SUNDAY OCTOBER 16, 2011
I have been a little slow on the journaling for
the past couple of days. I mean we have both been kind of busy with all of the
eating and visiting we have been doing, and trying to recapture the spirit
after the fact is a little difficult. Today is Sunday, and our day to depart Раздольное
for the week. We wake up at 7:30. After showering we work on the apartment in
that I have been informed of some furniture switches by the library that may
happen while I am on vacation for the next week. I was instructed to empty all
cabinets and clear all furniture except for the bed. I put all of my clothes on
the bed, shoes underneath, and all kitchen stuff into two boxes. Then we worked
on the fridge. Three piles: one to get tossed, one to picnic on the train, and
one to eat for breakfast today. Everything else stayed in the fridge or
freezer. At 11:30am we walked to the bus station to catch our 12:20pm bus to the
town of Djankoi. The bus runs about 2 hours and we have seven hours to kill in
the town before our train leaves tonight at 9:46 Kievbound. I know two of the
volunteers in this city and reach out to them to, at the very least, get some
restaurant recommendations, but hoping for a tour guide or some ideas for time
killing. After a couple of calls, Chris and DuVale came to hang with us at the
pizza place across the street from the train station.
Kiev train station at night
It was raining pretty
hard, so we did not venture out as planned. We just stayed at the pizza place
and got to know each other a little better. Even though the community of
volunteers is about 500 in Ukraine, our world is pretty small and we find that
we know many of the same people, were trained by the same teachers, or had some
common experiences, so it is not difficult to find something to talk about with
almost any of them. We sat and talked to the guys for a few hours and then El
and I stayed after they left to do a quick email check before heading to the
train station to catch our ride. All is good with the train and it appears to
be on time. This is my first time on the train by myself (or at least not with
a Ukrainian to help me) and so far so good. I suppose I will always be alright
until there is a problem- then it is obvious just how little I truly
understand. Nonetheless, this train departs at 9:46pm and by the time we board
and get settled and get on the way it is almost 11:00pm and time for sleep. All
of my train experiences until now have been on "old style" trains
that are put into commission only during peak season and this train is one of
the newer models. I expect, from experience that the train will be very cold
and difficult to sleep on. To my surprise, contrarily, the coupé is very warm
with no window to open. When we close the coupé door it actually rises to an
uncomfortable sleeping temperature and we do our best to stay asleep as long as
we can. As I have written about in the past, one of the concerns when riding a
train is drunk passengers. While drinking vodka and other liquor is prohibited,
beer on the other hand, is sold on the train and many people bring their own.
You always hope for the best, which seems to work in your favor only some of
the time. We get lucky and we share the coupé with two middle aged gentleman
who are returning to Kiev after running in a footrace on Crimea this weekend.
One speaks English and is happy to practice with us. They sleep, alcohol free,
through the night and are the kind of coupé mates I hope for always.
MONDAY OCTOBER 17, 2011
We awake on the train around 7:00am, which is
earlier than I hoped for, but still later than I expected. We get some tea and
coffee on the train and dig into our picnic breakfast. Today's selections range
from Tostitos Corn Chips and chocolate chip cookies to apples with extra chunky
peanut butter. We eat, realizing that we still have about 3½ hours until our
stop. No matter, we update our journals and sip our tea quietly. Today will be
our first day in Kiev and we will only be here for one day this time, as we
leave tomorrow for Chernigov and will return to Kiev for three days at the end
of the week. I am able to grab another hour of sleep after I eat my breakfast.
When I awake we prepare for arrival by switching back to our street clothes
from our comfort clothes. We aren't scheduled in for another hour, but it's not
like we have anything else to do right now. The train arrives close to on time
and we head right for the Hotel Lybid. It is not too far from the train station
and we find it with little issue. We arrive at 11:30am and are told that we cannot
check in until 12:00 noon without paying another night’s fee. So, tired and
dirty from our train ride, we sit and wait for the noon hour to get our room.
We have no sightseeing agenda today, but we do have a couple of things I need
to do. We check into our room, shower, and change. Our first stop is the train
station to buy tickets to the city of Chernigov tomorrow. I seem to remember
the schedule times being an issue from when I was in training, but need to
confirm before switching to plan B. It is times like this that really
underscore how difficult Russian is for me. I mean, I can order train tickets
without problem, my issue comes when they say "no" and give a reason.
I cannot tell if it is because there are no trains, the trains are sold out, or
if the trains are not running at the times I need. It becomes a lot of trial
and error with the cashier who has neither the time of the patience to work
with my lack of command of the language. After a while I do finally understand
that every day there is only one train to Chernigov and it runs only at 6:00pm.
Well that would not work for us. We needed to be there in the morning. I
remember when I was first brought to Kiev during my training, we came right on
the Friday of Easter weekend and the trains to get us back to Chernigov were
all sold out. We had to take a bus and our teacher, Maria, showed us where to
get the bus and all of the details. So, after striking out at the train
station, we took the metro to the end of the red line Lisova Station (Лисова) to
find if I really remembered correctly how to get that bus. On the way we get a
photo of the now-famous-to-us McFoxy, who has set up shop next door to McDonald’s
across from the main train station. It is kind of funny.
McFoxy next to McDonalds. I bet some company is not happy about this
As for if I knew how
to get to the bus stop? Sure enough, I did. I found the stop no problem and
asked one of the drivers about the schedule for tomorrow. He said that they run
every 15-20 minutes and cost 40 UAH each. We will try to make the 10:00am bus
tomorrow, putting us in Chernigov around noon. Hoping to check in to our hotel
around noon and then get up to Таня's for lunch around 1 or 2. Before we leave the
bazaar near the buses, we grab an order of schwarma from a stand. The sandwich
here starts with a large flat tortilla with a dollop of mayo spread on it. Add
a heap of shredded cabbage, chopped tomatoes, and julienned cucumbers. Add chunks
of grilled chicken, more mayo, ketchup, and hot mustard. Fold like a burrito,
and grill like a panini. It is then wrapped in a plastic sheath and surrounded
by a napkin. Almost unbeatable street food. Right around this time though, I
realize that my cell phone has accidentally turned off in my pocket and now
needs a PIN code to reactivate it. A code which sits on my shelf...at home!
