Genealogy & research
All historical documents including birth records for all nationalities Russian, Tatar, Jews & German are kept in the National Archive in Simferopol.
You may contact them by email at [email protected] although the best way to receive a response to your email will be to send it in Russian. The archive is open from 8:00 to 5:00 Monday through Friday. Individual access to much of the archive is not permitted, although for 30 USD you can pay someone to who works in the archive to do the work for you. Nobody in the archive speaks English so either be prepared to speak Russian or bring along a translator.
The archive is located at No. 3 Keckemetckaj, which is the main street running directly east from the train station in Simferopolabout 1 km.
The archives and its staff are not accustomed to foreigners so be prepared to explain to the guard at the front desk what it is you want to do.
The Lutheran Church in Simferopol supposedly has a list going back to the early 1800s of all German families who emigrated to Crimea under Catherine the great, or so it was said at the Archive. This information has not actually been confirmed at the Lutheran Church. For that matter, finding the Lutheran Church, though mentioned in the guide book, is actually a quite difficult and as of yet unaccomplished task.
The city of Feodosiya has a Jewish Community Center that is very active in doing research on the Jewish community of Crimea. You may contact them at [email protected], they can communicate in basic English so you can send the email in English but more than likely the response back will be in Russian.
Weather and water
The weather in Crimea during the summer season is very much Mediterranean. Expect relatively hot weather and lots of thunderstorms that come and go. Hot and very humid at night. In the winter snow can cover the mountains and make the roads almost impassable
The water is fairly warm,, although not as warm as the Adriatic. The water is clean and clear, although also a bit less than the Adriatic.
Understand
When you get to Crimea you can buy the local guide book "TIME to COME to CRIMEA!" in both English and Russian at many of the small booths on the street. For your reading entertainment here are some quotes from the book.
"The attitude of the population to lesbians is curious and benevolent; to gays it is hostile, except for the famous ones."
"The modern military tourism including, for example, shooting from grenade launchers and flights by supersonic fighters, is developing at numerous polygons and air stations that used to be secret ones."