Greetings From The Ukraine!

[skeptic49]

I don't know iof this photo will work or not (I hope so!).

Anyway, Dan and I are enjoying a riverboat cruise in the Ukraine. For the first few days we're actually sailing on the Black Sea. We started our trip in Odessa and now we're in Sevastopol. Sevastopol until recently was a closed Russian military base. With Ukrainian independence the city has been opened even though it still serves as a naval base now for both the Russian and Ukrainian navys. The photo shows some of the warships docked near ours.

The weather is pretty nice here, like back home in Philly...springtime. The food on board our ship is excellent. We've already attended a ballet performance at the beautiful Odessa opera house, and done quite a bit of touring of the Ukrainian countryside both in Odessa and Sevastopol. Sevastopol is located on the Crimean penninsula. There is much history here dating back to the Crimean War of the mid 19th century. Yesterday we saw the valley that was the site of the famous charge of the Light Brigade.

So this is a virtual postcard to my VR.org friends.

Best wishes,

Jim

 

[nngbwh]

Thanks for sharing. Enjoy your trip.

 

[Cooker]

Great pic! Have a wonderful time!

 

[Kathy McCain]

Thanks Jim, interesting photo. If you get the time, please send us more!

Take care

 

[sylviayasgur]

nice photo, jim. thanks for sharing.
have a great rest of your trip!
stay well,
sylvia

 

[Ross]

Watch out for grandma, shes mean.

 

[Duffey]

Jim, I sure appreciate your sharing your trips with us. Thanks for the glimpse into another wonderful travel adventure.

 

[Bina]

Jim, you snuck off again and left me behind.....Thanks alot for the pic/postcard, looking forward to another one.

 

[Cris N]

Sounds like a fascinating trip. Hope to see more pix from you.

 

[skeptic49]

The Charge of the Light Brigade Happned Here

The Charge of the Light Brigade Happned Here

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
"Charge for the guns!" he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.​

(from the poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson)

Did you ever wonder what the "Valley of Death" looks like? Well, this is it, on the outskirts of Sevastopol, in the Crimea, Ukraine. It is now covered with vinyards but at the time of the Battle of Balaclava is was open land.