in transit: starting my holiday travels

I usually book flights to start my holidays as soon as possible. This year my kids had performances on Tuesday and Wednesday, the oldest kids had their performance on Thursday. I booked flights starting at 2015 on Thursday, and found out a few days later that the staff dinner would be that night as well. Argh.
Since my flight was supposed to leave at 2015, I booked a taxi to take me to the airport directly from school. This meant I needed to bring my travel pack to school, which meant I needed to pack in the morning. I remembered that at 0730, which is about 15 minutes before I should've been walking out the door. Ooops. After packing and walking out the door, I was ten minutes away when I realized I'd forgotten my bikini. Argh.
I ended up being 10 minutes late to school, the first time I've been late in I don't know how long. Fortunately, my kids were unaware, and life went on as normal.
The day went well, and the late afternoon performance by the kids went well. Even though I didn't have a part in it, I put on my costume (Mrs. Claus,) and joined in the staff photos. It was fun, and for once I was really happy with my costume.
My original plan was to go straight to the airport, but I really wanted my bikini because I was planning to go to a couple oases in the Western Desert. So I texted the guy I usually call for taxi rides, and asked if he could take me home first, then to the airport. He said okay. He ended up being a bit later than we'd agreed, because traffic in the city center is always a nightmare.

Despite massive carsickness on the way, and bad traffic, we made it to my flat. I raced up the stairs, grabbed my bikinis, and raced back down. Thank goodness we got to the airport a lot faster than we'd gotten home.
I got into the check in queue, which was longer than I wanted it to be, but was moving steadily. As I got close to the front of the queue, all movement stopped. Argh. One customer who was already at a counter was yelling loudly at the staff, pounding on the counter and insisting on I don't know what. Eventually security was called. I don't know how the situation ended, but the guy was still at the counter 20 minutes later.
As I was waiting in line, and the line wasn't moving, I was getting more and more nervous. I checked the time which said my flight would be leaving in 30 minutes, eeeek. I knew there was nothing I could do, but I wondered (and still wonder) why everyone who was checking in was taking so long.
Just as I was stepping up to a counter three guys who were behind me in the queue jumped in front, trying to say they were on a flight leaving soon. I kept saying they were behind me, and I had an upcoming flight too. I think one of them said something about being a man, which irritated me more than anything else. Thankfully, the lady working the desk reached for my passport, and took care of me.

She told me to get through security and passport control quickly, because the flight was already boarding. I did, thankfully. Apparently she felt bad for me, because she'd put me in an extra legroom seat on the plane. YAHOOO!!! Another guy on the flight tried to move seats into my row, saying that his neighbor was sick, but the flight attendant said no, because he hadn't paid the extra fee. This was awesome, and I was thrilled. Until I realized the arm rests wouldn't go up, so I couldn't lay down. Oh well, at least the thought was nice.
The flight from Kyiv to Amman left nearly an hour late, I have no idea why. It was crazy foggy, so that might've had something to do with it, but I don't know. Since I had a long layover between flights, I didn't really care that we departed late.
We landed in Amman at Queen Alia International Airport after midnight. I have no idea what time it was because I didn't really care. I found a place to lay down, which was conveniently close to a plug.
I slept, sortof. As well as anyone can sleep when you're also worried someone will steal your stuff. As well as anyone can sleep when you don't have a time to get up the next day, or anything to do all day.
Originally I'd thought about figuring out a way to do a day tour of Amman, since my layover was essentially an entire day. Then I saw the prices of booking this at the last minute, and realized I would be super tired, so I decided to stay in the airport. Thank goodness I'm good at not moving a whole lot for long periods of time. I texted with friends, and read every news web page I could think of. 
Eventually I figured out where my next gate would be, and went to check in. (I was only checked into my first flight, not the second one, because they were on different airlines, and technically on different days, even thought I'd bought them as a single ticket.)

Throughout the day I'd watched people, which is always fun in an airport. Different styles of dress, different attitudes, etc... Fun times.  Several times I heard a prayer call being broadcast (Jordan is a Muslim country,) and once I looked over toward the windows and saw three men doing their prayers. Absolutely fascinating.
My flight to Cairo was less than two hours, and was more or less on time. There was a snack on board, but nothing substantial. Thank goodness I'd eaten in the airport in Amman.
I'd signed up for two tours while in Egypt, and the tour coordinator for my first tour met me in the airport in Cairo. He was waiting for me at the bottom of an escalator, even before I cleared passport control! I guess if you're a certified tour guide you're allowed to do this. He showed me where to go to get my visa on arrival, and guided me through the rest of the airport. I had to show my passport a couple times, I have no idea why. As we exited the airport, I saw a crowd of people outside. My coordinator said the only people allowed inside the airport are tour coordinators like him, and passengers. Everyone else has to wait outside!

