2nd day in Chernobyl and journey home

Getting up to the second day

Our 2nd day in the Chernobyl exclusion zone was started by us being able to exit the hotel. The main door out of the hotel was locked around 2300 pm, and was not unlocked until 0800 am. This to enforce our curfew I suppose. After the whole tour group were assembled outside the hotel, we were driven off to have breakfast. The breakfast, along with all the other meals, was of the traditional Ukrainian kind. After breakfast we stocked up on water and were taken to a garden with many village signs which were crossed over. These were the villages that were abandoned and bulldozed.There were many of these villages. We then moved on to a great concrete “map” of the zone on the ground, which candle holders spread all over it. These were on the locations of every “removed” village within the zone.  All of village signs, the concrete “map” where placed by a large statue of the archangel Gabriel, overlooking them all. It was most symbolic and biblical. Across the road from the garden was a museum. It was beautifully decorated with two paintings.Again the motives were very symbolic. We did not get to the other side of the road; therefore the picture of the paintings did not come out that well. Then we boarded our buses again and head of to the 10 km zone. We visited one of the zones many fire stations. Like everyone else, the people in the zone are scared stiff of fires. This is because of the radiation being “lifted up” by the heat and spread to other areas. The fire engines looked more like tanks, and were huge! They really took the fire hazard seriously. These machines would not be easily stopped! After short stay here, we went off to visit an old couple who lived by themselves in an abandoned village. They never left the zone, and live there at their own risk. They kept pigs, and chickens, and grew their own vegetables. After staying whith them for a little while, and hearing them answering our questions, we said good bye, we drove to Pripyat. Here our first stop was at the fairground. This was a large area consisting of bumper cars, a Ferris wheel, a merry-go-round and swings. The fair ground, was just completed back in ’86, but was never opened due to the accident. The next stop was an elementary school number five. The first thing that met us at the main entrance was a gas mask, a child’s gas mask. I have to admit that put shivers down my spine. As you might appreciate by the photos, the school was hastily abandoned. Chemistry sets, school books, and everything one might expect in a school were still there. The blackboards still had writing on them. It was a weird experience, and I kind of felt uneasy. We walked from the school, and again I felt that I was walking in a forest, not a city. Everything was completely overgrown, and you could barely see the buildings. We were driven to the police station, and allowed in to the reception. The building was too dangerous to go through, so we had to go around entering the prison part, consisting of holding cells and a courtyard. Out guide told us that there was next to no crime in Pripyat. The only crimes were public drunkenness. Our final stop in the overgrown city was one of the abandoned fire stations. This building was not reclaimed by nature as the other buildings. It was easy to see that the fire fighers stationed there had left in a hurry. Some of the fire fighter’s jackets were still there, and the garage doors were wide open.  After this last stop, we left for the 10km zone checkpoint. Here we were scanned for radiation, and one tour member did not pass. Her shoes had to be decontaminated before she was let in the 30km zone. We were driven back for our traditional Ukrainian dinner. The tour was now over.

Arriving in Kiev and going home.

After we all passed the final radiation control, we set of for Kiev. The driver was clearly in a hurry, because he drove very fast. I was actually scared for the time during our trip! But we arrived safe and sound at Kiev central station at round about 5pm, and took a taxi to our hotel. We checked in at the Fairmont Grand Hotel Kiev, and I might add that I strongly recommend this hotel! The service was great and so was our room. Let me just say that we were very much comfortable here! The rest of the evening was spent on eating out, and enjoying ourselves. Not to mention reflecting on our trip so far. Over our very well prepared meal, we discussed our trip to Chernobyl. Even though we had traveled together all the way, and seen pretty much the same things, there were a lot different impressions. We had a lot to talk about. Sunday was spent much in the same manner. Writing this blog in the comfort of our hotel room, and eating out was most enjoyable. Kiev is a vast city, and to experience it all in just one full day is impossible. Our flight was on Monday for noon. After paying a “check in fee” to airbaltic, we flew for Oslo threw Riga. We arrived at Gardermoen airport and took the airport express train to Oslo central station. From here we went our separate ways. Kenneth was leaving for Bergen, and I for Flekkefjord. I was graciously picked up by my mom at the train station outside Flekkefjord, and we got back home half past six in the morning. Our trip to Chernobyl had come to an end.

