Ok Ok, I know it’s been a while…here goes:

I went to the Ukraine. I visited Viktor and Caroline Yevpak and their little one, Mykola.

Flight to Kiev

On the 14th, I flew to Kiev. I bought the ticket from AeroSvit for less than $200. That’s pretty good considering a train ticket is the same price and 40 hours more travel. I somehow managed to get the exit row! Here’s the extent of the instructions I got.

Caroline met me after I exited customs. Customs consisted of them x-raying my suitcase.

She had come with a car and driver. Much easier than taking a journey through Kiev on public transportation to the train station. Then there would have been a 3 hour train ride (in 80+ degree heat!) So we had a nice long chat during our 2.5 hour drive with one stop along the way. We pulled over to a gas station where we saw these horses getting “filled-up.”

Well, I thought it was funny.

Darn Back!

On my third day of being in Cherkasy (Friday,) I woke up with a horrible spasm in my lower back. I thought it was just from the hard, European bed and playing on the floor with Mykola.

So I went to see the only chiropractor in Cherkasy. Fortunately he spoke very good English. He also only charged $10! Gotta love that! So I spent the next few days treating my back with a bag of frozen green beans, ibuprofen, and short walks around their little garden. By Monday, my back was well enough to make our trip to Kiev.

Trip to Kiev

We spent 2 nights in Kiev. I had never been to Kiev before, so I was excited to see another new city! We started out with a metro ride to the city center. We rode the funicular up a hill to a beautiful church! We walked around a bit, and to get out of the heat, we found McDonalds. Viktor said it was the first one in the Ukraine.

After a quick snack and check of email on free wifi, Viktor took Mykola back to the flat for a nap and so Viktor could do some work. So, Caroline and I went to the World War II museum. It was a very interesting place. All the signs were in either Russian or Ukrainian, so it was really just a visual experience for us both.

Flight Back to Budapest

I woke up at 4am to get to the airport. Viktor arranged for a taxi to take me and help me get a cart for my suitcase. After waiting for about 45 minutes for the check-in counter, I met another American while waiting to check in. Is name is James and he’s from Chicago. He was really nice and helped me lift my bag. What a blessing!

The flight was hardly full. The plane was an Airbus 320. Six seats (3 on each side) and thirty-something rows. There were only 17 people on the flight. SEVENTEEN!!! No wonder I got such a good deal on the flight! I wonder if the airline is government subsidized.

So that was my trip to the Ukraine….in a very small nutshell. There were so many other memories, but I was a lazy blogger and didn’t write them down soon enough. I’ll take them with me always. :-)

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