Anyone been to Minsk, Riga, Sumy or Kharkov?

[Oscar]

I have felt from many guys that the big cities like Moscow, Kiev, Odessa and St. Petes are pretty fished out with TONS of American guys going there etc..
I was wondering if anyone here has been to Minsk, Riga, Sumy or Kharkov and if they felt there were less foreign guys there and if the women were different in any way from the big cities I mentioned?
Any thoughts on your experience in these cities would be appreciated, good or bad.

Any help appreciated as I am trying to decide what city to go to right now..

Thanks,
Oscar

[Steve Bradley]

... in response to Anyone been to Minsk, Riga, Sumy or Khar..., posted by Oscar on Oct 29, 2001

Oscar,

Sumy is a great town.  I don't believe they are so different.  They love nature, being outside and looking as beautiful as they can all ofthe time.  There was actually an article in a Russian book or magazine (my mother-in-law still has it) that said the most beautiful women in Ukraine were in Sumy.  Of course I would agree since that is where my wife is from.  But honestly they are wonderful.  Although my wife does miss being able to just walk out the door and get on the local transportation to go somewhere.  We live in Virginia not far from DC and if you want something you gotta get in the car.  She's getting more used to it but wishes there were more sidewalks around ;-)

Kharkov - Haven't been there but it's much bigger than Sumy and according to my wife's reference they are completely different because of it.

If you like you can write to her directly if you have specific questions about her town.  she is at irena@irena.ws.

Good Luck
Steve

[Johninm]

... in response to Re: Anyone been to Minsk, Riga, Sumy or ..., posted by Steve Bradley on Oct 30, 2001

I agree,... city center is renovated and well mantained , ..clean town in comparison to other places in Ukraine, many attractive ladies walking there ...in summer is especially nice..many outdoor cafes...people walking...ryetchka( local river) is fun ...marshrootka( commuting vans) is fun...rynok(local open market) is fun...Yeah, it`s one of my favorite towns    John

[Johninm]

... in response to Anyone been to Minsk, Riga, Sumy or Khar..., posted by Oscar on Oct 29, 2001

Big cities suck..women are used to foreigners..spoiled..many pros or semi-pros..more scammers , more crooks , bigger "competition". There may be some "gems" ..but these are harder to find than in smaller towns . Moscow may have the most expensive hotel rates in Europe . I`ve lived few months in Klaipeda ( major Lithuanian port town ). Visited Vilnius, Kaunas , Palanga - ( besides Crimea, another ex-soviet recreation resort, now Lithuanian  ), Liepaya - Latvia( big soviet baltic submarine base was there ), Kaliningrad ( Koenigsberg )- Western Russian enclave ( taken by Stalin from Germans after WW2 ) - dirty ,"ugly" town these days...`ve been to Grodna and Brest( Belarus border towns )..lately traveled to Kiev and Sumy.                                    Baltics are mixture of ethnic-local women ( majority ), Russians, mixture of both or other FSU . As far as  physical beauty ( I think we agree that`s starting point ) they were O.K. The most atractive women I`ve seen ..(and more sincere..seemed like it ), were mid-size towns in Belarus and Ukraine . Somehow it seems to me ..more to the East ..they are less spoiled  ..more atractive they are . Of course there are two "infamous" scammer towns Lugank and Gomel..or to the very Far East there is Vladivostok -supposedly have many attractive ladies there ( few Russians, here in the US told me that ), but Vladik ( as Russians call that city ) may have big city stigma..major commercial, marine , fish industry , military center in the region . They even have American Consulate there. Port town Odessa, besides Kiev, is kinda intelectual center of Ukraine( or FSU for that matter ). Schools , many theathers, famous artists come from there. Kharkov , Dniepropetrovk are industrial cities of Ukraine..kinda dirty..Kharkov has a big open market for diffrent goods though . Many people from diffrent towns come to Kharkov for shopping..and here we come -  SUMY , town of 350K ..with ryetchka( little river )popular summer outdoor place for locals , ...well each place to your own..I thought I would find my better half in South America ( actually , I  have mutual interest in both Eastern European and Latin cultures ) . I traveled few times to Cali ( Colombia )and Kuritiba ( Brazil )..no "magic" there for me.. I met HER in SUMY . She speaks fluent English and German ( both languages university graduate..wow !!)..I speak Russian ( studied few years )..well what can I say.. I`m on the road again..leaving to Sumy this wed.    John

[Go2Rus]

... in response to Re: Anyone been to Minsk, Riga, Sumy or ..., posted by Johninm on Oct 30, 2001

But seriously, this is great stuff.  Do you write for travel guides or what?

