Report 4 from our epic trip to Chernobyl
The hospital was one of my favourite buildings of the trip. The five storey building was crammed with furniture & hospital equipment, and every floor was filled with surgeries, operating theatres and wards. I started at the top, and worked my way down, and spent a bit of time looking round the maternity unit. Due to Pripyat’s young population, a lot of babies were born here. The room of empty rusting cribs was a sad scene. Radiation is not a problem in the buildings generally; our guide warned us the basement stored clothing from the fireman who put out the explosion in the power plant in 1986, and was highly radioactive. Indeed, a small offcut of a fireman’s jacket on the reception desk made the giger counter very unhappy.
The next morning, we climbed Pripyat’s tallest apartment block, with stunning views of the forest and remains of the town. Including the plant room, I reckon around 18 stories – a mission to climb without lifts, but worth it for the views. The apartments were small nearly identical flats with varying remains of furniture, and balcony views. Here was a glimpse of family life, just as they fled the disaster.
Finally the riverside café, one of a number of smaller sites like the cinema we visited.
thanks for looking
The hospital was one of my favourite buildings of the trip. The five storey building was crammed with furniture & hospital equipment, and every floor was filled with surgeries, operating theatres and wards. I started at the top, and worked my way down, and spent a bit of time looking round the maternity unit. Due to Pripyat’s young population, a lot of babies were born here. The room of empty rusting cribs was a sad scene. Radiation is not a problem in the buildings generally; our guide warned us the basement stored clothing from the fireman who put out the explosion in the power plant in 1986, and was highly radioactive. Indeed, a small offcut of a fireman’s jacket on the reception desk made the giger counter very unhappy.
The next morning, we climbed Pripyat’s tallest apartment block, with stunning views of the forest and remains of the town. Including the plant room, I reckon around 18 stories – a mission to climb without lifts, but worth it for the views. The apartments were small nearly identical flats with varying remains of furniture, and balcony views. Here was a glimpse of family life, just as they fled the disaster.
Finally the riverside café, one of a number of smaller sites like the cinema we visited.
THE HOSPITAL
the waiting room
Surgery
operating theatre
MATERNITY WARD
Birthing suite
Newborn cots
birthing suite
Hall
___________________________
APARTMENT BLOCK
You can see the nuclear power plant in the distance
The duga radar (see next report)
Inside the apartment blocks - a glimpse of life at the time of the evacuation
pressumably children's bedroom
The riverside
the waiting room
Surgery
operating theatre
MATERNITY WARD
Birthing suite
Newborn cots
birthing suite
Hall
___________________________
APARTMENT BLOCK
You can see the nuclear power plant in the distance
The duga radar (see next report)
Inside the apartment blocks - a glimpse of life at the time of the evacuation
pressumably children's bedroom
The riverside
thanks for looking