Luckily, I have the phone number of the three people I plan to see on our
vacation in my pocket. Now, I just need to find a person with a phone with the
corresponding carriers that will let me make the calls. I remember that I had
promised a call to my host mom when I had a plan about tomorrow, but without
the phone, I need to get back to the hotel to get her phone number. We head
back to the hotel and I grab the information I need. We quickly return to the metro
station and take the train to Maidan Square for the 4:00pm free walking tour.
There are two different free tours a day from the globe monument in Maidan
Square and I have already taken the 12:00 noon tour. At 4:00 it is a little
chilly, but nothing we can’t work with. We take the tour that focuses on the
government buildings in the city and features a section of the city that I am
mostly unfamiliar with. We start at the park at the end of Kreshchatyk St. that overlooks the Dniepr River. There is a "Friendship Arch" in this park as well as a Trompe L'Oeil painted on the ground.trying to have fun with a Trompe L'Oeil, but the camera person failed
It is painted such that if you jump at the same time the photo is taken it looks like you are jumping off a cliff. Sadly, no one seemed to get the timing just right and the tour moved on. We ascended the steps into another park where we saw sculptures and the bridge of locks where couples can hang a lock to signify their love.
locks of love
Towards the end of the tour we come upon the presidential offices and across the street is a unique building that was designed to be two stories in the front and six stories tall on the back side to accommodate the terrain. There are also some pretty interesting cement figurines adorning the building. Lots of dragons, mermaids, lizards, fish, and snakes. The tour lasts a little over 2 hours and again, ends at
the tourist information center. Afterwards, we head to a bar on Khreschatyk Street that was recommended to me called, Shato
(Шато). They brew their own beer and it was good, but
this is a spot reminds me that "I am not in Раздольное
anymore"! I mean, 147 UAH (US$18.50) for 2 beers and 2 orders of french
fries seemed a little steep for this country. I was also able to ask around and
managed to find people to lend me a Kievstar and an MTC phone so that I could
call my friends who we were planning to meet in Kiev this week. Sadly, my
internet connectivity is spotty at best and reliant on us finding a free wi-fi
zone. Because my phone is not working at the moment my friends are sending me
emails to connect and I can’t return them immediately. I am frustrated by my
lack of response time to the people who I have committed to contacting while I
am in town. Unable to put together a meeting tonight, El and I finish up at the
Shato and head out to dinner at a Japanese restaurant/sushi bar that I have
been to before called Murikami. We went to the one on Khreschatyk St. at the Hotel Khreschatyk, but they have several locations around the
city. We order a plate of sushi and tea. It hits the spot as a dish that I do
not get at home these days. But, tired and cranky, we both agree to call it a
night and head back to the hotel for bed and a hopefully get an early start in
the morning. We end the day catching up on world current events. Hoping to be
reset by the morning.
TUESDAY OCTOBER 18, 2011
Reset we are. We wake after a good night's sleep
and go to breakfast at the hotel. The selection is great and we both fill up
since we don’t know when we will eat next. After breakfast we finish packing and
check out. We walk to the metro station and try to navigate the station with
our rolling bags in tow. Sort of difficult, even though we have used this station
and actually know where we are going. Nonetheless, we make it to our platform
and grab the next train to come along. We head out to the last stop on the red
line called Lisova (Лисова) which is where you get the marshtrukas to
Chernigov. If we were going to a different city we would use a different metro
stop, but since we made our dry run yesterday, we were in good shape. We
arrived at 9:30 for a 10:00 bus. The cost is 40 UAH each (US$5) for a 2 hour
bus ride. The alternative is the train which costs 13 UAH (US$1.75) but with
the complications like only having one inconveniently timed train a day. As for
us, we are good with our commitment. By 10:01 we are on the road. Just before
we start off I take a moment to ask the driver about catching the return bus to
Kiev on Thursday. Well, the conversation could not have gone worse...unless we
actually started yelling at each other! Again, it is times like this that I am
reminded just how difficult it is for me to communicate in Russian. I can ask
for things and if the person I am speaking to understands my need to speak slow
and use small words, I can carry on a simple conversation. But, this driver did
not see or hear my needs, and after my attempt to find out about the return trip,
I am just as unclear about what I have to do to get back to Kiev on Thursday. I
am excited to have El meet my host family and show her around the city that I
trained in. The weather is chilly, but not cold, so I think we should have a
good time walking around my old stomping grounds. We pull into Chernigov around
noon and as I pick up my luggage at the back of the bus the driver grabs my arm
and points to the spot where I will be able to get our return bus to Kiev on
Thursday. So, he did understand my question and I just didn’t understand his
answer, but now I have the information I need. I'd consider that a small
victory. We check into the hotel and drop our things off. We rearrange our bags
and grab things we will need at Таня’s house. We go downstairs and get the
marshrutka to Таня’s. I told her we would be there between 1 and
2. We roll in at 1:05. As expected, she is thrilled to see me again and to meet
El. She invites us in and has lunch already made. Borsch (beet soup), golubsy
(stuffed cabbage leaves), salo (lightly salted raw pork belly), cake (cake) and
tea (green).
salo
Everything is as tasty as I remember it. Instead of hosting
another volunteer, she has opted to host a language class in her house. We
arrive at the end of lessons and I get to meet the five trainees and the
language teacher. At the end of lessons the teacher, Natasha, joins us for
lunch. Also, Таня's friend, Таня,
comes over for lunch. It was a really nice day for all of us. We stayed until
6:00 reminiscing and updating about my new life in the southern part of the
country. After dinner we walk back to the bus and stop into Dva Gusa (Два Гуса)
for a beer and to check email and update Facebook. After that we walk to the
musical fountain hoping to conquer the challenge of photographing it at night
with the dancing water. Sadly, it is closed for the season and sits empty of
water waiting for next spring. Dark and cold, we press on and I get the idea to
try to take some photos of St. Catherine’s church all lit up with El's camera.St. Catherine's church at night
That works well and we stop at a dessert cafe called Charlotka (Шарлотка) on
Prospect Mira adjacent to the Alley of Heroes. I order a hot chocolate and a
slice of black forest cake. The thick chocolate is very tasty, the cake, not so
much. Doesn’t matter though, the company is good and it is a fine end to a fine
day. Tomorrow we will walk the city and then head Таня’s
for dinner, as they are making my favorite, shashlik for dinner (upon request).
