Chernobyl Trip Part Seven - Hotel, Dogs, Admin Building, Music Hall and Port

Next door to the Culture Centre was Pripyat's Hotel. It was about 4pm when we left the Culture Centre and we were all really tired. It had been over 25 degrees the whole day, we had run out of water and we probably smelt horrible. So, climbing to the top of the hotel was pretty low down on our to-do-next list, but knowing what was up there, we knew it would be worth it. I didn't even bother counting the floors, we just started climbing the debris coated stairs. Being made out of solid concrete, the interior was in good shape. As you would expect, it was damp, but all the rooms were empty, so we just moved on past.

Eventually we made it up, and the was fantastic...

Next door to the hotel lay the administration building. Unfortunately it had been all but stripped bare - but the rusted nuclear radiation sign above the doorway was a nice shot!

A very short drive away was the music halls and cinema. Above the entrance was a very eighties-soviet wall sculpture/artwork. The colours now were quite dull and faded, but it at least shows soviet live was not all grey concrete!

Inside, we found a concert hall. The stage was still intact and was still supporting a very weathered grand piano. Unfortunately (and unsurprisingly!), it didn't work.

Walking around the outside of the building, we entered the cinema. Obviously, it was pitch black in there, but my camera flash malfunctioned and we lost most of the images, but we were able to save a great one of a stained glass window and the old cinema screen.

Getting back in the car, we drove a couple of minutes down the road to the docks. It was a short walk to the water's edge, but we managed to give Dennis a shock and was the only time we actually saw him ultra-alert. While weaving between trees, Soph dropped dosimeter. As soon as it hit the floor, it started screaming out it's warning siren. Dennis shot back, grabbed it and stared at it briefly, it was in the mid-teens. Taking a deep breath, he handed it back, coolly and simply claiming "Don't worry, it's normal.". Well that's ok then...

Once we got to the jetty, we were hit by a strong and refreshing, cooling breeze. The water was quite calm however, as it gently lapped against the shore. In the distance we could see the abandoned boathouse, now badly damaged and partially sunk.

We didn't stay long, on account of there wasn't much there, but when we got back to the car we were greeted by a couple of really cute wild dogs, who were more than happy to see us!