Today we had a full day tour to Chornobyl. Meeting point was 8am at the corner of Maidan Square near McDonald's. After our 2am return from last nights Eurovision Semi Final 2 we didnt get much sleep but with my erratic sleep hours we didnt sleep thru. 

With the peak volume from Eurovision they had a convoy of buses waiting for us. Most tours meet at the central railway station. I'd been there and it is such a zoo we would have never found our bus there unless they gave very clear instructions. 

 
 

Our guide for our bus was Oleg. He seemed somewhat disorganized and unable to cope with a big group. First all the buses had to go thru a security checkpoint where they verified our passports. Oleg was getting quite confused trying to organize all this. 

On the bus they were showing documentaries about when the event took place. It was first detected when radiation levels increased in Sweden. I remember as a child when this happened and the cloud was spreading over Europe coming close to us in England. 

 
 

Inside the Exclusion Zone we first stopped by a statue of Lenin and a sculpture of the Angel of Death. This was by a path marking the names of all towns evacuated. 

Like the DMZ in Korea when tourists visit Chornobyl this is strange for locals as its a site of bitter memories for the country. 

 
 

We stopped for an early lunch. Then we passed the fire dept monument. This was built by funds raised by families not the state. 

 
 

We went to a massive early warning radar system to detect any incoming US missiles. 

 
 

Then we went to a nursery but this seemed like some boarding school as well with lots of beds. There is a doll strategically 'staged' by the first bed. 

 
 

We then drove towards the main reactor and stopped by the river. There are only certain points from where you can take photos and this was one of them. 

 
 
































 
At the front entrance we are not allowed to take picture for 'security reasons' so I took them from the bus. There is a bridge opposite where we could go to take pictures of the fish. 

It seemed odd to have fish next to a nuclear reactor. One was giant sized but this is natural growth not due to radiation. 

 
 

There was lots of getting on/off the bus for various stops throughout the day.      

 
 

We were allowed to stop at a monument by the reactor but not take pictures of the gate or any guards. The explosion was caused by a new method that did not meet standards. They tried to flood it and drop sand bags to drop the temperature. 

Had the next reactor blown it would have killed up to 40 million people devastating Europe but this was never made public at the time. Nuclear energy and the Chornobyl reactor were seen as the pride of the Soviet Union as I believe it was the biggest at the time. 

 
 

The town of Pripyat was founded in 1970. It was a model town and built with the best facilities so visitors could envy their success and work hard for the same benefits in their towns. 

We visited the gymnasium which had a pool and basketball court. 

 
 

Everything is decayed and suffering from wear and tear from the 80s. The bushes have overgrown and taken over the town. Not all buildings are safe to go in. It was like some post apocalyptic sci-fi movie. 

 
 

Next to the gymnasium was the school which was used as a base during emergency work. All the gas masks have been abandoned here. 

 
 

We then went to the town square which is unrecognizable with all the overgrowth. There was the Palace of Culture, Hotel where the scientists were housed during the crisis, and various apartment buildings. 

 
 

The before and after photos show the contrast and change that has taken place. It is a positive sign that all the greenery has taken root with birds and insects allowing the region to regenerate. 

 
 





























 
A short walk from the town square was the amusement park. This opened the day of the crisis. People were told to go there to bring some normalcy. It only ever operated for one day. 

 
 

We then drove to the river port. Chornobyl used to have a 2 hour ferry service to Kiev. The terminal would have looked nice in its heyday with its stained glass murals. 

 
 

We drove to a community hall in another small town. All these on/off stops and walking was starting to get tiring. 

 
 

After the collapse of the Soviet Union looters stripped the buildings bare of anything they could take, copper, wiring, glass, doors endangering their own health. 

 
 

We went to a medical clinic for a lot of the same. Before leaving the Exclusion Zone we had to go thru a radiation reading by placing our hands on the machine. We were told not to touch anything the entire time and not to wander off. Trying to bring any 'souvenirs' is a criminal act. 

 
 































 
It was a two hour bus ride back after a long tiring day. I washed my shoes and had a shower. All my clothes I packed for washing when I returned home after my trip. 

The area should be preserved as a conservation zone for future generations and not resettled. This tour was booked thru https://www.tourkiev.com/, had very good reviews, was one of the cheaper options, and easier to find in Maidan Square pickup then the railway station would have been.

 
         

     
 


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