Be sure to drop by often with tidbits on the various cities.

[Johninm]

... in response to How do you find time to earn any money??..., posted by Go2Rus on Oct 30, 2001

I own small business  here on West Coast..employ Ukrainians, Russians and Latins..just the the right people to practice my spanish and russian ..right !? LOL . But on the serious note ,I`ve done some business  with CIS and in general have great interest in both cultures . I love to travel .I`m frequent flier junky ..and "social creature" with locals there   John

[Johninm]

... in response to Anyone been to Minsk, Riga, Sumy or Khar..., posted by Oscar on Oct 29, 2001

As far as an agency in Sumy goes you may check www.irena.ws/index1.htm        John

[BubbaGump]

... in response to Anyone been to Minsk, Riga, Sumy or Khar..., posted by Oscar on Oct 29, 2001

I wrote a several times about Riga, so check the archives.

[BubbaGump]

... in response to Been to Riga, posted by BubbaGump on Oct 29, 2001

Go to the top of the page where it has "Search Archives" and click on it.  Select the "Russian" board to search and use the search word "Riga".  A bunch of past posts about Riga will be shown and just click on the links.  Copy and paste the useful information to a word or text file and read it over.  

I recommended "Hotel Riga" or the "Eurolink Hotel" which is in the same building because it is in a good location close to old Riga, clubs, restaurants and shopping.  The airport is only 20 minutes away and the train and bus stations are about a 20 minute walk away.  It has a currency exchange in the lobby and a computer for internet access.  I thought the Sheraton on the river was not as good a choice because you have to walk much farther.  

Bubba

[Oscar]

... in response to Oscar do this to search for Riga posts, posted by BubbaGump on Oct 31, 2001

Oscar

[James B]

... in response to Anyone been to Minsk, Riga, Sumy or Khar..., posted by Oscar on Oct 29, 2001

Oscar,

I am engaged to marry a woman from Sumy, Ukraine.  I haven't been to any of the large cities so don't have anything to compare my fiancee' to, but she is an absolute gem.  I have been there three times and the streets are full of very beautiful women.  You will find that the english proficiency of these women in small towns might not be as high as the big ones, but I would never do it again. I know of an agency and english translator that can be of service to you if you decide to look.  The agency my fiancee and I have been using can assist you with transportation to Sumy.  It's a beautiful city, with a nice river to swim in during the summer.  If you want to find the pic of me and my fiancee' you can look in slavicladies.com.  I am helping this man with his internet business, but he now has taken off and has many good women starting to frequent his agency.  You can tell him that I recommended you if you like.

[Oscar]

... in response to Re: Anyone been to Minsk, Riga, Sumy or ..., posted by James B on Oct 29, 2001

Oscar

[mdante99]

... in response to Anyone been to Minsk, Riga, Sumy or Khar..., posted by Oscar on Oct 29, 2001

I have always maintained that going to big city is not as productive.

I chose Riga, Latvia and Vilnius, Lithuania.
There are not many American men looking for wife in these cities; your competition is far less.

It is better to get to know the girls via e-mails.

For most of those girls, you may one of the few AM writing to them.

The baltic girls are also remarkably beautiful; tall, slim and blond with blue eyes and nice figure.

I am married to a Lithuanian girl; you can see her photo at www.travelandtrips.com

Mark

[Oscar]

... in response to Re: Anyone been to Minsk, Riga, Sumy or ..., posted by mdante99 on Oct 29, 2001

Thanks for the info.  So have you been to Riga Latvia then?  I have been considering that.  Don't know anything about Lithuania but it seems that's where you found your girl..  Did you use an agency in Riga or go it alone?  Any interpreters or people you could recommend to help that are reliable there, etc..?  Did you find any kind of good email deals??

Thanks,

Oscar

[mdante99]

... in response to Thanks Mark- Please read..., posted by Oscar on Oct 29, 2001

I have been to Riga and Vilnius.

I got to know the women before going there via e-mails. There are several membership sites, like absolute agency etc. that have their profiles.

I knew about four women before I went there, well via e-mails. They all could communicate in English; I never needed an interpreter.

I prefer Lithuania; because it has more people and more choices; but Riga is more beautiful a city. The Latvian and the Lithuanian women look similar; tall, blond and very attractive.

Mark