A driver picked us up, and drove us to my hotel. Along the way I got my specific itinerary, and a list of basic Arabic words, written in the English alphabet. Handy. When we got to my hotel my guide checked me in, and told me what time he would be back the next morning to pick me up.
Welcome to Egypt!

ukraine: is 9 a round number? back to Lviv, so I could also see Univ

During my previous trip to Lviv I figured out how to get to even more towns in the area, so I knew I'd be back, probably more than once. People wonder why I visit these small towns, but I like them. It's a chance to see 'normal' life. 

I took the cheap night train again, arriving in Lviv at 0400 or so. Before leaving the train station, I took photos of the electric train schedules, to use for research before my next Lviv trip. Hopefully I remember to use those photos, and don't just delete them.

I walked to my accommodation, along rainy, slush muddy streets. Quiet streets. The entrance to the hostel was on the back side of the building, through a construction zone.  There were signs pointing the way, but since it was still dark, it took me a while to see them. 

I wasn't able to check in yet, (it was only 0500 or so,) but I was able to sit in the kitchen for a while. I warmed up, dried off, charged my phone, and checked online accounts. 0500 my time is around bedtime for quite a few people in the states, so a lot gets posted at that time.

Around 0630 I left my bag in the hostel, and walked out. I caught a tram from the old town square and rode it to the end of the line. Then I walked about 100 meters down the road and found a marshrutka stop. 

Waiting at the stop was my friend Oresta. We'd planned to meet up here, though we took different trains to get to Lviv. 

A few minutes later we were able to board a marshrutka headed to a town called Univ. As departure was at 0730, much of the ride was in the dark. The ride went through a larger town, we were afraid that was as far as it would go. 

Thankfully the last stop of the marshrutka was actually just 200 meters down the road from where we wanted to go. 

The lavra in Univ is old. Centuries old. One of my guidebooks tells me the first written mention is found at the end of the 13th century! At one point it was a well known pilgrimage place. Times have changed though, as I don't know anyone else who has ever been there, and most of my Ukrainian friends have never heard of it. 

On the road I took a selfie with the sign indicating where we were, just because I could. 

First we walked to a wooden church outside the lavra area; unfortunately it wasn't open for us to enter. 

We entered the lavra area through the main gate. There seemed to be a small room for security or someone else to sit in right at the gates, but it was empty. 

The first thing my friend saw was a sign pointing us toward a miracle stream. There was water coming out of spouts under a pretty mosaic, with cups there if you wanted to drink. 

Neither one of us used the cups because we were sick and didn't want to pass anything on. We did put our hands in the water, which wasn't nearly as cold as we expected. 

After drying our hands on our clothes, we crossed a little bridge and went through a gate into the inner area of the lavra. It is an active monastery, so the buildings on these walls seemed to be mostly dormitories and such. Most doors were not open, so I don't really know. 

The door to the church in the middle of this area was open, so we stepped inside. The front of the church was covered in scaffolding, so it didn't look that great. 

There were windows in the church, but there wasn't a whole lot of light inside the church. There definitely wasn't any electric lighting, at least none was turned on while we were in there. I'm sure the natural lighting would've been better if the sky hadn't been so overcast. 

The entire church was covered in frescoes. Walls and ceiling. Because the church is old, and there wasn't a lot of lighting, the frescoes appeared a bit faded, and didn't jump out as much as I've seen in other churches. 

After looking around for a few minutes, we turned around to leave. Oresta noticed a small doorway to a set of stairs, which she knew would allow access to an upper level of the church. 

I couldn't resist, and climbed up. The view wasn't super different, but I always enjoy getting higher and seeing a different perspective. 

The church itself was in the middle of a courtyard/cloister type area, so we walked along the inside of the walls. We found an entrance to a museum, which wasn't open yet. We couldn't find a sign listing open hours, so who knows. 

After circling the church, we exited the area through a different gate. I wonder if one of the gates is used more than the other. 

In the gate we used to exit was an entrance to a small chapel, something about the chapel of the Turin shroud. This chapel didn't feel nearly as warm or welcoming as the church. I think part of it was made of marble, which has never felt 'warm' to me. 

Behind the lavra are woods. Oresta noticed a trail, so we decided to walk. It was muddy in parts, which wasn't fun at all. Sure, I finally have waterproof winter boots, but that doesn't mean I like getting them covered in mud. There was one long set of wooden steps, both of us were a bit out of breath when we finally got to the top. 

