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December 13, 2007
More Travel Writing
I despatched Ukraine a few weeks ago. Epic though the travelogue was, panoramic and sweeping in its grandeur, it turns out that my deft, broad brushstrokes that summed up an entire country in a series of arresting images left out a few minor details. Here comes Daniel Olkowicz in this week’s Polityka with his impressi—errr, painstakingly researched, almost academically cautious report on certain selected aspects of the country, hedged about with a thicket of qualifying phrases and concessions:
“Dzisiaj ukraińskie hotele w niczym już nie odbiegają od europejskich standardów”
“Today, Ukrainian hotels do not in any way differ from European standards”
I beg to differ. All Ukrainian hotels are “ancient,” “aging,” “Soviet-era,” and “antediluvian.” I know: I was in one. True, it wasn’t in Kiev, where Olkowicz prepared his report but what difference does that make? If Olkowicz can infer from the quality of his expense-accounted hotel that all other hotels in the country are excellent, I can do likewise in my dreary quarters. It’s pure coincidence that Olkowicz’s report comes from the capital and mine from the provinces…
Posted by hgrodsk at December 13, 2007 06:53 AM