Some reflections on our trip

I have managed to write some thousand words about our trip to Chernobyl, and I am sure I could go on. But even though I have done my best to explain my impressions and feelings I have received on this journey, I suspect the pictures we took will do a better job. The tour operator arranges tours into the zone all year. We choose to travel in summer time, but I think our experience would be different in any other season. There are many strong feelings to be had after visiting such a disaster zone. Thinking of the tragic fates of those there at the time of the accident, as well as the horrible consequences it had for so much and so many. Pictures, and texts about it will give you some impression of these things, but experiencing it first hand is a whole other story. If I should try to sum up my experience of Chernobyl with a few words, I only think I would use two: Heroism, and emptiness. I highly recommend a journey to the Chernobyl exclusion zone! I’m not a tour operator myself, so I do not know what recommendations I could give you other than that. If there is something you think I have left out, please let me no. My computer is acting up, so uploading the last batch of photos is proving to be difficult. I will post them as quickly as possible!  I hope you have enjoyed the blog so far, and if not, thank you for reading all the same!

Best regards from the boys from Chernobyl, Edwin Rippon & Kenneth Fjeldstad

And lastly

The guide referred to The Bible when it came to the Chernobyl disaster, and the statue of Gabriel blowing his trumpet. I thought it was pretty cool:

Revelations 8:11

“And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell on the third part of the rivers, and on the fountains of waters. And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.”

Arrival in the Ukraine and 1st day in Chernobyl

Hello again girls and dudes!

We have finally come to the Ukraine!

Our flight from Gardermoen to Borispol outside Kiev was all right and on time. We had to wait some four hours in Riga for our transfer to Kiev. This time was spent on enjoying a few of the local beers, and buying some “necessities” at the tax free. We arrived at Borispol in the early evening. Immigration and customs went smooth, and we then had to find “sky bus” to take us to the Ukrainian capitol. While we waited for the skybus, we were asked several times if we wanted a taxi. The taxi drivers are very ongoing, and simply saying “no, thank you” in a direct way, will usually “fend them off”. If not, they continue to bug you for a while. Our bus finally left and in right under an hour we were at the Kiev central railway station. Not having the slightest clue where the hotel was, we ordered a taxi, and in not long, we arrived at the Gintama hotel. There we relaxed, ate dinner, had a few beers before calling it a night. We needed a good night’s sleep, knowing tomorrow would be a long day.

The way to Chernobyl

We got up 0630, packed and had breakfast. When checking out, the receptionist asked us where we were off to. When we replied “Chernobyl”, it seemed like it startled her, and she asked us why on earth we wanted to go there. It would seem that the populace of the Ukraine are much afraid of the Chernobyl incident, and do not understand why one would like to go to such a place. This was later confirmed by an American we met who had got the same reaction when telling locals where he was off to. In his own words: “they spoke to me like if I was going to die”. The receptionist called a taxi for us and we left for our pickup point outside the central railway station. We both went our separate ways to look for the tour guide, and group. And luckily, after 15 minutes of heightened pulse and some stress, we finally found them in a crowd of people. We both paid 270 euro, and followed our guide to the tour buses. We were told that the trip to the Chernobyl exclusion zone checkpoint would take two hours. And so it did. The journey to the checkpoint was not the most comfortable one. It was frightfully hot in the minibus, and our baggage proved to be most cumbersome. When we finally got to the checkpoint, we had to disembark the bus, and present our passport for control. The police officer in command, told us to put on our long sleeves. Long sleeve being a jacket, jumper, or the like. When we were cleared inn, we continued into the zone.