Near the top of the stairs was a small cemetery. There was a low fence the whole way around, which was not open. Nearly all the graves were the same, in the shape of a cross. I'm guessing they are all people connected to the lavra. 

We traipsed back down, still trying to avoid the mud. We walked around to the other side of the lavra, hoping to find something to eat or drink at the guesthouse. We entered the guesthouse, and its dining room, only to be disappointed. The sign on the door said it was only for people staying at the guesthouse. Darn it.

We did find another sign in the hallway of the guesthouse, listing the transport schedule to get back to Lviv. We realized we had at least two more hours to kill before going back. 

We left the grounds of the lavra and walked into the village. Univ is small. Really small. There is very little in the way of shops or public spaces. 

We saw plenty of dilapidated houses, I have no idea if they are old or not. Some were clearly abandoned, others I'm not so sure. We saw quite a few chickens, and even saw a few really big turkeys. I don't think I'd ever seen live turkeys before, except on tv. 

We still wanted something warm to drink, so we found a cafe. Or so we thought. It turned out to be closed. The owner (who lived in the house next door,) said we could try the state shop down the road. That ended up being closed. At that point we were pretty well convinced that nothing is ever open in this village. Except the lavra.

As we were walking, I stopped regularly to take photos of old cars and old houses. At one point I looked over and saw an old truck sitting in a field. It has clearly been there for a while and wasn't going anywhere, because there was a tree growing through the front grill. 

We found a Greek Catholic Church, and wanted to enter. Then we realized it was still under construction. Argh. 

We looked at our watches and realized it was finally time to go back to catch the marshrutka for the ride back. It was kinda raining, and generally unpleasant, we were more than ready to go.

The marshrutka came on time, yay! The driver didn't give me back the right change, so Oresta reminded him how math works, and I got the correct amount back. 

90 minutes later the marshrutka dropped us off in Lviv. We caught the tram heading toward the city center, and hopped off when it got to the stop close to where we wanted to eat lunch. (A late lunch is better than no lunch.)

We chose the restaurant Kumpel, which is a microbrewery with a good menu. It is times like these that I really wish I could have a beer. The options sounded so good. 90 minutes later we left, I was feeling fat and happy. 

We walked to the hostel, and finally checked in. We rested for a few minutes, then changed into slightly nicer clothes for our evening plans. 

At one point during my last trip I'd realized I had heaps of photos of the opera house in Lviv, but had never attended a performance there. I suggested the idea to Oresta, she was happy to come along. The opera house in Lviv is an old European classic theater, very pretty. It's not too big, it's not too small. 

It took us a while to figure out where to check out coats, as apparently each coat check is only for designated areas of the theater. There were no signs saying this, we only learned as each coat check lady told us we were in the wrong place. 

We had chosen tickets for the center of the front row of the second balcony. I'm sure plenty of people would say we were too far away, but I thought we were in a perfect spot. 

It drives me nuts to be off to one side, and I don't like to be close enough to see the makeup. Plus, our tickets were cheap, less than $10!

The performance was fantastic. The choreography, acting, costumes, set, etc... All of them were great. I started coughing in the middle of the first act and had to leave for a few minutes, but came back and was able to see the rest of the show. I'd love to see another performance. 

We stopped by a small market on the way back to the hotel, hoping to find food for the next morning, then went to bed soon afterward. 

The next morning Oresta went to find coffee and flowers while I didn't do much. When she came back we walked out together. 

Since Oresta grew up in Lviv, she knows the town quite well. She also has relatives buried in different cemeteries around the city. She wanted to honour a couple of those relatives by visiting one of the ceremonies, so I went with her. 

We took a city bus (built/manufactured in Lviv, yay) to an area toward the edge of town. Definitely NOT a touristy area. We followed the paved street for a moment, then walked on a gravel/dirt path for a bit. The cemetery itself was on top of a hill, with smaller homes still next door and across the street. 

Even though she hadn't been there in a while, Oresta was able to find the graves she was looking for. She cleaned off both of them, and laid some of the flowers she'd bought earlier in the morning. It was nice for me to learn about someone's personal connection to the area. 

A minute or two after leaving the cemetery Oresta reached into her pocket for her phone and realized it wasn't there. She checked her purse and it wasn't there either. We walked back to the cemetery, it wasn't there either. Uh oh. 

She gave me her number and I called it, hoping we would hear the ring or feel the buzz. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. 

