Missed the first post? Catch up on part one of my journey here.
Now I come to the purely theoretical part of my journey. I’ve travelled through nine countries and seen so much, but if I follow the Danube any further, I’ll eventually end up in the Black Sea. Well, just supposing I could sail a little further east across the Black Sea, close to the coast. Eventually, I’d reach the Ukraine, and the point where the 1,420-mile Dnieper River enters into the ocean.
So, I’m in Country number 10 and first port of call is Odessa. This beautiful port town is home to a famous historical location, the Potemkin Steps and I’ll probably find time to relax in one of its landscaped parks while I’m there, too. Staying in Ukraine, I’ll call next at Sevastopol, which is the site of the Valley of Death, where the Charge of the Light Brigade took place during the Crimean War. From there, it’s on to Yalta, home of the White Palace, where the historic 1945 conference between Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill took place. Staying in the Ukraine but working my way north, I’ll next arrive at Kherson. Its small city, so I can see quite a lot of it during my visit, but one site not to miss is the Mediterranean-style St Catherine’s Cathedral. Next I’ll arrive at Ukraine’s famous capital, Kiev, which is one of the oldest cities in Europe. Here I can explore the legacies of Vikings and Cossacks and visit the striking St Sophia Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Continuing north, I’ll enter my 11th country on my epic journey, Belarus. Most cruise itineraries on the Dnieper don’t head this far north, but I’ll need to if I’m to find a place to connect with my next river. In Mahilyow, I can visit the 17th century town hall and the baroque St Stanislaw’s Cathedral, while in Orsha, I’ll have the chance to look round one of the country’s oldest towns, which has a history of conflict, suffering badly in 1812 when attacked by Napoleon during his 1812 invasion.
Leaving Belarus, I’ll arrive at my 12th country as my journey will take me even further East, into Russia. I’ll still be on the Dnieper, but not for long, as I’ll soon reach the point where the river begins, or indeed ends, for the purposes of my journey. Before that, I’ll have chance to explore Smolensk, a historic walled city which has suffered at the hands of both Napoleon and Hitler. Uspensky Cathedral and the town’s railway station are two landmarks not to miss. My final port of call on the Dnieper is Dorogobuzh, where I can visit the nearby Boldin Monastery complex.
So where to now? Well, this is the part of the journey which I can’t complete on the water, and I’ll have to travel around 50 miles by land to meet my next river; the Don. I’ll join it at its most northern point, then begin my journey south-east along its length. My destination is the river’s most eastern point, because it’s here that it flows into the Don-Volga Canal. This 62-mile waterway was completed in 1952, and it’s the second such man-made creation which has allowed me to continue my journey by water.
Once I reach the other end of the canal I’ll arrive at Russia’s national
So what now? Well, if I continued my journey further South, I’d arrive at the Caspian Sea where I could perhaps find another river mouth and continue my journey. But that’s a tale for another blog…waterway, the mighty Volga.
There are some sensational sights to behold upriver, but for the purposes of my journey, I’ll work my way south along the river’s final stretch to Astrakhan, home to some spectacular buildings such as the Astrakhan Kremlin, State Opera and Ballet and Satte Music Theatre. While there, I can take a trip to the tranquil Baskunchak Lake, the perfect place to reflect on my journey of more than 2,250 miles.
By Simon Brotherton
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