Kyiv trip re-cap part 6

Once again, these re-cap posts are not flowing as I'd like them to. I can't get Blogger to let me load a picture, comment, load another picture, comment, etc. It just stacks all the pictures on top of each other. So here are explanations of the pictures:

1) Darling Baby Girl's 3rd birthday was the next to the last day I was in Kyiv. For more (and better) pics, please go to Tara's (Mama) blog and see them here. Tara is an expert on parties - all the decorations and games and treat bags and EVERYTHING matches the theme. She makes and decorates the cakes herself and they are UNBELIEVABLE. Be sure to click on the link to her post to see everything. Not only are the parties wonderful, but what is most important, the kids have a ton of fun and I'm certain they will remember with fondness their birthday parties as they grow up.

2) Tara's 3 kids (The Boy, Big Girl and Baby Girl) with me. My trip to Kyiv was not a sight-seeing/tourist trip. The main purpose of the trip was to visit Tara & her husband and her beautiful kids. It was great to hang out and play legos, Woody & Buzz, horses and read, draw and do puzzles together. Tara and her husband are GREAT parents, and as a result, the children are sweet, kind, well-behaved and thoughtful.

3) Wednesday Tara and the kids and I went to the Kyiv Botanical Gardens. At the top of the hill, after you wind through lots of gorgeous lilacs, you can see this church. It is really an amazing view.

4) and 5) The lilacs and trees and rest of the Gardens were very pretty. Despite the heat and my lack of being in shape climbing all the little hills, it was a delight and pleasure to see God's handiwork. Lilac is my favorite scent and, in case you couldn't tell from the blog color scheme, purple is my favorite color...so seeing the lilacs in bloom was a special treat for me.

6) Before we looked at the gardens, the kids played on very nice, newish-looking playground equipment. We did this first because it was all-metal and the day was soon going to be hot enough so the playground equipment would burn their little legs.

Stay-tuned: more re-caps to follow.

Kyiv trip re-cap part 5

OK, so I'm having a great deal of difficulty getting Blogger to load my pictures in the correct order not to mention allowing me to maneuver them once they're on the screen. I'm sure it's the "nut behind the wheel", but nevertheless. It looks like the remaining posts will have to be grouped by theme and not necessarily chronologically as I had started.

This post is about public transportation for the most part. Not only are Ukrainians terrible and crazy drivers, but they park ANYWHERE. Here is an example of them parking on a sidewalk.


But they also are known to park and take up a lane of traffic! The suspensions on their cars have to be shot. I was in general surprised by the kind and number of cars I saw. They are status symbols and for the most part, from what I understand, reserved for the rich. I think the average Ukrainian does not have a car and uses public transportation.

I didn't get pictures of the metro (train) because you have to be in such a huge hurry to get on and off so the doors won't close on you. In addition to this, Tara says that the automated voice is essentially scolding you for not moving quickly enough! Here, though is a machine from which to get metro tokens.

Another mode of transportation we took was the funicular. It was like a tram. The building as well as the view was very nice.

Here are some other methods of public transportation. This is a trolley bus:

This is a hysterical sign on a (smaller yellow) marshrytka bus you can see in the picture below this one. The sign says basically that there is enough room in the bus for 21 people sitting, but in general 45. Let me assure you that the Ukrainians don't necessarily limit themselves to 45. And you do remember my mentioning the lack of deordorant used and the lack of personal space?!?

This smaller yellow bus to the left in the picture above is a marshrytka, one of which had the great sign above. One of the lovely parts about riding on a marshrytka is that most of the time, the windows are not open. Ukrainians have a thing about feeling a draft (air directly on them). They also don't use ice for a related reason. So again, remember: 1) lack of use of deordorant, 2) extremely close proximity to your fellow passengers and 3) no fresh air...though a couple times we were fortunate enough to have ones with a window open. It was pretty warm while I was there and I can't even imagine what it's like in the hottest part of the summer. I might have had to have a handkerchief or clothes pin for my nose!

Monday, after visiting St. Sofia's, Tara took me to an authetic Ukrainian restuarant where I had borsch soup. I wasn't sure what to expect, especially since it had sour cream in it and I'm not a fan of sour cream. But, it was good! We had to order our water with "no gas" (carbination), which just made me laugh. Tara ordered pizza and after waiting forever for it, we finally realized that the waiter was waiting for me to finish my soup since that was the first course and then he would bring out the pizza! Oops! Finally after "eyeing" our waiter each time he came out, he eventually brought Tara her pizza. I did have a bit of it and while it had much more than the pepperoni she ordered, it too was yummy. Earlier in the day, while visiting the beautiful St. Sofia's, I had my first experience with these "squatty potties". I can't remember if we had to pay there to use them there, but I know later in the week when we were at the mall we did. In any event, LOVELY. You furnish your own TP (which goes in the trash can). THANKFULLY squatty potty bathrooms (at least all the ones I used) had soap and water to wash your hands with!