We walked back down the hill and to the bus stop across the street from where we'd arrived. On the way, Oresta used my phone to call her mom and tell her what she thought had happened. (Phone falling out of her pocket on the bus, or pickpocketed while we were on the bus.) Her mom called the phone as well, and got no answer either. 

We went back to our hotel room to check, but the phone was not there. Since Oresta hoped it had simply been left on the bus, we went back to the us stop and got the phone numbers of the driver of our bus and central bus administration. She called them both, but no one knew anything. Boooo.

After all the calls, we needed food. I suggested my current favourite place in Lviv, the cafe that specializes in waffles. Yummy, as usual. I will be back. 

While we were eating, Oresta's mom called my phone. She said she had contacted a family friend, who would be going out to the cemetery to look for the phone, just in case it ended up there and we had somehow missed it. She expected Oresta to go as well.

We went back to the hotel to check out officially and store our bags for the rest of the day.

Oresta then went back to the cemetery, and I started walking through Lviv. I followed the route the tram I'd ridden takes to the edge of town. I can't say that I saw anything stunning during this walk, but it was nice. I felt as though I got to see parts of Lviv that are more 'normal' if that makes sense. 

Since it is a Ukrainian city, of course I saw churches. Several of them. I wonder if anyone has ever visited all the churches in this city. Certainly not in one visit. 

I climbed up to the second level of one of those churches. Watched a few people kiss icons in another church. 

I found a set of stars painted in various colors. They were filthy, with dirty sludge, argh. I'd like to see them again when the weather is better. 

Eventually I turned around and came back into the city center. The sun was sinking in the sky (I think, though with the dark clouds it had been dark-ish all weekend.) 

By that point I felt as if I'd seen enough for this visit to Lviv. So I went back to the waffle place, and had another. I also ordered a salad, in an attempt at being healthy. 

Then I went back to the hostel and hung out for a while and charged batteries. Around 2100 I walked to another cafe, in the direction of the train station. This was the cafe I'd discovered during my last visit, the one with really good cherry strudel. I had a giant piece, just because I wanted to. 

Eventually it was time to go back to the train station, where I caught my night train back to Kyiv.

This won't be my last trip to Lviv! 

ukraine: lutsk in winter

This was my second trip to Lutsk, and it didn't start out very well. I took a night train from Kyiv to Lutsk, arriving at 5 in the morning. The bad beginning to this trip was when I woke up in the middle of the night on the train and had to run the length of the train to get to the bathroom and puke. It was not at all fun, and I have no idea why I got sick.

My train arrived mostly on time, about 10 minutes late. That's not bad at all for an overnight train. When the arrival time is just after 5 in the morning, 10 minutes definitely doesn't matter. Because of throwing up in the middle of the night, I still didn't feel very good when I arrived.

I ended up sitting in the train station for more than three hours, hoping I would feel better, and trying to figure out what time the electric train to Klevan would depart.

I ended up not figuring that out, and assuming I missed it. I used google maps to figure out how to walk to my hotel for the weekend. They let me check in early, and I stayed in my room for a few more hours. Basically I'd been in Lutsk for something like six hours before I even started walking around the city to explore. I still didn't feel good/normal when I walked out of my hotel, but I was feeling cabin fever and didn't want to waste the entire day. What did help was the hotel lady bringing me tea, as well as a few biscuits, YUM.

I checked the temperature just before venturing outside, it was -9C. Not as cold as I've experienced in Ukraine, but pretty much the coldest so far this year. I bundled up and started walking. Everything was snow covered, and hadn't yet turned into ice, so it was cold but not difficult walking.

My first stop was in a small park. There was a large WW2 memorial, in fact it was basically the entire park. I stood in one place to take a photo before suddenly slipping and nearly falling. Apparently I was standing on part of the monument itself, whoops! I managed to get my feet under control and take my photo without falling, thank goodness.

I kept walking, and made my way to a large platz at one end of the old town area of the city. On one side of the platz is a theater in front. The statue in front is of a poet, Lesi. On another side of the platz is a giant sign saying I love Lutsk. I was thrilled that the whole thing was written in Ukrainian, as most of these signs I've seen have been written in English. The letters were white, which made it a bit hard to see, with all the snow everywhere. Of course I took a selfie with the sign. With the cold it was actually rather hard to smile!

Next to the square is a church, the Holy Trinity Church. It's fairly big, but when you go inside it doesn't feel that big.

As I entered I realized it wasn't nearly as crowded as the last time I visited, and one side of the church is being worked on, so there is construction stuff everywhere. It wasn't warm, but it was warmer than the outside. I sat (on a side bench, as Orthodox churches don't have pews and chairs everywhere,) and enjoyed the quiet for a few minutes.