1^st. day in the zone

After the checkpoint we proceeded into the zone, and our first stop was a 2^nd world war monument. It would seem that villages and towns that have supplied soldiers for the Ukraine always erect a monument for these soldiers. And as the Ukraine was a Warsaw pact country, the soviet star, hammer, and sickle had a good spot on the monument. Following this visit, we stopped and entered a grocery store and a (best explained as) a festivity hall. These structures have been abandoned for some 27 years. And this became more than clear when entering the rather rundown buildings. This fact one might appreciate when viewing our photos. The journey continued to the outskirts of the town of Chernobyl. It became clear, that apart from firefighters, police, military and a few civilian workers, the whole zone is absolutely empty of people. Driving down the road to the town, you pass empty buildings and, well, empty everything. There is just nothing there anymore. Then we arrived at the hotel. It does not seem like a hotel though. It is a discreet building, with very simple facilities. No common area to mention and no dining area. We were lodged with an American traveling alone. We have two separate rooms, and he got his own. From the hotel we went to another rundown building to have lunch. I do not want to seem needy, but these facilities where very “east block”. The lunch was so-so, and we then boarded our buses and headed out for the Chernobyl NPP (Nuclear Power Plant). There are two zones within the exclusion zone. The 30 km zone, and the 10 km zone. When passing into the 10 km zone, we had to go through a second checkpoint, and wilts not in the bus, eating, drinking and smoking were prohibited. We stopped and viewed the nearly completed reactor four and five, and their almost completed cooling tower. These, as all other places within the zone, are just left. Plain and simple. We continued to Yanov train station. Like the stalker gamers me and Kenneth are, we started to recognize the various structures. Funnily enough the guide overheard us talking about the game and said: “do you play stalker!? I love those games!” And for the rest of the day, she would say: “Stalkers, you might recognize this building” and then pointed at what we would recognize. And so we did! Most enjoyable for us gamers! After Yanov, we drove to the NPP. Here there were photo and video restrictions. When we asked why, we were told that the plant still had radioactive fuel within, and was under military jurisdiction. After taking a few photos at the angle we were allowed, we went in a “security room” and were given a very informative “tour” of a model of the Chernobyl NPP, and the new cover with is being built to cover the new sarcophagus. This and a lecture on radiation was a good contribution to our experience. We then drove to Pripyat. Now this experience was very, quesque se, weird. Imagine a town with a populace of no less than 49600 inhabitants. Police stations, fire stations, grammar schools, vast recreation facilities, shops and stores, administration buildings etc, abandoned. I and Kenneth commented on it several times, but nature had reclaimed the city. Trees and bushes sprung up everywhere, and great apartment complexes were only visible when looking up at them not more than 50 meters from them.  Everything was quiet. We visited many buildings, but were restricted to go in most of them. This, as you see of the pictures of the grammar school, was probably a good idea. (I’ll add caption of the pictures later) The only building not abandoned in 1986 was an NPP administration building. This was used until 1986. Again, as you see on the picture, nature has taken its toll, also here. Around 1800 we boarded the buses again and visited a store before eating dinner at the cantina. Also this building was poorly maintained, and the food was standard Ukrainian cuisine. We were then driven to the hotel and told of the curfew, and that we were prohibited to venture out of the hotel perimeter. Curfew was at 2200 hours. We were told that venturing outside the perimeter and being caught by the police would:”get us in trouble”.  So here I am. In Chernobyl hotel, drinking a few beers and writing my blog. I was out smoking 15 minutes ago, and there is nearly no light outside. The sky has become heavy with clouds, and there are very few lamp posts. It is very dark outside. Sitting in the “hotel” room and writing my blog, I become somewhat reflected. The experiences this day have been priceless. They call the exclusion zone “the dead zone”. This far I do not agree. I have not seen any death here, only vast life in the form of trees and other growth. Funnily enough there is a wast animal life within the zone! Post accident there vere many animals that got away from the “liquidators”. Most of these animals survived and led a good life, and multiplied in time. This was so strange, that the Ukrianian government put more animals in the zone, to se the impact on them what fallout and ground radioactivity is concerned. The results so far are most astonishing! Not only did these animals survive, but they thrive! Apart from the wast plant and wildlife, the zone is pretty much empty. I’ll try not to be too nostalgic, but here goes. We have passed many monuments on our way into the Chernobyl exclusion zone. These monuments commemorate the people that once lived and worked here, along with the heroes that served beyond the call of duty to try to restrict the radioactive source from the reactor to spread on the 26 of april 1986. When I venture in Pripyat, I see more monuments. Not in the form of sculptures, but in the form of abandoned buildings, and areas. I think of the people that lived and worked there, and I get a feeling of emptiness. 49600 people are a lot of people. I hope you like out pictures, and they tell something of the sights we have seen. We are really looking forward till tomorrow! So continue to follow me and Kenneth on out radioactive adventure! 😀

Oh, and by the way! We’ve taken a whole load of pictures we hope you like! I tried to put them in by the text, but there were just so many even thought I tried to use the most picturesque ones. So I simply had to post these under the text. However these are in chronological order. The disclaimer for these pictures and the pictures for re rest of this blog is that they solemnly belong to me and Kenneth Fjellstad. You are free to use them at you own discretion, AS LONG as you do not use them commercial purposes!

Enjoy! 😀

our beds in the Gintama hotel

Kenneth in front of a fire exit

Old soviet locomotive

first pic of the zone!

soviet war memorial

memorial up close

overgrown house

owergrown grocery store

inside grocerystore

leaving for the dead zone

Hello again girls and dudes!

The eve of our departure to the Ukraine and the “dead zone” has finally come! Both me and kenneth are really exited about our trip, and cannot wait to get there!

I’m almost ready to get on my way. I’m bringing my laptop along, as to keep this blog updated as best as possible. (working on it on my mobile phone, well, I’m not doing that). My old friend Roger is driving me to the train station later on, and there I will take the train from Sira to Oslo 0034.Hopefully I will get some sleep on the train before I arrive at Gardermoen airport around 8 o’clock tomorrow morning. Once there, I will meet up with Kenneth, probably have a beer or two before our flight at 1020 am. From there we will travel to Riga where we will have a “pitstop”, before traveling on to Borispol airport just outside Kiev. We will arrive at the Gintama hotel downtown Kiev in the early evening on the morrow. I really hope there won’t be any delays!

