Many central and eastern European countries are the result of wars, treaties and alliances formed over the centuries since the fall of the Roman Empire. When the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics disintegrated in 1991, Ukraine declared itself free and independent. Despite such declarations, remnants of the old history die hard, as the symbols above suggest. Sevastopol was the main naval base for the Soviet Navy in the Black Sea, and remains an important naval base today.
The second city we visited is Yalta, site of the famous meeting between Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and US President Franklin Roosevelt, which took place very near the end of World War II.
While on our way to the meeting place, we passed this most unusual churchNestled in a pine forest, what appears as a small church is really quite a large edifice. The majority of the structure is down below the mountain top, so cleverly placed within its environment that you could easily miss this place if you blinked while driving past.
But it is neither Yalta nor Sevastopol that stays in my mind. The place I shall never forget is Odessa.
The second city we visited is Yalta, site of the famous meeting between Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and US President Franklin Roosevelt, which took place very near the end of World War II.
While on our way to the meeting place, we passed this most unusual churchNestled in a pine forest, what appears as a small church is really quite a large edifice. The majority of the structure is down below the mountain top, so cleverly placed within its environment that you could easily miss this place if you blinked while driving past.
But it is neither Yalta nor Sevastopol that stays in my mind. The place I shall never forget is Odessa.
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