Pretty depressing morning â trudging around in the cold looking for things like the tourist office which are on the map, but donât exist in reality!  A morning of not being greeted by any smiles, & hearing ânyetâ a lot.  Our fortunes changed when we came across Galina, the âfree toursâ guide (not where they told us she would be!!) â so we got a really nice tour of all the ground weâd already trudged, but this time with commentary- then back to her tourist office.  Here were 3 lovely people, Maria, Boris & Eugene, most helpful & smiley and interested in us & our trip.  They suggested we visit Chernobyl while we are here.  Theyâve also found us an apartment to stay in which is cheaper.  Their office is almost invisible to the average tourist &, as a privately run enterprise, they are not allowed to advertise.  They were fined for putting a sign on the street (does this sound familiar to anyone in Lymington High St?), & they explained that soviet hotels are quite hard to deal with so they donât get any advertising there!

 

Now having a glass of wine (well, a tooth mug of wine)