A Meek Layover in Mikolaev

After waking up and showering in some sort of adjoining shed with cold water and a door that didn't lock which opened into the common room of the neighbour's house (I have no idea where the women who rented to me slept) I decided that the time to leave Crimea was upon me.  I had been there for close to a week and I needed to move on with my life.  The perfect way to get over Crimea was to go to Mikolaev.  It makes perfect sense to, because from what I had read it was a shipbuilding centre in the Soviet Union and was rumoured to have a very industrial landscape.  The only train left in the evening and the ticket was somewhere around $7 in third class.  Everyone had a great time making fun of me for patching my jeans with needle and thread and for being foreign in general.  The conductress was a formidable, no-nonsense old girl who ran a tight ship but could also show kindness and good cheer when deemed appropriate.  When the train docked at Mikolaev at 3am and I sleepily dragged my carcass off the train and into the train station to see what my options were, I was unpleasantly surprised.

I actually wasn't surprised at all.  Who has even heard of Mikolaev?  Why did I think it was a good idea to go here?  There was nowhere to sleep, it was 3am, and the only train out was at 3:300--the train I had just arrived on.  In the half hour gap that the train was stopped, I had to make some serious life decisions.  As I reboarded the train after purchasing a ticket from Mikolaev to Odessa, and handing it to the same conductress who bellowed with laughter, I matter-of-factly explained to her that as soon as I arrived, I realised this is not where I want to be.  Not in Mikolaev.  Not at 24.  Not at 3am.  Just not now.  Maybe some other time, but this was about me, my happiness.  I wanted to be in Odessa.  She shrugged and showed me to the same bed I had used before, laughing the whole way.  In the end, I got a fresh pair of sheets in the middle of the night, a dishtowel that I was able to keep, and I got to experience the joy and laughter of a stern Ukrainian conductress.  In all, a complete victory for me.