Despite an initial lack of participants, I'm happy to announce that ChernobylCon 2008 was a resounding success!
In the end, three a.cc members dared venture into the Zone: Jakub Wasilewski, Andrei Ellman and myself. Together with an IRC buddy of mine and the friends most of us brought along we were 9 people in total. Last I checked, everyone's still alive (although Andrei is still in the Ukraine somewhere).
(But ask us again in 15 years or so )

But without further ado, I present pictures!
Jakub in the minibus:
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Taking a break in the Ukrainian countryside, waiting for the guide:
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Our guide:
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Zone checkpoint:
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Briefing on the Exclusion Zone:
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Signing away our rights ("I understand that I will be subjected to external and internal radiation..."):
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Abandoned ships:
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Our guide taking a radiation reading:
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... and demonstrating why it's bad to venture off-road:
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A.cc group shot by the cooling pond, with the Chernobyl NPP in the background:
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(Jakub, me and Andrei trying hard not to be bothered by the Evil Daystar. )

Reactor 4 in all its glory:
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Entire group by the Sarcophagus:
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The ghost town of Pripyat:
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Whatever you do, don't step on the moss:
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Pripyat's fairground:
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Back in Chernobyl, checking for radioactive contamination:
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A hearty meal in the Outer Zone:
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After a final check for contamination, we're free to leave the Zone:
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I have more pictures from the trip (2.5 GB from just the Chernobyl tour!), but I'm still going through them and working on a proper page for them. I also need to type up a proper summary of the tour. So... consider this a preview.

Anyway, it was a great trip. Pripyat is one of the most interesting places I've ever visited, and the tour was worth every single penny (and mSv ). It was also great to finally get to meet Jakub and Andrei in person (hey, we Swedes have come to the conclusion that Майдан Незалежнoсті really is Kiev's best pub ). Both turned out to be quite likeable.
To the rest of you, I have only one thing to say: you should have joined us.

/gnolam out

Dang.

I don't think that I would have the courage to do that, well, not without getting totally drunk.

So, do you still believe that less than 100 people died because of Chernobyl?

Wow, really cool pictures. I've always been enthralled by the look of the ghost-towns in the area.

I remember seeing this site: http://www.kiddofspeed.com/chapter1.html a few years ago and being really amazed by it.

Reminds me of zombie movies.

Looking at the pictures I feel the shame for not joining. On a sidenote my family thinks that it's quite stupid to get irradited, however I'm of an opinion that the dose you get there is the same you would get from a röentgen. So you guys were having a good time, right?

Edit: by the way, those pictures reminded me heavilly Half Life 2.

Yep, looks like a very fun trip. Few people can say they've been to Chernobyl. My sister thought I was nuts when I told her about traveling over seas with people from the internet, and going to the site of the worlds worst nuclear disaster.... Ah well, the cost was prohibitive anyway.

Congrats on doing it though, now we can be vampires and share the experience via your pictures and words!

Pretty cool, i actually envy you!

Pripyat seems the perfect place for some parkour.

Nice pics. Shame you all dressed like real geeks.

I watched a special on Chernobyl that showed Pripyat and it seems like a lot of the same sites that you photographed were in it... The fairground looks familiar, for example... It's kinda cool seeing pictures of it though. Pretty scary that the radiation levels fluctuate so much even just inches away. The moss is extremely scary. It's also scary that they scan everybody before allowing them to leave...

Overall, it looks like an exciting trip. I think I'd prefer to be in a Hazmat or NPC suit though, just in case. It would also be nice to be able to venture into more dangerous areas without doing extra damage to your body, if at all possible.

pwnt.

They have to, plus it's for your own safety.

And the radiation stays in the soil and grass. From the pavement it was washed by rains.

I have played through Stalker, so I know Pripyat well enough!

Now seriously, great you really pulled it off. I envy you.

edit: and what Richard said.

Sure, rub it in real good!

I really like the pictures of Pripyat, that must have been a very exciting experience. I would have loved to join actually, I'm just too young. Maybe in 50 years when I'll be as old as you are now, I'll join on the next ChernobylCon!

