Hello! My name is Yana (@yasenkaas), and I want to tell you about my magical journey to the cozy city of Voronezh.
I decided to start this story from the very moment when everything happened – with OneTwoTrip’s response to my application and the offer to choose three cities. Among the options was Voronezh! And my dream since I was 14 years old is to visit this city, because there is a street there that is consonant with my last name, although it is not so common.
The city was chosen by my audience, and on December 15 I went from Yekaterinburg to Voronezh. I rarely fly, so I’m hardly a frequent traveler. Therefore, everything that happened fascinated and surprised me to the point of goosebumps. Even on the plane, magic happened – I sat near the window, watched the sky and managed to catch the sunset before our aircraft descended into the clouds and landed.
I arrived in the evening and immediately checked into the hotel. The hotel is located in the city center, and all interesting places are within walking distance, so I most often walked. On the day of arrival, I only had enough energy to go to the store for food and take a short walk around the neighborhood.
So, about my task: the audience chose the following – to visit the five most interesting establishments in Voronezh. Spoiler: I visited a lot of places and to be honest, I liked all of them. So I’ll tell you briefly about each one.
The next day, December 16, began with a trip to the El Paco alpaca park, which you have probably heard about at least once or even visited. The most interesting thing is the concept of the place. Everything here is done in the style of the Wild West: the mini-town has its own Sheriff (a mountain bull from Scotland), and the pens are made in Western style.
In the park I was met by very friendly staff, it was immediately noticeable how much the guide loves these animals. So! A little about the alpacas themselves.
Firstly, they are a little afraid of people and trust children most of all. You can pet these charmers only while feeding them carrots. It is not recommended to approach alpacas from behind, there is a high chance that they will start spitting (yes, yes, can you imagine?). They are very cute, soft and warm, I just wanted to take one of them with me. In general, the park impressed me greatly with its atmosphere and kindness!
When the tour was over, it was time to call a taxi back to the hotel. But I was never able to order it, because no one wanted to go out of town. How I got out of this situation? I asked a woman and a child to give me a ride. And she was incredibly glad that she did not receive a refusal: kind people simply gave someone else’s girl a lift to the city. Also a kind of magic.
After the park I went to wander around the city. I wanted to take a walk to Admiralty Square and see the first Russian battleship, the Goto Predestination. In general, this place is one of the main attractions. The square delighted me with its scale!
Unfortunately, I didn’t get into the museum ship (it was already late), so I decided to go have dinner. Of all the establishments, I liked the cafe-bar with original cuisine – JUSTBar&Kitchen. In the evenings, the guys in the cafe light candles and turn off the lamps. For me, as a huge candle lover, this was a real pleasure.
When I was leaving, I told the staff that I was participating in a project from OneTwoTrip. The guys left me a memorable gift – a JUST Bar&Kitchen badge, with the words: “So that you definitely return to Voronezh!” After that, I walked around a little more and went to my room, inspired by the people of this city.
December 17. The day my little dream came true. The morning started with the fact that I didn’t have time to eat at the hotel (I had breakfast included), so I decided to go to the coffee shop “Kruzhok”. How I liked it! It was the first time I saw such an interesting and authentic place. Just look at this interior.
Afterwards I went to fulfill my dream – to look for Dubyansky Street.
When I got there, I immediately started looking for the sign and… imagine, I found it! I have never felt such happiness inside. This is it, when your little dream comes true.
I asked a passing woman to take a photo of me. She was very surprised, but I told her that my last name is Dubyanskaya, so this is very important to me.
In the evening I met a girl who subscribed to my blog, and we went to look at the Christmas tree, which broke several records: the world one for the number of decorations (1401 toys) and the Russian one for the number of lights (74136 of them!) .
December 18. The last date of my trip. On this day, I decided to just take a walk along Revolution Avenue, and in the evening, before my flight, I had a master class booked at the Kolokol pottery school.
I checked out at 12:00, left my bag in the hotel storage room and went for a walk. Once on the square, the first thing I did was go to the monument to the dog – White Bim Black Ear, which is located next to the Shut puppet theater.
I rubbed his ear and went to explore another interesting and authentic place – the Kommuna gastromarket. This is a space that brings together cuisines from all over the world – you can find a dish for every taste!
Then I continued my walk along Revolution Avenue. One of the interesting places here is the Annunciation Cathedral. It is made in the Russian-Byzantine style and really surprised me with its decoration and grandeur.
You can take a walk near the cathedral in a small park. Unfortunately, I didn’t get inside.
Then I walked around Victory Square and read the history of military operations in the city. This, by the way, is one of the beautiful observation points in Voronezh. It was already approaching evening, I returned to the hotel to pick up my bag and called a taxi to the pottery school. I went to a master class called Human at Kolokol, and the whole team of potters greeted me very warmly and friendly.
The master class is a special delight! While working with clay you forget about everything. About what worries you, what worries you… You relax and immerse yourself in working with this pleasant natural material. This is incredible! I highly recommend at least once attending a master class on clay modeling at the Kolokol studio (as I understand, they are in different cities) and experience it all for yourself.
Then I went to the airport.
During the flight, by the way, a miracle happened again! The plane was not full, and after we gained altitude, I found empty seats and sat down at the window again. As a result, I’ll say that I’ve already repeated the word “magic” a huge number of times, but that’s what it really was! My collaboration with OneTwoTrip, everything that happened during this trip, the people who met me in Voronezh – it was definitely my little miracle.
Thank you very much to OneTwoTrip and my manager Nadezhda for your kind words and constant support! Hugs, Yana.