We pay our bill and head back towards the hotel, maybe stopping for another
beer or other nightcap. I love being on vacation. On the way back to the hotel
we walk through Red Square and I see a bar that I never got a chance to visit
during training. I remember one night when several of my friends went there,
but I had decided to bail on the night before they made it to this place. It
was called Falvarek (Фальварек) Pub located on Prospect Mira just off of Red
Square. The music emanating from behind the door should have told me to run
away, but we entered to loud, thumping, dance music anyway. We look around and
find a table in the back. As we walk towards the back, the music fades out
while the sound of a soccer match on television fades in. We choose the
strength of the game over the techno. Good call. We take advantage of the free
wi-fi and get some beer and french fries. We spend about an hour recapping our
day and sharing pictures with our friends on Facebook. Around 11:00pm we call
it a night and head back to the hotel walking the quiet and very chilly
Chernigov streets.
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 19, 2011
We get up a little later than we wanted to, but luckily this is a town I am
semi-familiar with. We have our agenda planned and will plan to make it back to
the hotel before we head to Таня's around 5:00pm. Our first stop is breakfast at
a café near Prospect Mira. Unfortunately, the café does not open until lunch.
For fear of spending too much time coming up with a plan B, we agree to just
get a quick sandwich and coffee at McDonald’s. The food hits the spot and we
are off on our walking tour. The first stop is the Shevchenko Theatre and then
on to the dytynets where, true to form, El hits the churches while
I opt to journal outside.
one of the cannons at the dytynets
The weather is a crisp, autumn day and when there is
no breeze it is quite pleasant. We will continue to walk to the bell tower before
heading back to the city center. El has also spotted a clothes shop she wants
to visit and I will be sure to allot the time for that. They close at 7:00 this
evening. After spending 3 months in this city, I have many fond memories and am
thrilled to be standing here showing El about some of the things I have learned
while I was here. What great memories. We continue on our tour and I give as
much information as I remember, stopping along the way to take pictures. I have
pictures of most of these spots, but none with El, until now. We spend some
time at St. Catherine’s church and get some more pictures of it.
"Chernigov" spelled into the hill at the entrance to the city
We keep moving
down the hill towards the war memorial, St. Anthony’s caves and the bell tower.
I want to take El up the bell tower and we keep pressing on while looking back
at the sites of the city from afar. We finally get to the Trinity Church and
bell tower. El decides to check out the church while I journal. The sun is out
in full, and even though it remains a little cold, we really do have perfect
walking weather. The bell tower is 172 steps and offers a 360 degree view of
the city.
in the Trinity Church bell tower
in the Trinity Church bell tower
We have been waking for less than two hours and are making very good
time on our tour. We wrap up at the bell tower and start to walk back to the
city center. We are both getting a little hungry and need to eat soon so as not
to spoil dinner. We stop into the monastery on the way back and point out some
other items of interest. We decide to head to a restaurant called Nirvana (Нирвана) for
lunch and El will stop at the clothes shop afterwards. We are having a most
productive day. By the way, El has confirmed what I did not know, that the two
main tourist churches, Spaso-Preobrazhenskaya Church/Cathedral
of the Transfiguration of Our Savior (Спасо-Преображенський Собор),inside Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Savior
and the Troitsky Monastery (Дзвіниця
Троіцько-Іллінського Монасмиря) are very beautiful inside and worth the look if
you find yourself in the area. I always liked Nirvana, but it was always a
little steep on our Peace Corps budget. I get a beer and a plate of spaghetti Bolognese
which is really tasty. It is not too much and I do not feel like I overdid it.
El needs to make a reservation on the internet and the connection is good here.
I update the journal and try to plan the rest of our day before heading back to
Таня's.
We spend longer at Nirvana than I wanted to, but at least we are not tight on
time. After lunch and email, El heads over to the clothes store across the
street to look for her traditional Ukrainian clothing to bring back home as
gifts. I, having no interest in that, stay at the internet spot and wait for
her to return. She is back soon and we head out to finish our walk. We both
have everything we need to go to Таня's for dinner. We head to St. Parasceve’s Church (П’ятницька Церква) behind the theatre and walk down Blvd.
Shevchenko. We stop on the Red Bridge (Красни Мост) and
take some pictures of the Michael
and Fyodor Church (Храм Святого Михайла та Боярина Федора) across
the river. Then we get on the marshtrutka that we need to get to Таня's.
We told Таня we would arrive between 4:00 and 5:00 and we
walk in at 4:55pm. She is still excited to see us and tells us that the others
will arrive within the hour. In the meantime, Таня
sits and shows us pictures of the family at various times over the years.
Before we know it her son, Pavil, has arrived to cook the shashlik dinner that
I requested. It takes some time, but is well worth it. Chicken, onions, and
tomatoes. My favorite. The meal is the Ukrainian version of barbeque. We eat,
talk, and exchange reciprocal invitations before heading out around 9:00pm. We
walk to the bus stop and catch our ride back to the center. I need an ATM and
we saw a dessert place nearby that looked pretty good. We stop in and order a
coffee and I get a Napoleon for dessert. It is pretty good and the coffee is
better than almost any I have had in this country. A little pricey, but another
place I knew existed, but on my budget during training, was not on my radar.
Amoré Mio is the name and it was a really nice after dinner place. We finish up
and head out. Also though, I would like to point out that there is a giant flat
screen TV in this very fancy dining room playing the National Geographic
channel with a show about people with extreme weight issues and medical
oddities. Not the most pleasant of subjects to enjoy a fine dessert over,
strange for sure. After we pay we move on to a bar that I had never seen
before. Not sure if it opened in the last few months, but if it did not, how
did I miss this place? Eleven microbrews on tap? A wide variety of beer snacks?
Only five tables and four seats at the bar! The only down side is no wi-fi, but
for those into soccer, they are playing a soccer match now and this would be a
better place than some of the other options in this town. Again, how did I miss
this place if it was here when I was? I get a white and El gets a dark beer. We
are too full for the likes of beer cheese or peanuts. We won't stay here all
night, but an hour is good enough for me (especially with a soccer game on). If
they had good music, this would be an ultimate bar for me. I shall return.