I too envy you!

I thought this was supposed to be reassuring, but hey .

We are real geeks. I had doubts about Tore (gnolam), but that Matrix overcoat cleared it up right away .

Anyway, the ChernobylCon was a success - even if we (the Polish party) spent 10h at the Ukrainian border waiting for passage back to Poland. Kiev is also a cool city (if a bit... challenging ), and Maydan Niezaleznosti (that's the same place gnolam named to show off his leet Cyrillic skills ) is definitely a nice place to have a few beers in the evening.

All in all, it was an intensive weekend for me, and Chernobyl was definitely a very interesting place to see - Prypiat even more so. It was actually a surprising trip: I expected a gloomy and depressing place, and while parts of the tour felt that way (the ship cemetery, for example), Prypiat in particular was uplifting.

The photos can't convey the atmosphere of that place in its entirety. Everywhere you go in this city, you see dense vegetation and hear birds singing. Trees grow even out of the concrete, and the whole place radiates an aura of nature reclaiming what was once it's own.

Definitely worth the time and the money. Meeting the people from A.cc was also an interesting experience - and I can testify that gnolam is much more likable in person .

That depends. Do they scan you as if to say See, the radiation levels are harmless or do they scan you as if to say This one's over the limit and can't leave. Take him away! >:(

Just counting cancers, it's probably surpassed that by a factor 100 or so...

So have I. I've wanted to go there ever since I found out you were actually allowed to. I've always liked ruins, and I do have sort of an eschatonic streak. And as I said, the tour was worth every penny.

A very good time. Both during the tour and the trip in general.
And yeah, the radiation dose should be well within tolerable limits. I tried out my geiger counter on the plane (in this country at least, airplane personnel are #2 in yearly radiation doses (behind miners)), and it was crackling merrily all the way. Of course, in Pripyat it was showing the Red Warning Light of Doom^TM in most places except the hotel we climbed (and it showed red when we tested Hedda's shoes in the minibus between the Sarcophagus and Pripyat as well, which leads me to believe that the contamination detectors are a bit less sensitive in Chernobyl than they are when deployed in nuclear power plants and the like )

It probably is. But it's not a place you'd want to get any scrapes where Nasty Things^TM can enter your bloodstream.

Well, when I get my page done you'll have the pictures in higher resolution at least.

A suit that'd make you look like you were made up by the GM?

Jan, one of the other Poles on the tour, once said on IRC that he imagined me as "a big, hairy, hyena-like humanoid".
But I can say this: if Jakub had been living here, we'd at least be drinking buddies. :)
(Hey, is there anything worth seeing around Lublin? I still haven't been to Poland, and that could be a summer project for next year...)

Hey, it's the best clothes purchase I ever made - I had just ripped my jacket, and I found that coat for 150 crowns (~ 16€) used (it is from the '70s, but it's well preserved). Works in spring, autumn and as a raincoat. I can't see why more people don't wear 'em. :)

I agree completely (we had that discussion in the minibus back home, but you guys can benefit from it as well). I was expecting something a lot more... ominous... but instead, the general feeling I got was one of hope - mankind left that place in 1986, and in just 22 short years, nature has gone a long way towards reclaiming it. In another 80 years, if left undisturbed, it'll probably once more be... pristine. It left me with a feeling that there is hope for the planet after all. :)

The latter, just like in nuclear power plants (although it's technically more like "This one's over the limit - go and scrub yourself down until you can pass"). But we interpreted it as a mutant detector. ;D

That Matrix overcoat just looks awesome.

Unfortunately, no mutants were actually found. Guess the detector was not sensitive enough.

As long as it's not Hedda's Unholy Irradiated Wine .

As for the summer project: it'd be nice to meet again. Although Lublin is not a tourist attraction in itself (I mean, it is an old city and you can do a bit of sight-seeing, but you probably won't find it interesting for more than a day), there are a lot of interesting places nearby. And I'm sure you could find a lot of interesting stuff to see in the rest of Poland - probably starting with Kraków.

