Chernobyl and Pripyat, Ukraine - Apr 09

[randomnut]

Well, what can I say! After so many years on being top of my list of places I MUST visit, it was surreal to finally get to visit this awesome place. You really can't appreciate the scale of both the place and what happened until you're stood in the middle of the abandoned city almost on your own. You could tell the overwhelming sense of pride with which the city was built, it was to be the model city everywhere else was to emulate, with it being shut down so abruptly I don't think the Ukraine ever fully recovered.

Even after spending 2 days exploring Pripyat, there is still so much left to see, a re-visit is definitely on the cards.

I know a lot of people hate HDR with a passion, but sod it i'm throwing a few shots in anyway

The reactor itself. I didn't realise we would be able to get quite so close:



Next it was onto Pripyat

View across the main square:


The supermarket:



View towards the cultural center:

Inside:



The funfair - originally due to open a week after the explosion:





The Pool, still in use until 1997:



The shool:







Vehicle scrapyard (behind the police station)



Hospital:








Kindergarten:









Apartments:





The Stadium:



And finally, the police station:





Parting shot of the funfair:


Lots, lots more up on Flickr


Visited with Wildpeaks, Dystopia and Ian, Josh and Jim (not members of the forum). Many thanks to all involved for such an incredible trip.