Well, we wind up staying until closing time, which was around midnight. Over
the course of our time there we each drank two- half litres of our original
choices, plus ate 200+ grams of peanuts, and also at one point the bartender came
by to offer El a cup of warm spiced cider. Not sure if it was beer or wine or
even alcoholic for that matter, but it did taste like cloves and was warm. We
are not necessarily tired, but we do not feel we need another stop tonight. We
could probably find another bar to hit, but we both agree it best to call it a
night. Five minutes later we are in our hotel room and getting all of our
electronic devices onto chargers to be ready for tomorrow. The plan being to
grab a bite in the morning and then wait for a bus back to Kiev to start our
three days there before El has to leave on Sunday. Sadly, I feel like I am starting
to get sick and hope this is no indication of my next couple of days. Today, I
was able to connect with my friends in Kiev and should hopefully be meeting
with them on Friday for dinner. Fingers crossed.
THURSDAY OCTOBER 20, 2011
I am definitely getting sick. I had a terrible
night's sleep because of it. Mostly a headache and a sore throat, but it can
only get better or worse and I fear for the latter. I will gladly exchange a
week of being laid up next week for a couple more days of comfortable touring
with El. We get up around 9:00am and go to grab some food at the closest café.
Just a cup of tea and a pastry to hold us over. We check email and then head to
a partner bank (basically I get paid through an ATM account. If I withdraw
money at a partner bank all of my ATM fees are reimbursed. Раздольное
has no partner bank ATM's, so I take advantage of being in a city with partner
ATM's to get money for free). We head back to the room and grab our stuff and
make our way down to the bus stop where we can get the bus to Kiev. It is
around noon and we expect to be in Kiev around 2:00pm. This will give us enough
time to go to the hotel, check in and go out to hit one or two of our tourist
highlights. Tomorrow we will try to hit a bulk of the items on our list and
finish it up on Saturday. As I look back on the past two days, I am so glad we
made this trip to Chernigov. Peace Corps Volunteers are allowed to visit our
host families seven days a year (where the days do not count towards our annual
leave). I mean, I certainly expected to visit Таня
and family at some point, but coming back with El was just great. They were so
excited to meet El and vice versa. The family really made me feel like a part
of the society here, and I cannot say enough great things about them. El was
happy with my introduction to the city, and I was also happy to discover new
things about the city that I missed the first three months of living here.
Lastly, as we get ready to pull out of the bus stop to Kiev, a word about the
Hotel Ukraine. This place always looked really scary to me. There are a few
hotels in this city that appear to be in a state of disrepair and in need of a
serious updating. I asked around and got one favorable review from a current
volunteer about the rooms in this hotel. The online reviews were mixed at best
and until I got the first hand review I was looking elsewhere. I had some help
calling to get my reservation. We wound up with a "luxe” room on the 4th
floor, with a large living room with pull out sofas, a balcony, large flat screen
TV, and a full sized bedroom, that at 584 UAH per night (US$73) was a really
great deal. The room was definitely bigger than my apartment. So, with a
central location, new suites, and really comfortable and quiet rooms, I would
fully recommend the Hotel Ukraine in Chernigov to anyone looking for a place to
stay with their family or anyone else you can afford US$73 with. We roll into
Kiev around 2:00pm and head directly to the hotel with our bags. We are staying
this time on Khreschatyk Street right next to Maidan Square. We check-in
around 2:45 and plan to get out as fast as we can to get to our list of things
to see and do. After looking at the map, we see that most of our points of
interest are clumped into two major areas of the city, except one, the Babi Yar
Memorial. Honestly, I had never heard of Babi Yar until researching this trip
and I am not sure how I missed it. You should look it up if you can as the
events that took place there was one of the most significant moments during the
holocaust. I had read a bit about the massacre over the past couple weeks, and
also asked at the tourist info center about the layout of the grounds and
monuments. I am glad I did. Basically, Babi Yar was a ravine where thousands of
Jews and non-Jews were massacred in a very short period of time. The actual
grounds are not as much the tourist attraction as the monuments inside
commemorating those who perished on the site. There is no map that I am aware
of to explain in detail (in English) where the significant monuments are and
how to navigate the park to them. Basically the park (as it is laid out today)
is adjacent to the Dorohozhychi (Дорогожичи) metro station on the green line. We spend an
hour wandering the area. There are memorials and monuments on both sides of the road and we start at the memorial to the children who were victims at Babi Yar. Hoping to get a photo of the monument, El and I wait while a grandfather waits patiently for his grandson to be ready to move along, but the child does not leave. At first, I was a little annoyed that after probably 30 seconds of standing there with our camera , that maybe the man would have hurried the child. Failing this, El and I decide to take our photos anyway as the probably 4 or 5 year old continues to ride his little Razor scooter around the monument. The sad irony hits both of us at the same time and I am not disappointed in the juxtaposition of the young boy playing on a memorial to thousands who lost their lives in the site. Hauntingly ironic. memorial to the children who were victims at Babi Yar
Afterwards we decide to go to dinner. I have a few
recommendations that we can choose from and El picks a French restaurant called
Café Champagne (Кафе Шампань). It takes us longer to walk there than I
expected, but it is still light out and the stroll is nice. For dinner I order:
Caesar salad with bacon, “Rooster in wine by Alsatian recipe”, and a side of
mashed potatoes. We agree we do not need wine with dinner and opt instead for a
beer. The Caesar salad is not too good. The ingredients are acceptable, but
there is not much dressing on the salad, and what's there is not all that
tasty, and the bacon is a bit of an oddly used ingredient as they serve with
bacon strips instead of bacon crumbles. I would probably not order that again.
