Talk:789

Maybe we could put UKRAINE in Top Suggestions, to be chosen: Kiev, Odesa or Lviv?

• + People from many eastern countries could take part - there are not many events where East meets West - it is powerful!
• + not expensive
• + success would stop bad gossip about hitching in Ukr
• - people from non-European countries like Australia and Israel need a visa for the Ukraine.
• +/_ Do you speak russian/ukrainian?? Have to know at least basics.

Kiev

Cool

• Well known name
• The most cosmopolitan of the three

Not cool

• Far away from the border. The roads are not so good and hitching will be slow.

Odesa

Cool

• Let's go to the beach !! We can do the meeting there.
• Well known name
• Moldavanka Former bohemian district
• Catacombs Photos Video
• Huge sea port, for boat hitchhikers

Not cool

• Hard difficulties to cross the border from Transnistria
• Comment from Julien: Transnitria seems to be the border between Moldova and the general direction of Odesa. There is no border crossing between Romania and the Ukraine south from Moldova/Transnistria.

Lviv

Cool

• SAFER (and easier) access - especially for female hitchhikers!
• Historically international city, lost its spirit after the wars... still the representatives 100 nationalities and ethnic groups live on the territory L'viv
• You can hitch to Lviv speaking only polish - former polish area

Comments

• We didn't talk much about Kiev but I talked today with two ukrainian kids, one of them with a HH background that would put Ludo to shame, and they seemed to think Kiev was a better idea. It being more multicultural than the two others.

They were also pretty surprised that Lviv would be elected "most depressive place in Europe". They told me it was a really cute place. Sitarane

• I would suggest any easy and nice to camp at beach location or similar nice nature places - no cities !! Nat-Cho (CS)
  • If our aim is to attract public attention, then I believe we need a city. Sitarane

• Sorry for the explication of the ukrainian border, I wanted to put them here but I do a mistake and lost the copy/paste, can you tell about the difficulty to cross again ? Thx Misha22h46, 15 August 2008 (CEST)
  • Schengen and Russian citizen at least can go visa free. Sitarane

• Is it not the fashion that anyone will stop to take you in but they expect that you'd pay for the ride? Sitarane
  • One Ukrainian girl told me that as well. But then, I heard also that you can hitch without paying, if you explain it and drivers accept it. Mirto

• maybe we could try to find 3 locals from those 3 locations who would explain pros and cons? Mirto

• it would be nice a city with a beach ( and a beautiful sunrise ) that ways like in Paris even waken up by the cops you start with something beautiful in your eye and it's going to be a good day ! but it's going to be hard to find something better than the Eiffel Tower :) xo just kidding

- Kremlin? ;)

• Hey err... about Ukraine. If we want to promote hicthhiking, in what language are we going to do that? Ukrainians don't really speak English, I know from personal experience :s And I'm not going to talk about the many benefits of hicthhiking in Russian...--Banzai 20:50, 17 August 2008 (CEST)

• It's sure that we will be with a lot of russians people and they could do the traduction. Also, we can ask to a lot of ukrainians people who speak english on all the hospitality website to participate at the meeting ! Definitely, language isn't a frontier in that kind of meeting, it will be fun :)

Several parallel hitchhikers gatherings at 7.8.9.

- And now for a completely different concept - 

Did you come up with a quite different idea, in which gatherings are organized all over Europe in several countries, for example in five countries or even in twenty countries "(intra-) national" style. For example one event in Portugal/Spain, one in Benelux/France, one in Germany/Poland, one in Scandinavia, one in UK/Ireland, one in Ukraine, one in Russia, one in Czech/Slovak/Austria and so on... Or: one in northern Europe, one in western Europe, one in southern Europe, one in eastern Europe and one in Central Europe.

Cool

• bigger reach of hitchhikers
• clear cooperation / organisation need / tasks / goal for European hitchhikers clubs
• easier participation since the nearest meeting is more nearby, than in case of one gathering place
• more local media attention, supporting the goals

Not so cool

• you might fear (?) the number of hitchhikers is smaller on each meeting
• the real road bums might not like... ;)