5 oddest things about Crimea
16 Jun
Crimea is what they call the “Ukrainian Rivera” spread out along the coast of the Black Sea. It’s a place of amazing beauty, and each little town offers it’s own special “something”. When I arrived here, my first thought was that it feels like time stood still here for the past 20 years. It was apparent in everything- from fashion, to the way people interact, to the buses from the Socialist Russia era, to the ubiquitous sunflower seeds that Ukrainians are obsessed with shelling and eating everywhere. It all brought on bouts of nostalgia and a sort of joy that some things really DON’T change. I left Ukraine when I was 14 years old, so I am sure there are some things I don’t remember so well, but with my new found American and World traveling perspective there were some things in Crimea that I found outright odd.
1. They give you change in candy.
The first time it happened I thought it was a fluke, a creative cashier with imaginative methods of change disbursement. I found it utterly adorable, but later realized that somehow this is a common thing. The Ukrainian currency is “Hrivna”. One US dollar= 8 Hryvna-about 12 cents. But the currency wasn’t always this low, and some of the prices are still Hrivnas and Kopeikas (cents). So if a purchase requires for the cashier to give you change that includes kopeikas, and they don’t happen to have any kopeikas, they give you one or two or five hard candies that are always in jars by the cash register. I never ended up figuring out exactly how much one hard candy is worth, as the “change” always varied. They don’t ask you if it’s OK to give you change in candy, nor do they make any apologies for it, just kinda of matter of fact- here is some candy for you. I even got lollipops a few times. So do make sure all your cavities are filled before you travel to Ukraine, as you will be getting tons of hard candy:)
Crimea- View from above
2. The last page of the menu is the price list for what it’s going to cost you if you break anything.
Now this is really special. Once again the first time I saw this in a pretty upscale waterfront restaurant I thought it was hilarious, and in my head thanked whoever was responsible for providing my humorous moment for the day. Of course the next realization was that EVERY SINGLE restaurant had this particular gem of a read as the last page of the menu. Apparently it’s a common thing for people to dine, have way tooo much to drink and stat breaking things. So common in fact, that Crimea restaurants were forced to take necessary precautions for situations like these. The first restaurant, whose price list I found so amusing had plates, and ashtrays and glassware listed. The next establishment I visited had all of the above, plus prices for tables, chairs, musical equipment (they had a small stage with a band playing nightly). And one restaurant had the price one would have to pay if they destroyed the restaurant in it’s entirety. Destroying an entire restaurant sounds like no small feat, and I am not quite sure how that is achievable, but I guess they had their reasons for concern.
Last page of the menu that says " the prices of items in case you break them"
3. They sell EVERYTHING on the beach
Selling things on the beach in beach towns is a very common thing of course. And as we know the items being sold vary greatly by country and region. In Crimea the things sold on the beach are Ice Cream, Corn on the Cob, and sliced watermelon, which are huge hits- those are the top 3 consumed items on all of Crimea’s beaches. The ladies on the beach also sell homemade pastries and “pirozhki” -knish like dough things stuffed with meat, or potatoes or cherries. Then there are sunglasses and hats and floating devices. So far so good, right? So you will hear several different people walking around the beach at any given time loudly advertising their respective goodies-
“pirozhki, pirozhki, get your fresh home made pirozhki here, I have cherry, potato, and meat. Get your pirozhki before they run out, only a few left!”
But in addition to the expected beach gooodies, there is plenty of unexpected and sometimes a bit shocking. They sell toilet paper, calling cards, soap, move tickets…and (gasp) condoms! Why anyone would need these particular items on the beach is a bit beyond me, but it’s nice to know they are available 
The VERY packed beach at Gurzuf
4. They disobey the rules and reprimand you for doing so at the same time.
I was staying at a very quaint place called “Santa Barbara” and once took the bus to Yalta. It’s about an hour away, and the roads here are truly scary, so every passenger must have a seat. That’s the rule. The rickets for this bus ride are purchased at the bus station and cost about 2-3 dollars. It’s a very steep and winding road up the mountain to get from Santa Barbara to the main highway, and there are a bunch of little villages and a few resorts on the way up. There are always hitchhikers on the side of the road, and the bus driver would stop, pick them up and literally yell at them along these lines “You are not supposed to be hitchhiking here! This is dangerous! I can get in a lot of trouble for picking you up!”. Yet he stopped at least 5 times on the way to the highway, and of course charged the hitchhikers a small fee that he put in his pocket.
I took the bus to the train station some days later, with young female driver, and she did THE SAME exact thing. Almost word for word with the ” this is against the rules, and i could lose my job for stopping”
Why stop then I ask? And if you do stop, don’t yell at the poor hitchhikers- it’s a bit of a double standard.
Crimea's winding roads
5. It looks like they have been producing the same exact bathing suit for the past 20 years. And ALL men wear speedos
The fashion here is outright funny. It is so outdated that it’s hard to believe. Any of the older women on the beach could easily be cast as an extra in a 70′s Era movie. The hairstyles play it up even more. And virtually all men wear tiny speedos. It doesn’t matter if they are overweight, young, or old. Those tiny shorts dominate the beaches here, and look even funnier in contrast with some of the women’s very large bathing suits.
This list is hysterical! I am going to stumble and tweet it now. I love the candy thing. That is so bizarre!
I found your blog through AdventurousKate. Thank you so much for saying that you liked my Oaxaca photos! I appreciate it and I’m going to sign up for your feed.
Thanks so much Bethany!!! You rock!
I wonder if the Ukrainians know they’re hilarious? My guess would be not so much
My faves definitely have to be the change in candy, and the pricelist for resto breakables, including the restaurant!
Awesome
The most hillarious part is the list of things for which you’d have to pay. They have priced a table and a chair. This is typical, since “it’s not a party without a fight”. Just in case I want to throw that fat guy on the table and hit him with a couple of chairs, I know what it would cost me… not too much. Let’s go party!
Thank you darling!!!
Hi Gina,
Wow! Love your post! I want to hop on a plane to the Ukraine now. I’m a sucker for candy, I’d probably ask them how much for the whole box on the counter!
Are you living in NY now? I’m currently in Montreal but will make a trip down there soon, would be great to meet up.
Adding you to my RSS reader now, look forward to reading more.
Lauren
What a great piece! I love all the details you included! Sorry I missed this the first time around…
hi Kate, thanks a lot! I am very glad you enjoyed it!
I am sorry you missed it too- really wanted to be included in your weekly round up
hi Lauren,
Thanks a lot! If you love candy- you would LOVE Ukraine, they have awesome candy!
Yes, I am currently in New York- until the end of July, then off to Hawaii for a month:)
shoot me a note when you are here!
I enjoyed this post, a fun topic and humourous read. I’ve seen restaurants add items to bills when they see someone stealing things (not just breaking things). Sunflower seeds? Who knew! Speedos? No thanks…
Gina! What a hilarious post. Your pictures are beautiful too to go along with your post. In other countries, you just have to go with the flow. Wow! Change in candy