what to do in Bratislava?  We will spend about 4 days there and then hop on a train to spend a weekend in Vienna.

Oh, and the Dec. meeting in Kharkov is not definite - it depends on the result of the meeting in Nov.  If all goes well, we will spend 3 weeks in Kharkov, and then eventually I will help her move to Kharkov in Jan. 

Fun times!

Slo, If she lives in Kharkov, why do you need to help her move there?

In any event definitely take a river cruise on the Danube. It is an unique river. There is amazing architecture in Bratislava.

Bratislava is quite lively and you might find Vienna rather staid. But hey everyone should once Sacher Tort.
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Re: Things to do in Kharkov in early winter
« Reply #16 on: October 06, 2018, 10:01:26 PM »
Some background info:

T is originally from Donetsk.  She and her sister moved when the separatists took control - she went to a nearby Ukraine controlled town to the southwest, and her sister and family moved to Kiev.

I am going to meet her in Kharkov in mid November because she has to attend a meeting there.  The outcome of that meeting will decide if the December meetings will take place.  The outcome of the Dec. meetings, if successful, will result in T relocating to Kharkov. 

So, if all goes well, I will help T pack boxes and move to Kharkov in January.



River cruise - I just checked and it looks like no cruises are available after 31-10-2018?   When we arrive in Bratislava I will check:  a Danube cruise would be great!

The chance to visit two EU capitals in one short trip is too good to pass up  ;D

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Re: Things to do in Kharkov in early winter
« Reply #17 on: October 07, 2018, 12:06:43 PM »
Some background info:

T is originally from Donetsk.  She and her sister moved when the separatists took control - she went to a nearby Ukraine controlled town to the southwest, and her sister and family moved to Kiev.

I am going to meet her in Kharkov in mid November because she has to attend a meeting there.  The outcome of that meeting will decide if the December meetings will take place.  The outcome of the Dec. meetings, if successful, will result in T relocating to Kharkov. 

So, if all goes well, I will help T pack boxes and move to Kharkov in January.



River cruise - I just checked and it looks like no cruises are available after 31-10-2018?   When we arrive in Bratislava I will check:  a Danube cruise would be great!

The chance to visit two EU capitals in one short trip is too good to pass up  ;D


It’s highly interesting that we have a poster dating a woman who escaped the instability and violence caused by the separatists. How did you manage to first make a connection with her?

It sounds like she might be currently living in Mariupol or possibly even Kherson. Did her parents remain in separatist occupied territory?

I really don’t think you would enjoy a river cruise in November. If the river isn’t iced over it’s still going to be very cold. Perhaps you’ll get lucky and it will be unusually warm.

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Re: Things to do in Kharkov in early winter
« Reply #18 on: October 07, 2018, 04:18:27 PM »

It’s highly interesting that we have a poster dating a woman who escaped the instability and violence caused by the separatists. How did you manage to first make a connection with her?



Like most nowadays, on the internet.  I logged onto a site called Russian-Women dot com or some-such.  I found out later it is another alias name for dmnotify.   T signed on something like VIP-dating or VIP Foreign dating - the website name was more impressive sounding than mine.

After I signed up and created my profile, I searched for women in the 32-42 age range, with some other filters like height and weight (I limited height to 170 cm - my height).   From the result I contacted about a dozen women and started conversations with a few.  T was not in that original search.

The website has a match game feature where you go through pictures of ppl and click yes or no.  I guess it is a Tinder influence.  If the women you selected as "yes" also selects your picture, both are notified.   That is how I met T.  She wasn't in the original search group because she is 175 cm.

We messaged each other and I used google translate to write a few sentences to Russian - hello, nice to meet you, I am learning Russian but don't speak it very well.  She responded with "Don't try to learn such a difficult language.  Find someone that speaks English." 

Then I made a lame joke, smth about hoping that she's not looking for guy that can wrestle bears or something like that.   To my surprise, and maybe hers, she laughed at it and sparked her interest.

We messaged some more, then I asked for her number, and then I made a mess of trying to call her - my cell phone was from work and I didn't want to used it to make an international call.  I tried google voice but botched that.  A day later T messaged back, wondering why I didn't contact her.  I explained I had some technical issues.  She told me to use WhatsApp. 

I used whatsapp video call that evening.  To verify that I wasn't speaking with Oleg.   ;D

It started off very casual, but as we got to know each other we started liking each other more and more.  And then it came to a point where I thought she might be the one, and she thought the same.  After taking her to brand new sushi restaurants (boy, those places are just as expensive as the nice ones in Boston), buying her makeup and designer clothes, paying for private car service, and renting a pretty expensive apartment that looked ordinary inside (I guess it was a very expensive neighborhood?), she told me she loved me and I felt the same...


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Re: Things to do in Kharkov in early winter
« Reply #19 on: October 07, 2018, 04:56:59 PM »
So she’s almost 5’ 9” and you’re almost 3” shorter?

Lemme guess your real name is Tom Cruise and you and Nicole Kidman are having an affair?  :chuckle:

Dream Marriage was the name of the parent agency? Well I guess all the $ outlay was a test of sorts.

Expensive apartments chosen by an agency or agency girl are an additional form of payment to the agency. Whoever actually owns it will give a kickback to the agency, or the agency first rents it for far less than what you pay.

