DPR: Donetsk
More or less, life seems normal in central part of Donetsk – people go shopping, sip coffee in many of cafes along the central avenue, bars are inviting, and theaters and movies are sold out. Here and there, you can see a damaged windowless building from a direct mortar hit. Curfew still kicks in at 10pm and the city absolutely shuts down until 5am (to circumvent this – some upscale hotels offer “bed-n-dance” packages where you come to the hotel’s club and dance the night away unable to leave because of the curfew….. they should try this in Ibiza!). The central square proudly features a statue of Lenin and a giant Stella with Lenin’s quote about Donbass being the core of Soviet socialism (People lovingly refer to the Stella as the “impotent‘s dream” due to its erect nature). At night, the city is generously lit with lights, featuring all the major monuments and historic buildings. Oh, and don’t miss Don Mak – after McDonalds left due to sanctions, the fast food joints were renamed with the menu staying essentially the same.