I kept walking, and came to another intersection where I turned left. Not too long after I walked past a government building with a religious mural on the side. This is Ukraine, and such a thing is totally normal.

My next stop was Lubarts Castle. It looks more like a fortress to me, but who am I to quibble with the name. It's quite pretty with all the snow. The entry fee is a little over $1, I'm amazed that such a small amount can make a difference in taking care of the place. Inside the casle/fortress is a courtyard, off which you can enter a bell tower, the walls, and several museums.

This time I chose to go in the museum of books, since I hadn't seen it before.

The book museum was really small, but I liked it. Many of the books on display looked really old, and if I'd been able to read the signs I probably would've learned more about the books. I like seeing old stuff, even if I don't know what it is.

In the middle of the courtyard, below what is now ground level is a church. The entry has not been open the two times I've visited, so I really don't know if it ever is open, or if it's mostly buried. I find it fascinating that the ground level of the place changed so drastically.

After leaving the castle/fortress I walked to St Brigits Monastery.

It was originally a place of faith, and is again now, but the history is long and varied. It was built as a Catholic monastery, but over time (in the 19^th century,) was changed into an Orthodox complex. Unfortunately, somewhere around WW2, it also aquired an addition that was a prison. In this prison area, in the courtyard, the NKVD massacred over 3000 people. It looks really run down now, but I think it still functions at least a little.

My next sight was close by as well, the Cathedral of Sts Peter and Paul. You can't help but see it, as it is big, and set right on the edge of the street.

It is a Polish Catholic church, so there are benches in the sanctuary. I wasn't a big fan of the interior, though I don't know why.

I kept walking, and made my way to the Lutheran church, which was closed. It was also closed the first time I visited, so I'm guessing it is only open during services. It's not an eye catching building, but I tend to like churches no matter how they look.

More walking took me to the sculptor's house. It's not an official sight, in that you don't get to go inside and walk around. It is simply a private residence owned by a sculptor, and you can see heaps of sculptures all over the grounds.

The house itself is also unique, to say the least.

I soon found another open church, the church of Holy Protection. It was an Orthodox church, not very big. As I walked in, a lady was cleaning the floor, and she felt the need to talk to me. She asked me about my faith, and when I answered, she told me I was wrong. That's the first time I've been told my faith is wrong, it was not a pleasant experience. I've always believed everyone has the right to their own beliefs, but does not have the right to force those beliefs or act on anyone else. Her telling me I was wrong was pretty much the only part of the conversation that I understood.

I nodded and smiled during the rest, but I didn't have any idea what she was saying. I don't know if she didn't see that I didn't understand, or didn't care. Oh well. When I left the church she taught me how to make the cross properly. According to her beliefs anywho.

As I walked back toward the big platz I mentioned earlier, I passed a sister city tree. At least, that's what I'm assuming it was, as it listed a few cities, and the distances to those cities. I don't know why else that particular set of cities would've been chosen to be on the 'tree.'

I had sushi for dinner that night, as I often have sushi when I'm traveling over a weekend in Ukraine.

The next morning I woke up early as usual, then didn't do much of anything for several hours, also as usual. Eventually I cleaned up, packed up, and checked out. I took my bag to the train station for storage during the day. While I was there I asked about the electric train to Klevan. It turns out it leaves every day at 0840, returning at 1700 or so every day. I should've gone the day before, but between feeling awful and not knowing the schedule, that just didn't happen.

My first official sight for the day was the Icon Museum. I'd never heard of it, and the people working the front desk seemed rather surprised to find a foreigner wanting to visit. The museum was two floors, with 3 rooms on each floor.

The icons on display went as far back as the 12^th or 13^th centuries! Most seemed to be from the 16^th and 17^th centuries. Some were in better shape than others, of course. Different types of wood fall apart in different ways with different types of paint used to tell a story. I really enjoyed them as art, rather than religious items. I was the only person visiting while I was there, but there were three people working. The lights for each room were only turned on when I was in the room, they were all off otherwise.

Not too far from the icon museum was the military museum. The full name of the museum is longer, but I don't remember it. This was another place that seemed surprised to have a foreign visitor. I paid my entry fee, and started my tour by checking out the backyard. The yard displayed a helicopter, a plane, several tanks, and other vehicles and large items. I might've stayed out there longer if it had been a little warmer. Tromping through the snow wasn't so much fun. Many of the vehicles were open, so I was able to go in the (falling apart) helicopter cockpit. There were descriptive signs in front of everything, but since I don't know anything about this industry, knowing the name of a tank didn't mean much to me.