It’s not ultimately important if you get together with someone you really care for and it’s mutual.  :coffeeread:


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Re: Things to do in Kharkov in early winter
« Reply #20 on: October 07, 2018, 05:17:01 PM »
Slo, Only you know this woman. RUA pundits are guessing based on bits of information that you have given us.

My own reaction after reading about the sailing trip and the above you are in precarious situation. It is not the little things such as an apartment or a sushi meal or two.

Out of curiosity have you met her parents and any of her friends?

It would behove you to proceed with caution. Av
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Offline SL0413

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Re: Things to do in Kharkov in early winter
« Reply #21 on: October 07, 2018, 05:40:28 PM »
Sorry guys, that was mean of me.  I was pulling your leg with the MOB train wreck tropes with that last paragraph.   :chuckle:


We met for the first time at the airport in Kiev (KBP).  She greeted me with a mischievous smile and a SIM card.  I stopped at the airport bank kiosk to exchange for UAH - but they limited the amount I could change to $100.  They game a stack of 50 UAH notes.   I was wondering if I needed to get a daysack just to carry Ukrainian currency (I later found out there were 100, 200 and 500 UAH notes).

After our initial nervousness of the first meeting we got along extremely well.  We held hands when we walked, she sat next to me at restaurants to snuggle, we kissed...

At the end of the trip we decided to be committed to each other and subsequently got engaged.


I have not met her parents because they still live in Donetsk.  I have spoke with her mother over the phone a few times - they talk at least once a day.  I met her sister and her sister's family, spending an afternoon at their house for a bbq the day before I left on that first trip.




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Re: Things to do in Kharkov in early winter
« Reply #22 on: October 11, 2018, 01:54:21 PM »
Sorry guys, that was mean of me.  I was pulling your leg with the MOB train wreck tropes with that last paragraph.   :chuckle:


We met for the first time at the airport in Kiev (KBP).  She greeted me with a mischievous smile and a SIM card.  I stopped at the airport bank kiosk to exchange for UAH - but they limited the amount I could change to $100.  They game a stack of 50 UAH notes.   I was wondering if I needed to get a daysack just to carry Ukrainian currency (I later found out there were 100, 200 and 500 UAH notes).

After our initial nervousness of the first meeting we got along extremely well.  We held hands when we walked, she sat next to me at restaurants to snuggle, we kissed...

At the end of the trip we decided to be committed to each other and subsequently got engaged.


I have not met her parents because they still live in Donetsk.  I have spoke with her mother over the phone a few times - they talk at least once a day.  I met her sister and her sister's family, spending an afternoon at their house for a bbq the day before I left on that first trip.

Is it possible to get engaged after one meeting?
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Re: Things to do in Kharkov in early winter
« Reply #23 on: October 11, 2018, 03:46:07 PM »
Sorry guys, that was mean of me.  I was pulling your leg with the MOB train wreck tropes with that last paragraph.   :chuckle:


We met for the first time at the airport in Kiev (KBP).  She greeted me with a mischievous smile and a SIM card.  I stopped at the airport bank kiosk to exchange for UAH - but they limited the amount I could change to $100.  They game a stack of 50 UAH notes.   I was wondering if I needed to get a daysack just to carry Ukrainian currency (I later found out there were 100, 200 and 500 UAH notes).

After our initial nervousness of the first meeting we got along extremely well.  We held hands when we walked, she sat next to me at restaurants to snuggle, we kissed...

At the end of the trip we decided to be committed to each other and subsequently got engaged.


I have not met her parents because they still live in Donetsk.  I have spoke with her mother over the phone a few times - they talk at least once a day.  I met her sister and her sister's family, spending an afternoon at their house for a bbq the day before I left on that first trip.

Is it possible to get engaged after one meeting?

Hell yes!

Somewhere I read of some American who proposed even before meeting said love interest.

Bear in mind 150 years ago there were such things as mail order brides.
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Offline SL0413

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Re: Things to do in Kharkov in early winter
« Reply #24 on: October 12, 2018, 08:18:17 AM »

Is it possible to get engaged after one meeting?

Oh yes, most definitely.  It is possible.

Is it advisable?  No.

Is it stupid?  Highly possible.  ;D



I dated my previous wife for 3 years, was engaged for 2, was married for 2, was separated for 2, and then was divorced.  My last girlfriend, who I wasn't sure about initially but eventually thought might be the one, I dated for 3 years before we became just friends.

With T, I thought she might be the one on the first day, and was sure after a week.

It doesn't mean I'm blindly heading into this.  I still keep a paranoid eye out for signs that she might not be who she seems or if I am deluding myself.  Hence I am on this forum and looking at other websites, seeing if what is going on with me has any similarities with others whose relationships failed.

Also, engaged doesn't mean married.  I am heading to Ukraine on this next trip to spend a little over two months with her, giving us time for more evaluation.  And because I miss her.

In the meantime the K1 visa process is chugging along glacially in the background.   If our relationship goes on strong, we can be together permanently by next spring.  If not, then we can decide what to do.   I still have my job and friends and home, she has hers.  The worst would be us spending about a year together and having enjoyed a few trips to cool places.   

Actually, the worst would be if she is bait for FSU mafia who will kidnap me to harvest my organs or sell me as a sex slave.   This is actually what one of my paranoid friends think might happen.


 

 

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