Close-up, because one pic doesn't do them justice:

Since I'm having problems with getting pictures in here, I will save you the proof, but you can take my word for it. You had to go down several steps to get to the WC (toilet). On the door there was a sign indicating the WC was handi-cap accessible. So after you push your wheelchair-bound friend down all the steps then it's accessible? And the stall (no pics but you can take Tara's word for it, who scoped it out) was no wider than the others and had no bars for assistance. I guess this is an example of Ukraine TRYING to get more modernized.

Stay tuned for the next installment of my re-cap!

Kyiv Trip re-cap part 4

Monday, my second full day in Ukraine, Tara and I took off sans kids while the housekeeper/babysitter stayed with them. I had really wanted to see St. Sofia's church because I remembered Tara talking about that when she first was in Ukraine several years ago. You can see from the picture where they have built the new (white) around the original old (brick).

St. Sofia's, especially the inside, is probably one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in my 30-something years. I once saw the insides of a Byzantine Catholic church in OH and it now reminds me of what I saw inside St. Sofia's. There were mosaics and icons everywhere. I need to do some research on who all the people were in the mosaics. Some were Christ and the apostles, and some were of the royal family of Ukraine hundreds of years ago.

There was a beautiful mosaic composed of Pysanky eggs of St. Sofia herself. We encountered a group of school children and they were posing for a picture there. The children were very rude when we went to leave. Even though I couldn't understand what he said to Tara, I could understand his tone. I guess that's typical for Ukrainian children. I would have never even considered speaking in such a disrespectful way to an adult when I was growing up.


I had to use the restroom while we were at St. Sofia's and there is where I got my first experience with "squatty potties". Because it seems extremely sacreligious to post a picture of them in the same post as St. Sofia's, I will include the squatties in another post. I believe that most Ukrainains have what we Americans would consider "normal" toilets in their homes, but squatty potties are what you use when you're out and about. Sometimes you have to pay to use them, othertimes not. You need to furnish your own TP as well.


I'll re-cap the remainder of Monday in another post. Stay tuned for the squatty potties! :)

Kyiv Trip re-cap part 3

After my first metro ride, we went to see St. Michael's church. It was the most beautiful shade of blue. Tara says that this blue embodies Ukraine for her. It was amazing, especially against the beautiful blue sky in Kyiv that day.

Besides visiting my friends, the only thing I really wanted to see in Kyiv was the beautiful churches, and you'll soon see that I saw many. Could not take pictures inside for the most part, but take my word for it that the insides were as or more beautiful than the outsides.

This is the square with St. Michael's - I just couldn't get enough of its beauty.

After a very full afternoon of shopping and sight-seeing, we went home. After the kids went to bed, Tara and her husband and I had a good time talking. I had no idea I had kept them up so late until we went to bed and I saw the time on my phone! It was great catching up with them.

What we did Monday will be in the next post.

Kyiv Trip re-cap part 2

Sunday, my first full day in Kyiv, I slept in while my friends went to church. After lunch, Tara and I went by taxi to the Uzviz on St. Andrievski Descent. (second picture is of me standing in the street with St. Andrew's behind me).

The cab ride was interesting, to say the least. Tara suggested I not pay attention to the driving and focus on looking at what I could see on the roads as we went by...and that was fine with me! Tara instructed me that a cultural thing in Ukraine is not to speak in public transportation, so I didn't. She spoke to the cab driver and he had a Bible on the dashboard. We learned he was seventh-day adventist and she and he discussed theology until we got to the Uzviv. It was Tara's idea to go Sunday because she thought the next day would be busy...as many people as were there Sunday I can't imagine what "busy" would look like! Also, she had the wonderful idea that this way I could get most of my souvenier shopping done the first day.

My first impression of the Uzviz was just the massive amount of people. I quickly learned what Tara meant when she told me that the Ukrainians have no sense of personal space whatsoever. They crowd you and run into you and keep on going and that's just the way it is. They also have different ideas of modesty. At a "booth" where embroidered Ukrainian shirts were being sold, one lady flipped off her shirt and tried the one for sale on right there! I guess we should be thankful she had an undergarment on!

I was fascinated by all the things for sale. I'm so glad Tara knew what was good quality and what to ask the merchants. I knew going into my trip that I wanted to get the nesting dolls (Metrushka) for my 3 year old niece, and we found a nice set of those. We saw so many different kinds of Metrushka dolls. One set, as you can see in the third picture below, was of the US presidents! :)

We found some beautiful hand-painted little boxes (no special name and I can't type the Ukrainian name for them because I don't think I have cyrillic as a font on my computer). :) I picked out several of these for my sisters-in-law, friends, and Mom. I found a beautiful piece of artwork of St. Sofia's for myself and a small one for my Mom. Got picture books for my brothers and Dad.

Here is me in the metro (train) station....more about that below. (Can't get Blogger to keep my pics in the right order!)

Here's the set of US Presidents Metrushka dolls!

This is a bandurist; the instrument is native Ukrainian, I believe.If you look closely you can see the embroidered clothing booth were the lady ripped off her top to try another one on!