I went inside next, which felt amazing. I don't know how warm it really was inside, but I do know it was plenty warmer than outside. All through the three rooms were pictures and items of various times in military history. There were even some items from the civil war currently taking place in the east of Ukraine. One of those items was a sticker with the name of Donbas Independent Republic, or something along those lines. Argh.

After leaving the military museum I wanted a snack. I settled for something from a bakery not too far away. I stayed in the bakery longer than I should've, but the cold was taking everything out of me. At least I didn't feel like throwing up anymore.

I walked in the direction of the castle/fortress, hoping to catch a tour of the dungeon and tunnels under the nearby cathedral. When I got there I figured out I'd just missed the tour by about ten minutes, argh. I made a note of when to return, and where to buy tickets.

I continued walking, making my way to a monastery. I think it was the Benedictine monastery, though I'm not entirely sure. The sun was starting to lower in the sky, which gave me a couple great photos around that area. I entered the church of the monastery, which was quite small. I was the only one in there at the time, which I loved.

Near the monastery was a bridge over a river, but I don't think it was going anywhere I wanted to go. I crossed over, then turned around and came back; not very exciting, I know. While on the street again I noticed a water pump, which reminded me of what I saw at the one room schoolhouse near where I grew up in the states. Who uses this pump? How often is it used?

I walked to the old synagogue, another example of what was once a vibrant Jewish community that has gone away. This synagogue was also a fortress, to protect the city and offer worship. Sadly, it's now a sports club.

I saw a laundry line that didn't look very useful in the cold weather. It was covered in ice, and icicles. Very pretty, but pointless.

I went back to the cathedral to catch the dungeoun tour. The tour was in ukrainian, so I had no idea what was being said most of the time, but I've gotten used to that. It's not always hard to figure out what I'm seeing when I don't understand a tour guide.

I saw several tunnels, a couple piles of bones, and excavation work still taking place. For some of the years the Soviets ruled with Communism, the church itself was used as a market rather than a church! At one end of a tunnel I got to see the original metal gates from the 1700s, which are quite rusted. Even with the rust, I was impressed that they'd lasted for centuries. So much of what is built now won't last anywhere near that long.

As we exited, I saw the sun had set so it was dark. And cold, very very cold. I put up the hoodie on my sweatshirt, as well as the hood on my jacket.

I moseyed my way back to the same sushi restaurant as the night before, staying there for more than two hours. After eating I walked to the train station and waited for the train. Just before boarding, I noticed icicles hanging off my train, eeeek!!

The train ride back to Kyiv was easy and smooth, something I've come to expect from the Ukrainian train system.

I want to come back to Lutsk, mostly so I can go to Klevan and see the tunnel of love in winter.  

ukraine: kyiv: remembering the Holodomor

Now that I'm aware of the annual memorial, I try to attend the ceremony honoring the Holodomor every year. It takes place in cities across Ukraine on the fourth Saturday of every November.

This year I was in Kyiv, so I took the metro and walked to the Holodomor memorial mid afternoon.

I know I've mentioned this event in previous posts, but since it isn't well known (or even known at all,) outside of Ukraine, I'll repeat some of the information. I don't know how many people, if anyone, read this, but this is a part of history that should be known.

Back in the 1930s, when Stalin was forcing Communism and commual life on everyone in the Soviet Union, one of the ways he did so was to set grain quotas for every region. That amount of grain was put into government silos, and was not available for people to eat. That amount of grain was often exported. These quotas were often set much too high, even though agriculturalists knew such production wasn't possible.

During the winter of 1932-1933, there was a famine. This was almost entirely for man made reasons, though the Soviet government of the time tried to blame it on bad weather. Yes, the weather during the growing season wasn't nearly as good as usual, but if the grain in the silos had been released to the people, there wouldn't have been a problem. Instead, the grain was held in the silos, and even exported, though people were starving to death.

The borders of the country were closed, so people weren't able to travel to get help, or to share the story. It's horrific.

The official numbers of how many people died vary, and are generally considered to be much lower than the actual number of people who died. I think a middle number is around 7 million, though I've seen as high as 12 million.

Each time I come to this event I'm amazed at the level of security. The president usually gives a short speech, which would require a LOT more security if this were something the American president attended.

I was able to arrive, go through a very old school metal detector, and have someone take a quick glance into my purse. Then I was in the crowd!

To remember the Holodomor, Ukrainians bring the usual flowers and candles, but they also bring loaves of bread and shafts of wheat. After the speeches (by the president and a priest,) people process forward to lay their offerings on and around the memorial. It's somber, and heartbreaking.