I have been asked alot about this trip to the Chernobyl exclusion zone. So I thought I could write down a few “FAQ’s” for you. Although I hope that this blog will enlighten you, the reader, sufficiently. 🙂

So, to the “FAQ’s”

Q1. Isen’t it dangerous to travel to the Chernobyl exclusion zone?

A1: Why yes, yes it absolutely is! That’s why it is forbidden to enter the zone, without a permit. However, what radiation is conerned it’s far less hazardous now then it was for 27 years ago. We will be checked for radiation 7 times every day, and our guide knows where the radioactive “hotspots” are located. Also, ofcourse, he will keep us safe and sound during our stay within the “dead zone”.

Q2. Are there still people living in the exclusion zone?

A2. Yes.

Q3: Will you be walking around with hazmat suits and gas masks?

A3: No, there is no need. The daily radiation we will receive within the zone is that of an x-ray scan. As long as we don’t do something silly like drink/swin in irratiated water and the like, we should be safe and sound.

Q4: Are you allowed to take pictures of whatever you like?

A4: Yes. The only place it is forbidden to take pictures is at the military checkpoint when entering/leaving the zone.

The list goes on. Please comment my blog if you have questions for me or Kenneth! No pictures on this blog post I am afraid, but there will be tomorrow when I update the blog in Kiev!

Anyhow, thank you for reading, and stay tuned for and update tomorrow evening! 😀

-e-

Radioactive adventure – pre Chernobyl

As this is a somewhat special “vacation”, I’m going to blogg it.

You might wonder where we got this idea from, what Chernobyl is, what happened there and who we are. That’s why I am going to do my very best to enlighten you on just that.

First off, why Chernobyl?

(Source:caparzofpc.deviantart.com )

My interest for Chernobyl actually began several years ago. My brother gave me the computer game “S.T.A.L.K.E.R Shadow of Chernobyl”, and I enjoyed it very much. Some years later I began playing it again, and bought the other S.T.A.L.K.E.R games. I became intrigued by the Chernobyl exclusion zone (known to some as “the dead zone”). I then googled “chernobyl tours” and found a tour operator that actually led groups into the exlusion zone on one- or two-day trips. Now knowing that there was a possibility to get in and see the “the zone” with my own eyes, I decided that I would do just that. I asked some of mye friends if they would like to join me to Chernobyl, and after a while my friend Kenneth said he would love to come with me. Late in June I contacted the tour operator (chernobylwel.com(e)) and the two-day trip into the zone was booked and confirmed, as was the necessary hotels and flights. Our departure is next thursday, and I could not be any more exited!

Who we are

(source: private)

My name is Edwin Rippon. I’m 27 years old and I’m from Norway. For the last 4 years I’ve been working in the Royal Norwegian Navy. I just finished my studies to beome a nvigational offfier at the navy College, and will begin sailing in the navy as a navigator this autumn. I’ve served on oil- and chemical tankers as an able seaman before I joined the Navy. I spend my spare time riding my motorcycle and spending time with my friends. Alot of my time is of course spent on my Girlfriend  Frøydis, who at the moment is in Africa on her own adventures..

Me and Kenneth met through our part-time job as doormen at a pub in Bergen, and have been colleagues there for more than a year.

(source: private)

Kennet Fjeldstad is my good friend and travel partner. He is 26 years old and hails from Bergen on Norways west coast. We both love sailing, and we both have a nautial education. kenneth is to become a marine engineer.He pretty much has the same interests as me.

This is the start to our blog. Not much, but now you know a little more of who we are, and why we decided to travel to Chernobyl. So let me continue by giving you a little history about the Chernobyl exlusion zone and what happened there.

“The dead zone”

(source: www.naturaltopwonders.com)

The zone is located aproximately two hours drive (120 km) north of Kiev, the capitol of the Ukraine,and is not far from the Belarussian border. There was, and still is a nuclear powerplant there. April 26th 1986 (just under a month before I was born) power unit 4 exploded (twice) due to an experiment gone wrong. The second explosion occrrured with a yield of 0.3 kilotons (equal to around 300 tons of TNT), and the carateristic mushroom cloud ascended over the destroyed reactor. On the 27th of April the citizens of the nearby city of Pripyat were evacuated. This city was erected mainly to house the powerplant workers and their families. It had a population of some 50.000 people. The inhabitans were told to pack for three days, and where then “shipped out”, never to return. A safety zone (exclusion zone) 30 kilometers in diameter was enforced, encompassing the city of Pripyat and the powerplant. It is now guarded 24 hours a day by the military and the police. It is forbidden to enter the zone. The only exeption is for ex residents visiting cemetaries, those with a permit, and of course, me and Kenneth!

There you have it!

I hope you now know a little more of who we are, and where we’re going to do this summer. I’ll keep this blogg going untill we’re back (hopefully safe and sound) form Chernobyl! So stay tuned!

Sources:

http://www.chernobylwel.com/