October 2  Dnipropetrovsk
We visit Dnipropetrovsk, formerly Ekaterinoslav, an Imperial Russian centre well known to our ancestors. A walking tour of the old city centre reminds us of the influence of entrepreneur and mayor, Johann Esau, politician Hermann Bergman and other Mennonites in this region. We see the Fast mill and the Red Cross Hospital where many young Mennonite men trained for and served in the Sanitätsdienst in World War I. Around the corner are the infamous KGB dungeons. We also see sites associated with the anarchist, Nestor Makhno, scourge of Mennonites. An emotionally charged room in the local museum is devoted to the millions of people who perished under Stalin. Representative photos of faces, including a Mennonite face, form a candle-lit pyramid 

As we leave Zaporizhia heading downriver to the Black Sea, we have an evening of singing and sharing.

October 7  On the river, Kherson
We continue down the Dnieper to make a stop at Kherson to enjoy an open air picnic at private dachas in the river delta. The home-made food and hospitality here are legendary. There is also a very good craft market. As the ship continues down to the Black Sea, we hold a solemn Memorial Service on the ship in memory of all who perished in revolution, civil war, in exile in the gulag.  We light candles to remember lost relatives and say their names.
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October 8 to 10 Crimea

We are docked for three days in historic Sevastopol, traditional home of the Black Sea Fleet. We see a high energy musical revue by the Fleet musicians, singers and dancers.

Black Sea Fleet Musical Revue, Sevastopol.

Our quay is conveniently located in the heart of the city, near an amazing public food and clothing market. We are docked within twenty minutes drive to one of the world's great panoramas - depicting a day in the Crimea War (1853-56).
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We are also close to the site of the tragic Charge of the Light Brigade.

Crimea is a fascinating place with its varied geography and historical sites. Most of the peninsula is flat, fertile, arable land, much coveted by 19th century land-starved Mennonites from the Molotschna. We visit the former Mennonite villages. These will likely include Spat, Karassan, Annenfeld and Tschongrau.

Across the lower centre are ranges of foothills which culminate in a dramatic range of seaside mountains, creating the "Russian Riviera". Here are the fabled resort palaces of Greater Yalta, such as Count Vorontsov’s Alupka Palace and the Romanov’s Livadia Palace, pebbled Black Sea beaches, exotic semi-tropical gardens and historic cliff-side houses of the famous, including playwright Anton Chekhov. Chekhov’s house is of particular interest because it gives us a rare glimpse into a modest sized dwelling of the late 19th century, in contrast to the grand and ornate palaces.
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Not far from where we are docked in Sevastopol lie the grand ruins of Greek & Byzantine Chersonesus.
From here Christianity came to eastern Slavic lands more than a millennium ago.
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October 11 Odessa
Odessa, known as the Pearl of the Black Sea  has a decidedly international feel to it, having been founded in 1794 in large part by aristocratic emigres from the French Revolution. The wide boulevards, distinguished mansions and lovely interior courtyards, which we see in our city tour, give evidence of its former grandeur.
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We visit the Regional History Museum as part of a city tour.  As a Mennonite epilogue we see a special exhibit from the Peter Braun archive, miraculously rediscovered and the Board of Guardians archive, displayed for us at the museum

We can help you with your individual travel needs.
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A. Private Excursions in Ukraine.
We have published a bus schedule, reflecting passenger requests for villages in the former Khortitsa, Molochna and Crimea colonies. These are included in the cruise price. We can also book private trips, at modest extra cost, to more distant destinations within Ukraine such as villages in the former Volhynia, Sagradowka, Fürstenland, Borozenko, Schlachtin-Baratov, Memrik & Ignatievo colonies or remote places in Crimea. Please have a look at how we are organizing bus and private trips for the 2007 cruise

B. North American connecting flights.
We use the best possible fares offered by scheduled airlines.

Note about post-cruise stopover options:
C. Transatlantic Flights & European Stopovers.
Our two major air carriers are Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines for Canadian departures and Austrian Airlines for U.S. departures. Lufthansa allows one free stopover in Frankfurt pre-cruise or post-cruise. Austrian Airlines allows one free stopover in Vienna post-cruise. Weekend surcharges and restrictions may apply. .
Vienna is the cultural centre of central Europe. In mid October the concert and opera seasons are in full swing. There are wonderful museums and art galleries.  Marina has long standing contacts with a family owned hotel in the historic Vienna city centre.  Walter has special hotel and cultural contacts in Germany, including Berlin, Dresden and the Bach city of Leipzig.

Please visit this page from time to time to learn more about scheduled events in Europe in mid to late October, 2007. You can also find out directly from Germany and Vienna on the web. The recommended supplier of day tours from Vienna to Budapest, Prague, etc is Royal Tours. Deutsche Bahn (German Rail) has a very useful search engine for European trains.

For further information contact
Marina Unger, Cruise Organizer or Jane Clemens, Cruise Administrative Assistant
Conference World Tours/Vision 2000 Travel (Toronto) Inc.
1200 Sheppard Avenue East  Suite 201
Toronto, Ontario, Canada   M2K 2S5

Marina Unger
toll free 1-800-387-1488 ext 2827 or direct office line 416-915-2827
Fax (416) 221-5605
E-mail   marinau@vision2000.ca

Jane Clemens
toll free 1-800-387-1488 ext 2243 or direct office line 416-915-2243
Fax (416) 221-5605
E-mail    janec@vision2000.ca

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