You know, no mutants allowed

Regarding a trip to Poland - if you are going to pull this one, post it here in advance. I might have a time and it's not that far away from here... (but I don't promise anything).

That's definitely pretty sweet I have tons of pictures from my recent trip to China to visit my wife so I will have to post them soon as well .

[edit]
From the thumbnail it looked as if Andrei was peeing in a corner of one of the abandoned buildings.. instead he's taking a radiation reading
[/edit]

I can't say that would be my first choice for a holiday, although that Ferris wheel looks like a fixer-upper.

Really cool pics... glad to hear the trip was a good one

Dang it! I was just about to post that.

That trip is really one of the trip I would have. A pity I am so far away from ya.

I have no interest in visiting a nuclear reactor.

I doubt they've been at it. Besides I understand why you don't have an interest in it. It's pretty boring place. I've visited one stationed on my uni and all you see is 5 meters deep water tank with fuel rods at a bottom. The water is still and 30 degrees warm and the only thing they'll tell you is, that somewhere in the deep neutrons are flying.

When's the next one ?

I hope that isn't supposed to be English on the right hand sign.

I want to put together a ChinaCon

There are so many jokes I could make about that, but I'd throw the thread so off-topic you couldn't find it without a miracle.

ChinaCon? Let's all just meet up at our local Wal-Mart.

I don't patronize Walmart, how about Target?

... oh God no. I'm not even sure there was any actual wine in all that antifreeze.

Sounds good enough for me.
But it's very very tentative. I have to get a car, a driver's license and some friends to bring along first.

That's not Andrei.

It's Ukrenglish.
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Pfft. You're not much farther away than we are.

Holy cow, it took quite a while to understand what they wanted to say.

For my girlfriend to be OK with a travel to Uk it would take dozen of years :p

http://www.allegro.cc/files/attachment/595169

Johan Halmén, I expected humor... That just seems sincere...

Look at his hand. It's subtle.

I didn't notice the hand! I thought all the little white things behind him on the shoulder of the road were tombstones or something...

Muaha, I see... It's funny, but it still fails because it's so difficult to see the joke.

Hi, it's me.

Yes, I'm still alive. So far, no noticable mutations (despite getting a drop of water landing on me in an abandoned building) unless you count the darker skin-colour, longer hair and slightly slimmer appearance).

After having spent 1.5 weeks in the Ukraine (also got to go hiking in the Crimean peninsula and got whisked through the Carparthinian region), I am now in the Slovakian Tatras (Strbske Pleso).

Will write more and post some pics when I get back, but basically, my sentiments are pretty much the same as what's already been posted, and agree with what Jakub said about meeting the a.cc'ers.

I only realised too late that Advantix film is not sold anymore (Question: is this just true in the Ukraine, or is this the case elsewhere?). Fortunately, I had about 3 rolls of spare film on me, but it means I will end up with twice as many pictures of a decaying nuclear reactor than pictures of the Crimean coastal hills and Tatra mountains. Looks like I'll have to consider getting a digital camera when I return.

As for a possible Poland a.cc con, I might consider coming if it's at the same sort of time as this.

AE.

Wow

ITT, reasons not to go to an allegro convention.

Thanks for the warning pics.:o

I've been there as well few years ago and it was really nice there. Shame the windstorm two yeas ago destroyed the woods around. And where are you going from there?

Hi,

Actually, the storm did not do too much damage to the trees at Strbske Pleso although I took the train up from Poprad Tatry and along the route, there were many places where all the trees had been felled. Half of Strbske Pleso is like a building site now (building hotels etc.). After that, I spent two nights in Olomouc, cz and one memorable night in Prague (met some Brazillians, went to a nightclub where we could play bongo-drums and one of the Brazillians even sung a tune for us there). I am now in Dresden, East-Germany and hope to to visit the Sächsische Schweiz area and go hiking tomorrow, and then, back to Amsterdam.