But, the coq au vin is really great. The flavors and portion size are
fantastic. Though, I do encounter many tiny bones that I could have done
without, and the side of mashed potatoes were a little cold, but the coq au vin
made the stop worth it. I am still eating when El's plate gets cleared and the
waitress offers El tea, coffee, or dessert while I am still dining. They need
to work on their timing I suppose. All in all, I say a decent recommendation,
with a couple of small issues. We update our journals and skip dessert, looking
to press on for a next bar or café for our after-dinner needs. On our way in we
passed a place that we HAVE to go back to. A bar called "Post Floyd The
Wall" as we just have to see what's going on inside. It is located at Velyka Zhytomyrs'ka St, 25/2 Kiev (044) 272 2494. We walk in to see a
live Queen video. I already love this place. The prices are a little steep (for
what I am used to) for a beer, but we are finding that frequently in this city
(when I say this, a ½ litre of Heffeweissen will run about US$7, where the
Ukrainian beer is closer to US$3). We decide to stay for a beer if we can get
the security key for the wi-fi in here. We are in and spend the night winding
down. I mean we don't necessarily need to go bar hopping, especially when you
find a place you like. We play on the internet and watch the video “Queen:
Rocks Montreal” on the screens in the bar. The beer is workable and nursing one
that is the equivalent of US$2.36 is not the end of the world. We will probably
just wait for the end of the video and make our way back to the hotel and call
it a night. After the Queen video finishes, they start David Gilmour's home
video, “Remember That Night”. I am not as interested in that, so we call for
our check and head home. On the way home we stop for some photos at St.
Sophia's and St. Michael's as the nighttime scenes give a much different look
than during the day. After our pictures, we go back to the room and call it a night.
FRIDAY OCTOBER 21, 2011
Sometimes things take longer than you expect
they will and sometimes less. I had made an appointment to see the Peace Corps doctor
which is a more difficult ticket to get than you would think. Being that I live
so far from Kiev while others live relatively close, I booked in advance and
got a 10:30am appointment. It was a fasting appointment, so I could not enjoy
the breakfast offerings at the hotel this morning. I planned to wake at 8:30 to
give me enough time to ready and take the metro to the office. Having naturally
woken up a little before our alarm, by 8:50 we were ready to leave. Sadly, this
did not leave enough sightseeing time before the appointment, and also left us
with too much time before the appointment to leave just then. We checked our
email on the hotel's free wi-fi and left closer to our planned time. While I
was at the doctor, El spent time at a café around the corner. She also went to
a bookstore and was able to find a Kiev guidebook in English that was much
better than the Ukraine guidebook I have with only a small section on Kiev.
After the appointment we need to head back to the hotel for a pit stop, which
really is on the way, but stops like these always take longer than you expect
they will. After we stop, we head back to the metro to continue in the same
direction to the station called Arsenal (Арсенальная).
There is a bit of history in the vicinity of this station and we stop to read
about what we are seeing. We continue on towards the Lavra Caves which everyone
says is a "must see". On the way we stop at an overlook and read
about the memorial to the Great Patriotic War, eternal flame, and the Tomb of
the Unknown Soldier. We take some photos and move on to the monument
commemorating the victims of the artificial famine of 1932-33.
shadow produced by the sun shining through the monument commemorating the victims of the artificial famine of 1932-33
This is another
dark period in the history of this country and there are several monuments to
this time. We press on towards the Lavra Cave complex. It costs 25 UAH to enter
and another 50 UAH for photo privileges (FYI, they really do pounce to check
your ticket stub if they spot you taking pictures). There are no complex maps
available at all with the exception of a map painted onto a wall. El takes a picture
of the map, but it is impractically small to navigate from where we stand. Lavra
Caves is way more complex than I expected. Not my thing, surprisingly, but I am
getting sick, so I may have a different opinion if my health was better. We pay
the photo fee, only to learn that you cannot take photos in the caves
themselves. I was disappointed, but I think El liked it. Then I asked and she
said that she wished she had seen more of the sites on the map in this complex.
At this point, I feel like I am getting sicker by the minute. I am feeling
weak, finding it hard to breathe, especially in the caves where candles are the
only light, and I am assuming burn up much of the oxygen. I am achy and my head
is congested. I have medicine back at the room, but it isn't doing me any good
now. At first opportunity I need to get some food and drink to hold me over
until dinner in a few hours. We will meet my friends Andrii and Olga for pizza
at 5:00. I hope I can hold out. As for the Lavra Caves, the bottom line is that
I am cheap. The complex costs 25 UAH (US$3) to wander into all of the caves and
churches. The tours given in Russian and Ukrainian cost 20 UAH (US$2.75)
whereas the same tour in English costs between 250-375 UAH depending on what
you want a tour of. Obviously, my Russian is not anywhere near good enough to
take that tour, so we are stuck to pay the fee or to go without and try to do
it on our own. We opt for on our own, which, in hindsight, may have been the
wrong decision. The problem for us is that, with the exception of "Do Not Enter"
there is just no English here at all. My Russian is basic so I can ask for
directions to some things, but even this gets me flustered and underscores how
uncomfortable I am in this language. Nonetheless, on our way out, El stops into
a few of the cathedrals with the camera. I choose to wait outside and journal
and get some food and water at a stand. The weather is starting to turn cold
and sprinkles start to appear. El grabs the guidebook and checks to see if
there is anything else we need to see before we leave. I was hoping to see the
Great Patriotic War museum today, but having spent so much time in this
complex, that is looking doubtful and will go to the bottom of our list for
tomorrow. Checking our clock, we decide to run down to the Rodina Mat which is
a giant Statue of Liberty-esque piece that stands over the Great Patriotic War
Museum.
Rodina Mat
We do not have enough time to do the museum which we have heard such
great things about. We take our pictures at the Rodina Mat and head back to the
metro to meet Andrii at Maidan Square. He will be there around 5:00, and it is
not far. We make it to the meeting place a little early and are not 100% sure if
Olga will meet us at the meeting spot or the restaurant. Andrii shows as
expected and I call Olga to verify her plans. It turns out she is at the
restaurant already and waiting for us. So, the three of us jump a metro to the
restaurant and it takes about 20 minutes to meet up with Olga. Andrii and Olga
are two of the people I have met during my time in Раздольное
and told them I would look them up if I ever made it to Kiev. What a great dinner
all around. The dinner was at a place called Pizzeria Napulé, and it was
seriously, New York style pizza. It is located on the second floor at 9 Mechnikova St., Kiev 38 044 495 9263 www.napule.com.ua/en/ The dinner lasts about an hour and everyone is
really happy with their food. We leave full and with a plan to meet tomorrow.