Almost every year this time of year is when it first starts to get cold, and I always end up shivering. I have a heated apartment to go home to, with plenty of food. I can't imagine how awful it must've been during the years of starvation.

Never forget.   

germany: dresden

I'd visited Dresden before, but it was just a day trip with rainy weather. When Bo suggested we meet up in the city, I said hey, why not. I can always justify a weekend trip somewhere. Always.

I took a taxi from school to the airport, flying Lufthansa. Both of my flights went smoothly, I arrived on time. Thankfully, the public transport in Dresden is a metro train, which comes regularly. I rode the train to the central train station, and went to find Bo, who said we could meet up at a giant Christmas tree.

He tapped me on the shoulder as I was going down a flight of stairs, he'd met my s-bahn from the airport but I'd completely missed him. He showed me to the Christmas tree, it was indeed very big. In another area of the train station was a GIANT stack of (presumably fake) ritter sport chocolate bars. If only they were real! Greatest marketing item ever.

We walked out of the station, I followed him. Bo had arrived in the city earlier in the day by train, so he'd already figured out how to get to the hotel, which I really appreciated. I'm not a huge fan of arriving anywhere after dark, but I don't always have a choice. On the way to the hotel we stopped at a small shack for a snack of curry wurst. Now that I like the stuff, I can't get enough of it!! With spicy sauce and mustard, I'm a happy camper. The bread roll that came with the wurst was the best bread roll I've ever had.

Our hotel was in a quiet neighborhood, which was nice. Some people want a hotel in the middle of nightlife, or at least close to it, but that's pretty much the last thing I want. We used wifi to take a look at what to see in the city over the next couple days, Bo already had a paper city map on which we could mark what we wanted to see.

The next morning I woke up earlier than Bo, because I always do. We got ready to go, and started walking toward the tram stop. On the way we stopped at the bakery on the corner of the same block where our hotel was located. We also stopped into another bakery close to the tram stop. Dresden has great bakeries, yum.

Close to the tram stop was an evangelical lutheran church. Like most churches, it caught my eye. I took photos of the outside, but the doors weren't open for me to go inside. Darnit.

We took the tram back to the hauptbahnhof, where we'd met up the night before. We walked through the station and out the other side. I remembered this walk from the last time I visited Dresden, I knew where to go. Even if I hadn't known where to go, it would've been easy to follow other tourists to the pedestrian zone.

Walking along the zone we looked into a couple more bakeries, somehow I didn't buy anything even though everything looked good. I stepped into a store with watches, hoping to find a Timex Ironman, but the store didn't have what I wanted.

We arrived at the Frauenkirchen, an iconic church in the old area of Dresden. This church is featured on many postcards of the city. Unfortunately, when we arrived, we discovered it was closed in order to prepare for a concert taking place that evening. Argh.

Since the Frauenkirchen is well known, and in the middle of a large platz, there are heaps of people around, including random performers. I liked the guy making huge bubbles while wearing a blue tuxedo. There was also a man playing a grand piano in front of the statue of Martin Luther, it was nice to listen for a few minutes.

We would our way through streets to a particular street which is known because of what is on the wall. It's called the parade of kings. On the wall is a long mural, depicting each king of the Saxon Kingdom. It's another iconic place in the city, I think it's more unique than anything else in the city. I still haven't figured out how to take a photo of the mural that shows the whole thing, and shows it well.

Our next sight was the Dresden Cathedral. Visitors enter through a non-descript door on one side of the church, then go up a short flight of stairs to get into the church itself.

It's a big church, but not super fancy. I like the ceiling, and the organ at the back of the church. Some of the interior of the church is being redone, so it was covered up in plastic. There is no entry fee, yippee!

We walked a bit more, past the opera house. I looked at one of the signs on the front of the opera house, to check out prices and times for tours, but nothing worked out for us. Another time I'd love to see a show, or take a tour. I love classic old school European opera houses, and all the etiquette that goes with them.

We arrived at the entry area of the Residenzschloss. We walked through the arches, into the gardens in the interior courtyard. It's a stunning area, everyone who walks in whips out their camera and starts taking photos. It's not super fancy, but everything is divided into sections. Since we were there in mid November, there wasn't anything special to see, but I was still happy to be there. We took a few timed pictures on one set of stairs, it's amazing how often people walk through photos being taken. I was laughing and frustrated at the same time.

