Observations and conclusions
Ukraine
Romania
| 1. | Compared with Poland, the prices and availability of goods are similar. Some things are cheaper, especially wines and accommodation.
For those who choose self catering holidays, there is a local market in every town, offering all essential products. |
| 2. | The singing of birds accompanies us in many places, even when we sleep in a holiday resort. |
| 3. | Ukrainians love noise – on a boat, during a meeting, in a car, on a beach, at a construction site, in a bar, in a cafe, during a friendly chat – loud music is everywhere and you need to out shout one another. |
| 4. | Men in Crimea like to wear mesh sleeveless vests – black or dark blue. Additional accessories include a neck chain, a loud radio in a brand new fancy car, and a bimbo. |
| 5. | Ubiquitous litter – sometimes you can come across dust bins, outside groceries usually in the form of cardboard boxes. Even if it is apparent that someone looks after hotel premises (sweeping, raking, watering plants), litter such as beer bottles, cigarette butts or empty boxes is still being thrown away blatantly. |
| 6. | Ubiquitous human kindness, without a trace of importunity. |
| 7. | Almost everyone smokes cigarettes – even twelve-year-old boys. |
| 8. | In most restaurants they will allow you to bring in and drink your own alcohol – unbelievable! |
| 9. | Neither Ukrainians nor Russians can dance. They dance solo, even rhythmically, but they do not know any steps or how to dance with a partner. |
| 10. | Posing for photos – ladies, probably tourists, assume strange poses in completely unexpected places though not really special, for instance, on an ordinary lawn. We once witnessed the following scene: a car pulls up, a couple get out, she starts posing on the lawn while he takes photos with a mobile phone. Then they get in the car and drive away. We do not get it... |
| 11. | In bike shops you can only purchase bicycles. I do not know where they repair their bikes, but it is hard to buy a tube or a patch kit. |
| 12. | In no other country have we seen so many luxurious cars. Numerous BMWs, Lexuses, Subarus and expensive models of Volkswagens stand in sharp contrast with Ladas and Moskvitches, which are still keep pace with the above-mentioned brands in traffic light races. Ladas are often tuned, for instance, they have tinted windows, various spoilers, blue or red LED headlights. Besides, drivers do not have to fasten their seat belts, and they turn on the headlights when its is already pretty dark outside. |
| 13. | Unfortunately, there are many dead animals left by the roadside. Mostly birds, hedgehogs, foxes, sometimes cats. No one cleans them up, therefore there are often just pressed into asphalt. |
| 14. | At some places in Crimea there are European flush toilets, but usually there are squat toilets. |
Romania
| 1. | Romania is a clean country and in terms of the level of public safety it is comparable with Poland. If you are unlucky, something bad can happen to you everywhere. On no occasion must you provoke unnecessary problems. |
| 2. | Local soups are amazing – tasting them is a must! |
| 3. | Roads in Romania are very good – due to EU grants numerous road works are carried out, although they sometimes impede traffic. |
| 4. | Romania is a great country to visit, as long as many tourists are still afraid to go there, and as long as it keeps its Romanian identity. |
| 5. | We also recommend mountain walking in Romania – you can avoid meeting people on the trail for a few days – nothing like the Tatra Mountains :-( |