Olga, El, me, Andrii
We all take the same subway home and get off at different stops. I am so happy
to have seen my new friends again. After dinner El and I head back to the same
bar from last night called Post Floyd The Wall. We walk in to the same David
Gilmour video being played as was playing last night as we left- except now it
is on the better, second part of the DVD with the better songs than the first
part of the DVD. We start off with a couple of beers and El decides later that
she did not eat enough at dinner (opting for the small rather than the large
pizza) and orders a chicken fingers with pineapple curry sauce. The sauce is
tasty, but the breaded chicken is overcooked and not very good. We both use the
free wi-fi and update our journals. At the end of the David Gilmour video they
actually start to replay the “Queen: Rocks Montreal” video we walked into last
night. I told El that whenever she wanted to leave we could. After another
round of beer and an order of french fries, we did. We walked back remarking at
the fact that 4 half-litres of beer, 1 third litre of beer, an order of fries,
and chicken finger run us 175 UAH (US$21) and you can’t beat that. We were also
there for 2 hours, they have treated us well these past couple of nights. As
for El and I, we walk home and decide to hit a coffee shop called Coffee Life,
on the way. This is a popular chain of coffee shops that can be found all over
many Ukrainian cities, including Kiev. El wants a bottle of water and I want a
piece of cake and hot chocolate. This night cap hits the spot. We will head
back to the hotel around the corner after this. We end the night.
SATURDAY OCTOBER 22, 2011
We wake late and have breakfast in hotel where I
run into another volunteer and we have breakfast with him and make plans for
dinner. After breakfast, El and I decide to first hit the Bassarabsy Rinok (Бесарабський ринок) which is an indoor bazaar.Bassarabsy Rinok
Although not as
impressive as the Boqueria in Barcelona, this place had a pretty great selection
of meats, produce, flowers and an impressive array of caviar vendors. I do not
exactly know the deal with caviar here, but I think that the "good"
Russian caviar is illegal to sell here (not sure why). I do know that it can be
purchased from enterprising merchants. Having zero interest in buying any
caviar, "good" or "bad", the ladies manning the stands
trying to tell you, in Russian, why their tin of caviar is better than the
stand next door selling the exact same tins were more like mosquitoes by the
end of our time in the market. We walked through and took some pictures. Then I
found what I wanted, a cheese shop. She had the widest selection of imported
cheese (parmesan) and cured meats (Serrano ham) that I have seen in this
country. I bought a block of parmesan and a tub of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
for my site mate. As we exited the market, right in front of us was a
restaurant El had read about. It was a cafeteria style Ukrainian restaurant
called Puzata Hata (Пузата Хата). A chain, but we hear this is the best
location. Even though we weren't too hungry, we did want to stop in just to see
how it was and also to see if I could point El to some dishes that she may not
have had in her two weeks here. I got a small bowl of borsch, a plate of pork
plove (usually made with lamb where I live) and a plate of cherry varenike with
a dollop of smetana (сметана), which is like sour cream. It was alright. I
really did like the varenike with cherries, but the homemade borsch and plove that
I have had just ran circles around this stuff. After lunch we want to go to St.
Andrew's church.
St. Andrew's church
I have heard that it is closed for renovations, but the
outside is still photo worthy. We take the metro to Kontraktova
Ploshcha station and walk towards St. Andrews. There is
so much construction going on in the vicinity of the cathedral. The roads are
closed and torn up, so much so that the vendors who ordinarily sell their wares
in the street have now been relegated to the sidewalks. There is not much in
the way of uniqueness in the stuff sold. I mean even if someone is selling hand
knit caps, they look just the same as the stand next door selling hand knit
caps. And if you aren’t in the market for hand knit caps, the repetition of
offerings gets a little old. We pass all of the magnet stands and all of the
jewelry and craft stands as we are not looking to buy, but just look. About
half way up the street we spot a walkway/"stairway" leading up to an
overlook. The stairs can be considered "dangerous" at best, making
the sight at the top seem way less than worth it. With missing stair boards,
broken banisters and a section of handrail that was missing bolts, it was even
scarier coming down than going up. The overlook had great potential if it wasn’t
for the overgrowth and view blocking buildings. Even the section of the city
you can see was not very scenic, leaving little wonder that this is more of a
party spot than scenic overlook. When we reach the bottom we continue up the
street. At the top of the hill is St. Andrew’s Cathedral. It does look very
pretty and we take some pictures. We confirm that the cathedral is not open for
visitors. After stopping briefly at the statue with a man with a spider on his
butt, proposing to a woman with a wedding band on, we continue up the street to
St. Michael’s Cathedral.
El goes in while I journal. Afterwards, we walk down
the street to St. Sophia's Cathedral where we are set to meet Olga at 4:00. She
wants to show us to a sculpture park before taking us, as guests, to her
English club. Again, El goes into the cathedral while I wait at the meeting
place and catch up on my journaling. When we were researching this trip, I had
made a list of places to see and besides the Great Patriotic War Museum, the Bulgakov
House, and the Museum of Microminiatures we saw everything on the list. I will
probably do at least one of those things tomorrow during my layover between El's
flight out in the morning and my train out in the evening. I would say this has
been a very productive few days in this city and I hope to be able to build on
my knowledge of it over the course of the next two years. We arrive to St.
Sophia’s a little early and El wants to go in to check it out. We have only 25
minutes, so she thinks the 45 UAH ticket is a bit steep and passes. We wait at
the statue for Olga who is running a couple of minutes late. No biggie. She
gets there and we ask if we can stop back at St. Michael’s to get a photo that
we missed earlier. She is good with it and we swing by. The photo only takes a
minute to get and we are off to the sculpture park. It is a little difficult to
find, I do not know the name of the park, but as you walk through the park
there are several sculptures. Some are whimsical and random, while others are representations
of characters in stories like “The Little Prince” or the “Princess and the
Pea”.
