TOUR DE MYKOLAYIV

Victor and Sasha in front of Victory Park

WWII Memorial

We took a tour of Mykolayiv on Wednesday. It was a welcome chance to learn more of our boys' hometown. Victor and Sasha were ideal interpretors for the job. Both grew up in Mykolayiv and attended universities here. Sasha has two degrees, and speaks both English and French. Victor studied at the Shipbuilding College, the most prestigious in Ukraine and the former Soviet Union.

We had already visited the main drag, vul Radnyanska, on shopping excursions for the boys. It is a wide street closed to traffic, filled with higher end stores and anchored by an unusually loud McDonalds. Nearby, is the Museum of Shipbuilding and Fleet. There was once an arguement between which town, Odessa or Mikolayiv, had the nicest museum of this sort. But since a fire burned down the museum in Odessa, there is little question that we visited the finest one. Victor comes from a military family and was able to add personal details to the exhibits.

Ukrainian language Theatre. The city's two theatres, one in Russian language, the other in Ukrainian, still shows the dichotomy of their evolving identity.

Mykolayiv is best known as a shipbuilding port. Originally named, "New Shipyard on the Ingul River" in 1789, the port has formed the identity of the town and its citizens for nearly 230 years. It has had some hard times since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Once the center for shipbuilding for all of the Republic, the switch to a capitalist market has been understandably difficult. The port was the heart of Mykolayiv, employing most of the town and providing high incomes compared to most other jobs. Warships, aircraft carriers, and seemingly anything else that floated were built here. But when Ukraine gained its independence, the Soviet demand for ships faded and production was mostly halted. The port was forced to sell its steel for scrap just to survive. Fortunately there is evidence that the market is steadily building by manufacturing for the private sector. In the photo below you can see a yacht being constructed behind the red and green cranes. The shipbuilding univerity has also diversified, and offers a larger selection of Majors. Kathy and I have noted before the groups of students walking the streets.

Ship building port now building luxury yachts

Mykolayiv also has the nickname, "City of Brides." Men from around Ukraine and the world come here in search of romance and spouses. The women of Mykolayiv are considered some of the most beautiful in the world. There is an unconfirmed story that traces the source to Peter the Great, who asked that the most beautiful single women in Russia be brought to the Mykolayiv region to become the brides of his soldiers. In current times, the combination of a country with more women than men, a volitile economy, and an embrace of feminine ideals lost in many western countries, has led to a robust international dating scene.

Memorial to Afghanistan War in Victory Park

The art on the streets and the ships on the water remind us of home. We walked through Victory Park. On one side of vul Prospect was the memorial to World War II Veterans. On the other side, a memorial to the Afghanistan War Veterans. A paved trail leads to the river, unpopulated in the autumn weather. Sasha told us that in the summer the area is filled with parties, kiosks, and tent pubs. We see volleyball courts with the nets taken down for the season. The autumn, with falling leaves and dropping temperatures feels more appropriate for our visit, leaving behind one season and trancending toward another.

Footbridge across the Ingul River