2017/09/24
Day 57: Belgorod - Kiev
It pulls me home and so I continue today to the west. I want to leave early so we have breakfast early. After all, today I have another border crossing and about 550 kilometers ahead of me.
Actually, I want to ride via Sumy (in Ukraine) to Kiev. The night before we talked about whether the border crossing in this direction is open internationally, but could not find any information about it. So I start my journey towards the border. There, however, I'm not allowed to pass the first turnpike. A moderately broken English-speaking young supervisor is called, who tells me that this is a bilateral border crossing only for Russians and Ukrainians and that I have to drive to a border crossing some 50 kilometers further south, which is international. Well, nothing helps. I have to do the detour.
There I pass without any problems the first turnpike, but I come across a customs officer, who is probably a leftover from the Soviet era. First of all, I have to open all my bags and panniers to satisfy this completely humorless contemporary. Then he wants to see my documents and makes an even more sour look than before, because he believes that a customs form for Russia would be missing. He explains that to me in the finest Russian, which of course I do not understand. Another minor border official, who seems to live far more in the present time, tries to explain the problem to me with a few words in German. I try to explain to the border official that Kazakhstan's import form also applies to Russia, as Kazakhstan and Russia join in an customs union. This does not seem to be known to the fossil or he simply ignores this fact and continues his sour face. Since nothing moves, I try to send a text message to Brigitte, so that she already can get the contact details of the German embassy. Then the customs officer disappears suddenly and returns after a while with a much younger officer, who also does not speak any word in English, but after a short time signals that everything is ok. Well, didn't I say it! Surely it will not be the first time that someone enters Russia via Kazakhstan and then wants to leave via this border! Well, now proceeding to the passport control. The girl on that counter can even smile. Man, that's good after such a sour face!
On the Ukrainian side of the border, I am greeted friendly and with a few jokes. Nevertheless, one does his job there professionally, but has already arrived in modern times. Not selfconfident about in English, one of the border officials lets Google Translate speak for himself.
After the border there is only a small open café where I can exchange a 1000 ruble note to 400 ukrainian griwna. The exchange rate is not very good of course. Now, at least a little I have bit of cash in my pocket, because here in the east of the Ukraine it is quite rural and I can not expect ATMs here.
Unfortunately, the detour and this customs officer did cost me a lot of time, so unfortunately I have to speed up a bit, because otherwise I would arrive late in Kiev. I've planned to stroll around in town there. In Ukraine, I have a somehow uneasy feeling in violating the traffic rules, as I have read a few negative things about the police here, but fortunately I do not have any bad experiences here. On the other hand I am not exaggerating the traffic violations. In towns and near pedestrian crossings I slow down to a appropriate speed.
So I arrive reasonably well in the time in Kiev and after a nice hot shower in the hotel I'm just in time to climb up the bell tower of St. Sophia Cathedral. The cathedral itself is already closed. Then I stroll around the center and of course take a look at the famous Maidan, the central square. The Sunday evening bustle is very nice to look at. A bit disturbing is just the intrusive begging, which I met nowhere throughout the whole tour.
Eastern Ukraine is poor. I could see that day. Kiev, on the other hand, is a dynamic city with many attractions, a city that I hopefully will be able to return to for a longer stay. I only have the few impressions of this evening.