Our time gets away from us and we realize we need to hurry to get to the
English Club on time. The club is private (meaning it is run out of a guy’s
apartment and not the local library or other public place) and costs 25 UAH
each. If you are late it is an extra 5 UAH. We are welcomed into the club with
Olga and we spend our time listening and interacting with the others in the
club. There are 13 people in attendance and the leader, El and I, and 2 other
Englishmen are the 5 native speakers. The club ran for 2 hours and was mostly
on a much higher level than I am used to in my club. They start by discussing
some idioms and also writing down some discussion topics for tonight or a later
time. In one hour we discussed two questions. Some of the “advanced” speakers
were a little shy about speaking, but the ones I spoke with were doing great
following the conversation. For example: one of the questions was about “social
issues” and someone stating that indifference is a social issue, while others
disagreed and the actual conversation turned into the debate of the words’
status. During the club I receive a text
confirming we will meet Mike and Jill at Restaurant Pervak (Первак) at
8:00pm. At 7:00pm it seems like they are winding down, but El and I excuse
ourselves just so we are not late for dinner. We are also told to bring cash
only, no credit cards. We hustle down to the metro and take the blue line to
Leo Tolstoy Station (Площадь Лва Толстого). The restaurant is around the corner and we
find it with minimal issue. I realize that we have 30 minutes before our
reservation. El has mentioned that she is looking for a package of “beer
cheese”. This is cheese sold in my town that is smoked and very salty (making
it good with beer). We go to the closest supermarket we know of and El runs in
while I journal outside. Unfortunately, they do not have the cheese (at least
El couldn’t find it). I vow to try to find some after dinner but she refused
and chalks it up to being something you are more likely to see in small towns
than here (not sure if I agree). Empty handed we head back to the Restaurant
Pervak where Mike and Jill are waiting in front of the place for us. The door
does state that they do accept credit cards. I ask Mike what he knows about
this and he tells me the machine is broken and that for the night there must be
cash only. We are again told about the credit card situation many more times by
various employees. Guess it’s better to over explain it than blindside us at
the table after the meal. We work with the menus and each find something to
order. The waiter finally takes the order only to tell two of us that our selection
of beef stroganoff is NOT available. We opt for a few more minutes on the menu
while he brings the drinks. Upon return, we are ready for him. I order a selection
of pickled vegetables for an appetizer and a sliced duck breast with a pear and
cherry sauce for entrée. The salads arrive in a timely fashion, but the waiter
is too busy with a nearby large party to give our table to attention it needs.
The food around the table gets high marks for tastiness, although mine is a
little on the cold side. We ask for dessert menus, but by the time he returns,
we just order coffees and a check. Afterwards, El and I are planning to walk,
but Mike is not sure about Jill who says that she will try the walk which is
not far for us. But when you don’t know someone, you don’t know what their
capabilities are. The walk to the hotel is slow and comfortable. We stumble
onto a live taping and performance like America’s Got Talent. The whole of
Maidan center is closed to traffic and it is after 11pm, making the light
display very impressive.
Mike, Jill, me, El standing in the middle of Kreshchatyk Street
As we say our goodbyes to Mike and Jill, we remark
what a nice evening we had with them and might try to do it again sometime.
Really good. After getting back to the room around 11:30pm, El still needs to
pack for her 6:25am shuttle bus to the airport. We stay up talking and getting
her ready. At just about the same moment though, we realize that the saltiness
of our dinners will be making us thirsty this evening. Unfortunately, we
confirm with the front desk, you cannot drink the water from the tap in the
hotel. So, our options at 1:00am are, 24 hour room service for 40 UAH for a
bottle of Perrier. Or for me to actually go out any find some store selling water
at this hour. I wind up in the metro station. I mean, not the station per se,
but the underground maze of shops that includes the access to the metro. I will
tell you, there are some really scary characters in the underground at this
hour on a chilly Saturday night. Sure enough, one guy I do find, who sells,
beer, chips, beer, fish, beer, and water. Oh, and beer. So, amongst the drunks
buying their beer, the homeless woman trying to negotiate a free or reduced
rate beer, and the friend of the worker who just has nothing better to do at this
hour, I step up to the window to ask for my water. As I am ordering, I am
thinking back to earlier in the evening and trying to recall what size bills I
have in my wallet and thinking that I probably only have 100 or 200 UAH bills,
which is going to make the next couple of seconds really awkward as I try to
pay with, but not flash the bills in front of these people who I wouldn’t need
to show the contents of my wallet on any occasion, really! Luckily, the whole
purchase goes without a hitch and I am back in the room in no time. We make it
to sleep just after 2:00am, with a 5:30am wake up call. It’ll be a rough day
tomorrow!
SUNDAY OCTOBER 23, 2011
After only a couple hours of sleep, we awake as
El needs to get to the shuttle bus to take her from the hotel to the airport.
After a quick goodbye, she was off as scheduled. I decide instead of going back
to bed, to just start my day a little early and hopefully that will translate
to better sleep on the train tonight (wishful thinking, I'm sure). I shower and
head down to the restaurant in the hotel for breakfast. I check the guidebook
to see if there's something I can do that might be an interesting way to spend
my day and I still have the three items from our list that I can look into
doing today. After breakfast I finish packing and check out of the room. I take
my heavy luggage bag down to the train station...being a Sunday, the earlier
the better regarding metro crowdedness. I drop my bag at the baggage room. Only
costing 13 UAH (US$$1.75) to not have to lug my bag around is priceless. After
the drop I head back on the metro to the bottom of St. Andrews descent. El and
I walked this street yesterday. Right now the road is all torn up and all of
the vendors that usually occupy the middle of the road are pushed to the
sidewalks. One of the spots that has been recommended to me is the museum now
located in the house of the Ukrainian author Mikhail Bulgokov which is located
at number 13 on this street. This little street is not very long and although a
little steep, is really not that difficult to navigate. Over the years there
have been many people important to the history of Kiev who have lived, worked,
built, developed or otherwise made a lasting mark on this little street. As I
start to ascend the descent, I recognize one of the first buildings as the
"Museum of One Street". Having nothing better to do I stop in to
inquire about cost which is 20 UAH entrance plus 10 UAH for an English language
pamphlet telling you exactly what each display is. There is also an exhibition
room and I am told that photos are OK. I pay my 30 UAH and start the self-guided
tour with the pamphlet. Basically this is a museum set up in a building where
the perimeter of the path are displays detailing the history of the "One Street"
(St. Andrew’s descent).
