Tour History
Dnepropetrovsk May 27 — June 5, 2004
Being very challengeable the work on tours gives a lot of chances for self-development as you always learn something new. Moreover it is great to get away from Moscow and to see the other countries and cities. A month later after Odessa tour I was to go to Dnepropetrovsk. I liked Odessa very much and made a lot of friends there. I hoped that the city on the Dnepr river would offer another opportunities. Each time I go to a new city I try to guess what people I will be working with and what results the tour will yield. I wish I could foresee… But it is nearly impossible and I go full of expectations like all our tour customers I think.
It was early morning when the train arrived in Dnepropetrovsk or Dnepr. The locals reduced the name of the city to Dnepr after the river that flows there. There were three of us: our permanent participants Shasha and Aleksey, photographer, and I. Anita, local assistant, met us at the platform. She was very glad to see her old friends again. The sun was shining brightly, a little bit chilly in the shade, but the day was to be wonderful. All in high spirits we went to the hotel. There we met a guy from our group who came on his on. He first went to Odessa and then to Dnepr by train.
Five hours later we got on the bus and went to the airport to meet the group. The airport of Dnepr is not large. There were only two flights – from Turkey and Austria. Passengers from Vienna were our customers. One by one they passed through the customs and we registered them at the gates. I must confess that before the trip I did my homework and had a look at all the customers’ pictures in their profiles. That’s why I picked them up easily. But when I saw Derek, our American rep, with a dazzling smile upon his face, my anxiety vanished. From that moment I knew everything would be fine. Odessa coworker gave me a friendly hug and it crossed my mind that we had not parted at all. Aleksey took some pictures of us that came out great! Then I approached one of the guys and said, “I’m Margarita and I know you!” He looked at me and replied. “Then I know you too, but you have advantage over me”. With those words we shook our hands. The rest of the guys looked intrigued. I think they did not expect the events to take such a turn. The matter is that I talked to that man many times on the phone, to be more precise helped him and his lady to interpret their conversations. I bet he could not wait to meet her in person after several months of correspondence and phone calls.
On our way to the hotel everyone was boisterous and one could say that a company of old friends went to picnic. Derek and I couldn’t help discussing the previous group as none of us forgot that fun we had in Odessa. Coworker said that some guys had made up their minds to come back in September and plunge into that atmosphere once again. As far as the new group, it was different and apparently some men were fun. I learnt that three men came to meet only whom they had been corresponding with and wished them luck.
Check-in went fast and all went to their rooms. The briefing was a Round Table as I called it for myself. I am not kidding; we sat at a big round table. Derek and me were the leaders of the men who passed the rite of initiation into “knights” J I smiled all the time I spoke about the hotel. The standards were incomparable. The city authorities did not even surmise that Dnepr could attract foreigners. Unfortunately at present there are no hotels of high class there. Luckily the customers took it as an adventure and did not complain. I was surprised to have many questions from the men about the Russian language and culture. It turned out that three guys studied Russian. I was impressed when I saw one of them writing words in Russian. I can imagine how much effort he put into this!
Then we went to the optional dinner. The restaurant was situated not far from the hotel and that was a big advantage – our clients were too tired after the flight to go elsewhere. The restaurant ‘Berloga” (Bear Cave) was very good: cozy atmosphere, wonderful cuisine. Stuffed animals and birds added some flavor. If you go on one of our tours never miss the optional dinner – you see the group, the staff, everyone. One of the clients said that first night dinner was a good introduction to the tour.
A few words about the socials. In Dnepr the socials were held at the club Labyrinth. On the first day there were 294 and on the second day 276 ladies. I liked the setting very much. There were several rooms there and that was rather good as the ladies could dance to loud disco music in one room and if the gentlemen wanted to talk to them, they could go to another room and sit there. There was a 65-year-old man who danced better than all and was constantly surrounded by women. On Sunday we went to the second tour city Zaporozhie. It s a very nice town, situated only in a 1.5 hours drive from Dnepr. The club Sova (owl) was rather big and comfortable. What is of interest is that one guy was rather skeptical about the intercity travel but the moment he came into the club he saw a young woman and “forgot his name”. He did not correspond with her, knew nothing about her – it was the first time they saw each other! Luck? Destiny? Who knows? He spent four days with her and came back to Dnepr only Saturday morning. He looked the happiest man in the group. He showed pictures of her to everybody with words “She is the best”. I believe he is involved in paper work now for bringing her to the US.
We had the boat trip had on Saturday night. We rented a boat and went along the Dnepr river. The clients invited the women, and we went there right after the social. There were eleven couples there. The view to the city lights was marvelous, but faint hum of the boat engines, Champaign and ladies made the guys forget about the view. Our men found the trip to be very romantic! We also had three excursions included: the city tour, a trip to Petrikovka (a small village not far form Dnepr, where craftsmen live and work) and to Orlovschina, a horse farm. Our guide was good, she seemed to know everything and was able to answer any question about the city, the customs and traditions. We all bought souvenirs in Petrikovka. And the horses in Orlovchina! They were so nice! We were allowed to pat and to feed them (we deliberately brought some sugar and fruit with us)! The guys took pictures of their ladies on horseback. They also took a picture of me and Champion of the Ukraine, sorrel Do-Not-Remember-His-Name.
Every day I talked to our customers when they dropped in the Hospitality room with their ladies. They shared their impressions and showed numerous pictures. There was a little community of three couples. They went out together each night and all made friends. I like the idea of the last night wrap up dinner. The customers and their dates invited me and Anita to join them. One of the guys bought six bottles of Champaign and made a toast to each couple. Some women shed tears when he spoke.
When we saw the group to the airport on the last day one of the men came up to me and said, “You and Sasha are my friends!” When you work on the tour it is not just your job, it goes beyond. Altogether I had a wonderful time! My hopes did come true – the city on the Dnepr river gave me new experience and new friends.
Author: Margarita Shesternina
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