It was very solar days for sure 38 degrees Celcium. I met with my pen pals and I went all over Lugansk City, (the roads are not good) it was interesting to watch the taxi drivers avoid the holes in streets:). I went ice skating and then walked a few blocks to see the beautiful new Orthodox Cathedral with a gold dome. And I have also seen the horse back riding at the stables on way to airport. We walked several times along the main street where the large statue of Mary and Jesus is. Then across the street there is park.
You keep walking and you come to The Museum of History. Across the street there is memorial. There is another area if you keep going with more large bronze statues, but a foreigner must have a walking guide to show them military leaders former home and Lugansk famous people’s homes and old factories of military area.
The German hotel is the other beautiful building. There are little underground shopping malls beneath the main street of Lugansk. Also along the main street there are many nice restaurants serving many kinds of food.
There is the Russian drama theater and the Lugansk drama theater. There is also The Puppet Theater for ladies with children. The circus arena, the soccer stadium and a tennis-court there. A nice restaurant just in front of the stadium on the street.
There is the University of teachers and the famous Rossiya dept store with it’s beautiful displays of merchandise. You can buy tickets to all entertainment events in the city on the second floor.(It is like ticket master in USA) only they hand you the tickets to any event. It is so convenient.
There are three good disco clubs and more if you ask the cab drivers. The one I went to is the 80’s music club which is the best one and has great lighting and music. Life starts after 10.00 pm and Thursday is a good day to go. The comedy club with the large stage is good and there is another on the north side with lots of mirrors. It is a large club with go-go dancers.
There is also the Art Museum where you can buy art, too. The Lugansk Region building, city hall, and regional sports building make good photo shoots as well as the many statues and older buildings in the factory neighborhoods. There is the open market street across from the Rossiya Dept store for several blocks. It is loaded with hundreds of shops and street vendors and thousands of people each day visit this area. It is fun just to walk up and down the street and visit the long malls which run parallel to the street.
I have mentioned quite a bit here. It kept me busy for 8 full days not including my arrival and departure days from Kiev and back again. Take a cab – cabs are inexpensive for westerners 15-25 Ukrainian dollars (hrivnas) to any club one way ($3-$5) pretty cheap. There are cabs everywhere you look.
OK, so I gave you many items of pleasure and don’t forget the ice cream – it is very tasty!!
Here are the main streets of Lugansk where I traveled. We went down the main side streets to connect. Geroev VOV , Sovetskaya street, Oboronnaya street, where Rossiya supermarket is. There is a casino next door, a bank machine, a workout gym across the street, restaurants, farmers market, street vendors, perfume store.
I love the underground malls – they are different. All the hundreds of street vendors and hundreds of small shops. I walked many, many kilometers for hours, it was quite an experience and I enjoyed it and food. My friends made me home made “Borsch” and the sour cream Summer soup, yummy!!!