One Street museum
Some displays focused on famous people who lived on the
street. Some focused on professions like a barber shop or a tailor that
operated here at one time. Most displays had tools from the barber or the
tailor, papers from the private collections of the residents, or photographs of
the situation being described. I am realizing now, that my description is
probably not doing it justice, but this was a pretty cool little museum. I am
really glad I went through it. Well put together and fun to go through. After
the 40 display windows, I went into the exhibition room where they displayed 60
death masks from famous Ukrainians. Not necessarily from the street, but just
famous. I asked the woman on staff who the most famous person was in this room
and she pointed out masks of Bulgakov, Gogol, and Shevchenko, in addition to
many others that are probably way more famous to a Ukrainian than a guy from New
York. She then told me that the museum had a collection of over 200 death masks!
I do not know what fascinates me about these masks but they just do.
death mask of Tolstoy?
She took
me into the other rooms with masks from so many people I did know, like Stalin,
Lenin, Beethoven, Chopin, even Ulysses S. Grant and John Dillinger. They too
had a Napoleon mask, an original of which I saw in New Orleans. These were all
copies for sure, but I still find them piquing my interest. After this I head
back to continue up the descent. I get to number 13, which is the Mikhail Bulgakov
House. I walk in and ask how much it costs to enter. She tells me that I cannot
enter without taking a tour and that they only offer tours in Russian. Fat lot
of good that will do me! It is unclear if they offer English tours on other
days, but what is clear is that today, they do not. I leave. I continue up to
the top of the street bearing right at the fork. Most of these vendors are
selling t-shirts and I am looking for the stairs to the park among the stands.
I spot some stairs and make my way to them only to go up the first flight to
realize there is no exit, only a down staircase on the other side. I keep
walking and figure out the at the exact spot where the mobile t-shirt vendors
end and the brick-and-mortar stores start is the entrance that can be used to
access the park that reminds us a little of the Gaudi park in Barcelona. It is
a fun little public space that has sculptures, both functional and decorative.
Last night we came with Olga and got cut short, but today I had way more time
so I walked through most of the park taking pictures and admiring the installations.
The weather was nice, so lots of people were out enjoying the time. This made
it a little difficult to get some photos without people in them. As I wandered,
I know I was going to need a bar or a café at some point to pee. I got to the
end for the park and realized I was right next to Post Floyd The Wall. I did
not go there today, opting rather for the place up the street called Copper.
Spelled "Купер” (cooper), but he insists there is only one
"o". They have free wi-fi, reasonable prices on a good beer tap
selection, and a bathroom, so I am set here for a while. El is able to connect
with me while at her layover in Zurich, so that is a nice moment for us. I wound
up staying a couple of hours before heading to my next stop, McFoxy's. This was
a place I just wanted to try to compare to their direct competition located
just next door, McDonald’s. I ordered the medium meal. I swear the sign said “burger,
fries, drink”. Instead of a burger, I got a chicken sandwich with cheese, lettuce,
tomato, and some radioactive colored sauce. It was like nothing I have ever
tasted before, and not in a good way. It was like a strange mix of mayo,
mustard, and turmeric(?), I think. I don’t know what it was, but their
"special sauce" left a bit to be desired. I also got an order of
"Foxy Balls". What can I say about these special things? Let's start
with, based on texture and flavor, if you told me that they were actually
breaded and deep fried fox testicles, I don't think that I could put up much of
an argument. Truthfully, I am pretty sure it was a chicken nugget in spherical
form, you know in the same way you think there's probably some chicken part
component to a McNugget?
mmm...McFoxy "chicken" "nuggets"
In the middle of the meal, I decided A: I will NEVER
eat McFoxy again and B: double check that my Pepto and spare toilet paper are
handy for the 13 hour train ride I am about to undertake. After
"lunch" I walked over to the Peace Corps offices to check my email,
get acquainted with the volunteer lounge, and take a shower. I recently learned
that there is a shower available for anyone to use in the office and my long
train ride and unknown next shower time made me think it could be a good time
to do this. I had my toiletry kit with everything I needed...except a towel. So
I did an air dry routine. The hot water was nice- heck the whole shower was
nice, just need to remember the towel next time. With my train at 8:21pm, and
me being a little new with the whole train system, I decided to get there a
little early. I went to pick my luggage up at the storage facility and had no
issues. I walked to the schedule board, got my track number and time. The train
back to Crimea was pretty much uneventful if only an hour delayed. I sleep most
of the way and work on finishing the rough draft of my journal.
IN CONCLUSION
I usually finish my travel journals with some conclusion about whether the
place was worth visiting and if I would go back of given the chance. Well, this
is a little different circumstance, considering I live here for now. First, Раздольное. I
am not able to view this town as a tourist site yet, since I am living there
and it is more like receiving visitors to your hometown and showing them
around. I listened as El fielded questions about her impressions of Раздольное,
and could see myself agreeing with most of her assessments. As for Chernigov
and Kiev, I plan to get much more out of these cities while living in Ukraine.
I think that Chernigov may have some points of interest that I have not
uncovered yet, but as with this visit, I have begun discovering pubs and
restaurants that were out of my price range when I lived here. And Kiev, well
this is only the fifth time I have been to this city and two of those times
were for a matter of 6 hours or less. The other two times were for conferences
that left limited time for sightseeing and learning my way around. For some
reason, some volunteers dismiss Kiev as a place they like to avoid. Not me! I
love what I have found so far and hope to discover more in the coming years. I
think that this is one of those cities where compared to other parts of this
country are very expensive, but relative to other countries is still very
reasonably priced. I mean, US$40 for a dinner for two is pretty cheap for a U.S.
traveler coming to a world capital, but would still be out of reach for many of
the residents of this country. So, as a Peace Corps Volunteer on a budget, I
too will need to avoid visits to Kiev. But when I have the opportunity to visit
with a less limited budget I plan to take advantage of learning all I can about
this great city. I see potential, that in our lifetimes this country could
position itself as a world class "European" capital instead of the
"ex-Soviet" capital that it is now. My suggestion, come check out
Kiev while you can do it for a small amount of money, because once they become
"European", it will become just another city I can't afford to visit…and
that could start just after the upcoming Euro2012 Soccer Tournament. |
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