Anyway, I heard that about 5 or so years ago, Pripyat was completely ransacked. Also, I was immagining I'd be shown around people's appartments and be shown things like abandoned photos; which seemed depressing when I saw the pictures on the Internet. Instead, I was shown nature taking over which felt inspiring. This means that hope can occur even in the strangest places where you'd least expect it (this makes for a good sermon).

Take care,

AE.

What a shame, we could have met here in Prague.

That's quite a shame. I was there in winter where just the old hotel was standing and the rest was untouched nature.

I've been back since Wednesday. Have been taking advantage of the nice weather here and been out cycling so not had much time to post here.

Here is a map of my journey

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I originally thought about going to Romania and Moldova but as the pace of my journey was going slower than I'd imagined, I decided I'd save money by just going via Slovakia instead (that and the fact that the place the guy at the youth-hostel in Kyiv directed me to (Mukachevo) was not a good place for accessing Romania). I got to visit all the paces marked on the map (although I only used Prešov as a place to spend the night).

There were several highlights to the trip, but it was great to meet two fellow a.cc'ers in the flesh. My photos should be developed on Thursday (must get a digital camera soon).

Pity about that. I thought about posting a possible itinerary on a.cc before I left to see if any a.cc'ers along the way would want to meet up, but I was so unsure of not only my schedule but also which places I'd visit that I thought arranging a meeting would have been too hard. If ever I'm in Prague again, I'll take you up on my offer. My stay in Prague was brief. Went to a nightclub, went to the National Museum the next day and had a brief wander around the city centre before leaving (was also in Prague back in 1999 so saw it before).

Even though more buildings are going up, the town itself still blends in with the scenery - especially the mini-lake on the south.

AE.

Can't you just buy a digital camera for the money you spend on buying, shooting and developing film of one trip?

BTW, how do you travel? Own car, bus, train?

[edit]
reads earlier posts

Oh, train. Great. I went two times on interrail back in the 80's. Best journeys I've ever made! Besides...

And here are some of my pics. Only a few from Chernobyl coz mine are pretty much the same as everyone else's.

Pripyat:

http://www.allegro.cc/files/attachment/595369 http://www.allegro.cc/files/attachment/595370

Chernobyl:

The first course of a Chernobilese lunch.
http://www.allegro.cc/files/attachment/595371
The local pub (and general store) of Chernobyl
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Kiev:

Me pretending to mourn for the loss of my falling-apart boots.
http://www.allegro.cc/files/attachment/595373

My trip wasn't just about visiting a disused nuclear reactor and a ghost town.

Balaklava underground submarine facility:
http://www.allegro.cc/files/attachment/595374 http://www.allegro.cc/files/attachment/595375

Bakhchisaray:
http://www.allegro.cc/files/attachment/595376

The hills around Balaklava and a secluded beach:
http://www.allegro.cc/files/attachment/595377 http://www.allegro.cc/files/attachment/595378 http://www.allegro.cc/files/attachment/595379 http://www.allegro.cc/files/attachment/595380

Tatry mountains in Slovakia:
http://www.allegro.cc/files/attachment/595381 http://www.allegro.cc/files/attachment/595382

Prague:

Me (right) and two of three Brazilians I met in Prague (the third one is taking the photo).
http://www.allegro.cc/files/attachment/595383

Saxon Switzerland south of Dresden:

http://www.allegro.cc/files/attachment/595384 http://www.allegro.cc/files/attachment/595385 http://www.allegro.cc/files/attachment/595386 http://www.allegro.cc/files/attachment/595387 http://www.allegro.cc/files/attachment/595388

A trip to Chernobyl's not exactly a black-tie event

See this thread.

Most of the trip was by train, but some parts (most notably Uzhhorod to Prešov) by bus.

Inter-rails rock! Went on two in 1999 and one in 2002.

Andrei: Pretty!

Oh, and I still haven't finished my page with the extra, higher-res photos and more detailed account, because I'm a horrible horrible person.
(Also, I've been coughing my lungs up for the last couple of weeks.)

That's a joke! Isn't it? Pretty please? With u235 on top?

• checks if his hair is still in place