Inky Marina!

Kharkov is one of my favorite places in the world. Gorky Park near central Kharkov is one of my favorite places in that city! I was really pleased that I got to go see the "new" Gorky Park on my trip to Ukraine.  In 2012, Ukraine and Poland hosted the European Championship, which is a big soccer/football tournament.  Kharkov got some redesigns during that time and I was finally getting to see them! One of the changes was a whole new ferris wheel! I didn't ride it, but I could see it was much bigger (and more red!) than the previous one.

This is me with my best friend in the whole world, Violet! In this photo, taken in 2007, we are riding the old ferris wheel in Gorky Park. It went high above the city!



One of the cool features of the "new" park are all the statues all over the park! I liked the animal ones best. Here I am with a tortoise outside the zoo shop.  The zoo shop has supplies for pets- but it also has a wide range of animals you can visit, such as hamsters, bunnies, parrots, tamarins, and a SKUNK!



A short walk from the zoo shop, there is a little lake! It has ducks and people sit around it, relaxing.  Normally, I'd sit there for ages, but today I had somewhere special in mind to visit!



One of the other animal statues is this bear, who has caught a fish! That fish is almost as big as I am!



Here I am with a statue of some herons! I didn't see any wild herons in Ukraine, but I have seen them at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge back at home in NYC.



Right near the entrance to my favorite attraction is this fountain! Once again, it was a very hot day in Kharkov and being near fountains made it feel cooler.



Finally! It was time for my favorite thing in Kharkov- the cable cars! These go from Gorky Park out to the Botanical Gardens and back.  These have been redone too- they're much more colorful than the old cable cars!



This is me in 2007 riding on the cable cars! Don't I look a lot younger?



I had gone to Gorky Park pretty late in the day, so it was really nice to ride the cable cars back to Gorky Park as the sun was sinking lower and lower. I love the way the light looks especially golden at this time of day!  As we were riding over a little marsh, Mama told me how, when she was a kid, she used to look for turtles as the cable cars passed over.



Eventually, my cable car made it back to Gorky Park. I would be leaving Kharkov very soon, which made me feel really sad. Do you ever get homesick for a place while you're still there? That's how I was feeling.  I'm glad that I got to visit Gorky Park on my trip. Looking at these photos, even only a few weeks later, makes me want to go back!



The mascot of Gorky Park is this friendly squirrel- see it behind me?  I can't wait to visit the squirrel's friendly park once again!



This photo is of me on the balcony of my family's apartment, where I always stay.  Do you see the blue and gold flag of Ukraine? It looks like the blue sky and golden fields.  I had a wonderful time in Ukraine and can't wait to go back to explore more and spend time with my family.

Do you have anywhere you return to again and again, yet never get tired of visiting?