Tour History
Dnepropetrovsk June 2 — 11, 2005
Privet Anastasia, I want to begin by thanking each and every one of you for a great two tours. I had a great time and I’m looking forward to doing it again. Let me tell you all about my trip to Dnepropetrovsk and Donetsk.
I was scheduled to fly out of JFK Airport in New York on June 1st so I got up early and went through my list of things to do. Everything seemed to be in order so I started off to the Airport. I arrived at JFK at 1PM only to find I was the only one there so far. Other men started showing up around 2PM. They were pretty easy to spot since most of them walked in to the Airport with a look of being lost on their face. By 3PM most of the men were there so we began going through check in then went down to the departure gate. It wasn’t long after that more of the men showed up. All of us boarded the plane on time and outside of the 30 or 40 planes ahead of us, waiting to take off, things were going smoothly. The flight to Vienna was a little shorter than expected, thanks to a good tail wind, so we arrived on time. We had a little time to spare so most of the men got something to eat before we boarded our next flight.
This flight was about 2 hours long and landed in Dnepropetrovsk right on time. I should have known things were going too smooth and sure enough, the customs inspector decided to check my luggage. I didn’t have anything illegal but I had a few items which, at the very least, would raise a few questions so as the inspector started through my bags I decided I would have some fun. I handed my camera to one of the other men and asked him to take some pictures as I put my arms around the inspector and gave a big smile. The inspector didn’t know exactly what to make of this but he told me to grab my luggage and move on. With a sigh of relief, I did just that. It’s a shame my camera was lost later in the trip. I would have loved to see those pictures.
We were greeted by Maria, Karina and a few others from Anastasia. One man’s luggage getting lost, so we waited a few minutes for him to fill out the necessary papers before we boarded the bus for our 20 minute ride to the hotel. When we arrived at the Hotel we were checked in quickly and took advantage of the time left to relax before the orientation meeting scheduled for 5:30 pm. After that all of us met in the lobby and walked 3 blocks to Big Bear Restaurant for our optional dinner. The food was great but the service was a little slow. After dinner all of us went back to the Hotel knowing that our first social was scheduled for the next day so a good nights rest was a good idea. After breakfast the next morning we met in the lobby, at 12:15. Things at the social got off to a slow start, since this was the first trip for most of the men and they weren’t use to such an over whelming number of beautiful women, but after a couple of hours they seemed to relax and started talking to and collecting phone numbers from the women. About half of the men ended up with dates following the social so I met with the others to go to dinner and check out the local cuisine. We all laughed and had a good time but once again ended the night early since there was another social scheduled for the next day.
The next day, Saturday the 4th, most of us met at breakfast and was already sharing our dating stories. It was funny how everyone’s attitude had changed in only one day. We met in the lobby again at 12:15. This social didn’t seem to have as many ladies as the previous one but everyone found a nice lady to talk to within an hour. I couldn’t help but laugh watching these previously very shy men now going right up to women and starting a conversation. Things went well and I think everyone was happy.
After the social there was a boat ride scheduled. Most of the men attended and a few bought dates with them. Even though it was a bit chilly, it was very nice to just relax and enjoy the scenery, plus there were snacks and Champaign on board. All of this ended shortly after 11pm and most men went back to the hotel for some much needed sleep. The following day was a bit more hurried since the social was a 3 hour bus ride away. Everyone came down for breakfast a little earlier then met in the lobby at 9:15. Despite the long bus ride we arrived at the social in good spirits. This social was the one you wanted to write home about. There were lots of women and the atmosphere was a lot nicer than previous socials. The music was a bit loud but considering the number of women not too many men noticed or complained. As usual, the social ended at 7 pm then we all boarded the bus for the long ride home. A lot of us had not eaten so we decided to stop at McDonald’s on the way back. We arrived back at the hotel at 11:30 pm and everyone went directly to bed. It had been a very long day.
The next day, Monday June 6th, everyone was a bit slow getting up for breakfast so I waited in the lobby for others to come down. After breakfast a few of us met in the lobby at 10:15 for the scheduled bus tour of the city. About 10 of the men showed up for that and 3 of the men had dates with them. The tour lasted 2 hours and took us around the city showing us different monuments and buildings showing the history of the city and country. After the tour I went with a couple other men to find the local inter net cafe since the connection in the hotel was poor at best. It was only 2 blocks away and the connection was good so it only took me a couple of minutes and one Grivnas (local currency) to clean up all the mail I had received. Later that afternoon I went to a little flee market to do some shopping then I met a couple of the men for some dinner. I then took some time to relax before we met for bowling that night.
Bowling went pretty much as expected with most men complaining about the shoes or the bowling balls but it was obvious to me that balls and shoes of any kind would not have helped their game. Bowling ended at 9:30 pm and we went back to the hotel. I think everyone was still a little jet lagged and wanted to relax and catch up on some sleep. It was nice to have this night come to an end early. The following day, Tuesday the 7th, started out virtually the same as the others. This day there was a tour scheduled for a local art exhibit and on Wednesday June the 8th, there was a tour of a local horse breeding farm. Even though the tour was very short, and I’m not a big horse lover, I enjoyed the tour and even fed a couple of the horses. One of the men’s dates even went for a ride. Almost all the men were out on dates by the time we got back to the hotel so I, once again, took this opportunity to relax. After the hospitality room closed at 6 pm a few of us met for dinner and laughs.
The next day, Thursday June 9th, I was to take a bus with two of the other men to Donetsk. A new city was waiting for us. Thanks again Anastasia!! I had a great time and met some really great people. I’ll look forward to seeing all of you again!
Author: Todd Brunswick
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