Historical pieces for sale

We rode the metro (train) back to the house after our shopping. Due to not being able to get Blogger to put my pics in the right order, the first picture above is me standing waiting for the metro. The metro was CRAZY crowded, again with the no sense of personal space thing. And they do not, on average, believe in deodorant. Some of Tara's Ukrainian friends talked about discovering deordorant and they were in a quandry as to whether to put it on before they smelled or after, and they chose after! Needless to say, my sweaty self and I fit right in!

I will post about the rest of Sunday, seeing St. Michael's, in the next post.

Kyiv trip re-cap part 1

After looking forward to my trip to Kyiv, Ukraine for nearly 6 months, on Friday, May 20, it was time! Above are pictures of the official beginning of the adventure. I had the pleasure of talking with a mom who, along with her beautiful girls and husband, was heading back to Germany to live after being in TX for 15 years. It was fascinating to talk to this experienced traveler.

One of the things I had had a bit of anxiety about beforehand was the seat neighbor I would have on this long 9 hour flight from Dallas to Amsterdam. Well, the Lord took care of that of course. She was a lovely, kind and friendly nursing professor and veteran traveler. She didn't mind when I had to climb over her to go to the bathroom several times, and she and I enjoyed talking through the first couple hours of the long trip. I had thought that the 9 hour flight would be eternally long...since prior to this the longest flight I had ever been on was 3.5 hours from Dallas to San Jose, CA a year and a half ago.

I was pleasantly surprised about how quickly the 9 hour flight went. My seat neighbor and I talked until our dinner was served, and I watched a movie on my individual screen (YAY!) afterwards. Then I took the pills I take at bedtime, put in my earplugs and the eyemask, inflated my pillow and relaxed. I don't know if I slept or not, but it seemed to fly by. I didn't read or listen to my audiobook or do my puzzle book. Soon it was time for breakfast before we landed in Amsterdam at 8:00 a.m. local time (which felt like 1:00 a.m. to me).

I had a 4-hour layover in Amsterdam and after hitting the store to get a few little things to remember my "visit" to Holland, I settled down and sat in the gate area for the flight from Amsterdam to Kyiv. Again, the time went by quicker than I thought it would. I'm sure that the excitement and anticipation of the trip and seeing my friends made the time pass quickly.

And then, just like that, we landed in Kyiv. The next step from the plane was the shuttle bus to the Kyiv airport. Then I stood in the line waiting for passport control to look at my brand-new passport. I was a bit nervous about this, knowing that they had the option of looking through my bags, but they didn't at all. I went to baggage claim to get my suitcase, and then the door to the "outside" opened and my friend immediately called my name. There she was with her husband and 3 beautiful children. I was there finally! After hugs all around, we went outside and I was immediately overwhelmed by how HOT it was. I had hoped for the typical-for-that-time-of-year cooler weather, but it was in the 80's with bright sun. The weather of course wasn't important, but I will say, in the next 10 days, I did sweat a lot. I'm hoping it was the first step in kick-starting my weight-loss. :)

Once we reached their vehicle in the parking lot, my friend graciously climbed in the way back of their minivan so that I could sit in the passenger seat for a better look of the "scenery" on the ride from the airport to their apartment.

I was firstly impressed by all the signs in Ukrainian. I know that sounds ridiculous because obviously the signs in UKRAINE SHOULD BE IN Ukrainian, but remember, I had never been in another country. I saw the river and the two halves of the city on either side. There were apartment buildings with satellite dishes, which surprised me a bit. I saw how crazy the roads were, how the drivers observed no traffic rules at all, and appreciated why my friend doesn't drive there. Her husband does and even that is nerve-racking, not because he's not a good driver (he is), but because the Ukrainians are scary drivers!!

It wasn't long before the short trip to their apartment was over and we were inside what would be my home for the next 10 days. I was not surprised at all at the loveliness of their home, because my friend had posted pictures on her blog (and I knew from experience she is the ultimate homemaker/keeper). I wasn't surprised, just touched, at the fresh (purple on purpose) flowers she had by my bed. I wasn't surprised, just impressed, at how well-behaved her 3 children, ages nearly 3 to 8, were. I had visited them a year and a half ago but it was a short visit and the children had obviously grown in that time.

After a lovely dinner and much needed shower, I went to bed after the kids did around 8:00 local time, completely delighted to be there in Kyiv and so very thankful for a safe and smooth trip. The first step of my adventure was over and now the real fun, visiting with my dear friends and seeing a bit of the city, had begun. Stay tuned for part 2!

Back in the USA

I had a wonderful trip on my trip to Kyiv, Ukraine. I have spent the past 2 days uploading pics to my computer and various websites and trying to get enough rest that I can handle today and tomorrow at work.

I promise I will post a re-cap and pics soon of my trip, but since I was traveling and unable to say this on Monday, THANK YOU TO ALL OUR MILITARY AND THEIR FAMILIES FOR THEIR SERVICE of our great country! We cannot appreciate you or thank you enough!