educational and industrial center
Kharkiv is the second largest city with almost 1.5 million inhabitants. It is situated in the far east of the country near the Russian border. It is an industrial centre (electrical, food and chemical industries; mechanical and railway engineering). Kharkiv was the first capital of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, from 1919 to 1934, after which the capital relocated to Kyiv.
It is famous for its huge square. The Freedom square is the 8th largest city-centre square in Europe. At the square stood a Lenin monument which was 20 m high in total. The 8.5 m high bronze sculpture of Lenin stood on a base of red granite. 2014, the Lenin statue in Freedom Square was toppled by pro-Ukrainian demonstrators.
The city of Kharkiv lives mainly from its many students. Boasting 42 universities and colleges, it is the country's most important science and education centre after Kyiv.
Hostel next to the train station
I arrived there by express train. My hostel, the Station Hostel, was conveniently located pretty close to the train station. It was a brand-new, clean and excellent hostel which had a small shop downstairs.
In the hostel I met a middle-aged Dutchman who came to Ukraine to find a woman and who, like me, can't get along with the dominant mentality of Western women. Moreover he tried to escape his gambling addiction here. He had gambled away several thousand euros and in doing so had even used money borrowed from his family. But even here he couldn't get away from it and even bought a laptop here to play online poker.
A boring city for tourists
Kharkiv is a relatively boring city. The most beautiful part of the city is the Gorki park with a giant ferris wheel. Other than it is mainly interesting for people who want to see buildings with socialist architecure.
Who wants to concentrate on his studies should come here. The prices are also less high than in Kyiv, but actually even Kyiv is relatively cheap.
Many friendly locals
The reason why I visited Kharkiv is also because one of my favourite Ukrainian Black Metal bands comes from here. Unfortunately this band called "Drudkh" is so underground that even the locals I met did not know them. Also there was no metal scene here.
In Kharkiv I met nice women who willingly showed me their city, helped me with shopping, had tea with me or rode the ferris wheel with me.
Nightlife of Kharkiv - stunning girls, racist bouncers
Like everywhere in Ukraine, Kharkiv has many stunning women. Hence I decided to experience the nightlife. I googled a trendy bar called Moskvich Bar which offers many exotic cocktails and electronic music.
When I tried to enter, they turned me down and told me that only people on the guest list were allowed in. So I had a little chat with the guests who were outside the door smoking. It was a British man of Russian descent who just laughed and said just come in with me and "I'll make sure you get in". Said, done - no guest list. Ukrainian doorkeepers can be pretty racist. If you look Indian, Arabic or African, you will usually be rejected.
The prices in the club were comparable to those in Europe. However, this was also an upscale club, as you could see from how many men showed up in suits. I experienced a rare spectacle here. There were so many beautiful women here that I didn't even know that I should speak first. However, Ukrainians, especially those who go to the clubs, are often looking for a sponsor. So you should be careful.
I also went to a CouchSurfing-Meetup the other day, but it was terribly boring, because most of the participants said goodbye early so that they would be in bed in time.
A city with potential
After 1 week I left the city to return to Kyiv. I find Kharkiv less appealing than the much criticised Dnipro, which at least has a nice center and a great river promenade. In Kharkiv, however, the river is dirty. After all, I am sure that Kharkiv has potential, as I already could see some cool hipster bars and heard about an active rock-music scene. However, there's a long way to go.
