Yalta's Famous Castle of Love: In Yalta, its famous Swallow’s Nest is not a bird's nest, but rather a Love Nest, built by Baron von Steingel for his ballerina mistress. It seems that it was a trend at that time for men of standing to have ballerinas as mistresses, so the good Baron was keeping in step with trends. In Ukrainian, “Maya Lastochka” or My Swallow is a term of endearment used to refer to one's sweetheart. Interestingly, prior to the Baron's castle, there was another structure … [Read more...]