I also like the upper balconies/railings of this area. Along the railings of the balconies are statues, and you can see the stone decor of the buildings as well. One of the 'gates' into the area has a giant crown on top, it's definitely worth a photo. Given the crappy weather, it was nice to see the gold in the crown. Another area of the gardens has a fountain, surrounded by statues and whatnot. After waiting (not so) patiently for other people to get out of my way, I was able to take a panoramic photo of the whole thing. We also took photos of each other in the dry fountain, hee hee.

We exited to the schloss area, and walked across a bridge to the other side of the river. We saw a cafe that seemed welcome in the grey skied weather, and went in. I was happy to have ice cream, despite the cold. It had hot raspberry sauce, which equals out the cold, right?

After eating, we walked through an aisle of trees, straight up the street. The trees are nice, and still had colour from the fall season. Unfortunately, it was too dark to take photos to show the colour. We walked all the way to the end of the street, as we both still felt the need to move. By the time we got to the end of the street we found a circular intersection and went all the way around.

Then we walked all the way back to the old city area. I took a couple night photos on the bridge as we walked. I wanted to take a photo of a display set up by one vendor, but he didn't want me to do so, darnit.

In the hauptbahnhof we grabbed a quick dinner at a branch of the place we'd first found in Berlin, an Asian fast food place. Tofu and veggies make me happy :) Also in the hauptbahnhof was a cheap grocery store, where I found ritter sport chocolate bars on sale. I'm sure plenty of people would say that buying six of them was too many, but I'm not one of those people. That same grocery store also had the glass jars of Landliebe yogurt I love so much. Definitely more than one serving, but I don't get them very often. In addition to the chocolate, we picked up breakfast food for the next morning.

When we got up the next morning the food and drinks were still cold because Bo had put them on the sill outside the window the night before. Yay for a yogurt I love for breakfast. We cleaned up, packed up, and checked out, each of us carrying our backpack with us. This day was better, because the weather was much better. Mostly blue skies with some clouds make every photo better. I took another photo of the Lutheran Church from the day before, just because it looked better with a mostly blue sky.

We took the tram back to the hauptbahnhof, and found the small area where we could rent a locker to store our backpacks. We found one big enough for both our packs, yay! In the hauptbahnhof I found a small shack and bought hot chocolate, just because it sounded good.

We went back to the giant stack of fake ritter sport bars, and took photos. Definitely one of my favourite travel photos of all time, hee hee. If only all that chocolate was real.....

We walked past the Frauenkirche, back to the parade of kings. While walking along that street, I bought postcads and a magnet, getting that 'chore' out of the way.

We went back to the gardens in the schloss, and took more photos since everything looked better. I was happy to get a photo with the crown behind us, and blue skies.

We followed the same route we'd followed the day before, crossing the bridge. Across the street from our ice cream cafe the day before we found a bakery full of yummy stuff. I ended up buying something with cherries, and another pastry too. Yum. I wasn't hungry, but couldn't help myselfhe Sometimes I think it's a good thing I don't live in a place with yummy bakeries everywhere.

We continued to follow the same path as the day before, all the way to the same intersection at the very end. This time, instead of turning around, we kept walking. We walked past a very drunk man, all the way to Louisenstrasse.

This started our time in a 'hippy' neighborhood. Many of the buildings had graffitti on the lower levels, and the shops were of a more vintage sort. Heaps of cafes too. We even saw people painting an archway, which was fun to watch for a few minutes.

We turned up Koenigstrasse, which brought us to another archway. When we passed through the archway we'd entered an area known as the Kunsthof Passage. The apartment buildings in this area are decorated in a way I've never seen. It's not the type of decor you get from mosaics, or painting, or fancy brickwork. It's what you get when other pieces are 'glued on' to the exterior. One of the buildings was yellow, and the decor was a series of large yellow tiles. Another building was blue, with pipes and flower pots and such. We weren't the only ones taking a look at everything, it's definitely a fun area. There are a few cafes, but we didn't really have time to sit and relax.

To get back to the old city area we followed another street, totally non touristy. I took a photo of a woman at a bus stop just because it seemed so normal. When we got close to the old town area we walked along the water for a bit, which was quite pretty and relaxing. Even though it wasn't stunning, it was one of those moments when you think 'hey, I have a pretty good life.'

We wound our way through the old town streets back to the Frauenkirche. I'd seen the inside before, but Bo hadn't. It's iconic for a reason. There are volunteers there who help keep all the visitors quiet, which takes some effort. There are a lot of people in there, and many visitors forget that a church is supposed to be a place of reflection and prayer, not yelling and gossiping. This church was hit during the war, but a lot of it has been redone, and it looks amazing. Most visitors only go to the ground floor, though you can pay 8 euros (!!!) to go up the bell tower. I think that allows you to go to the balconies as well, though I'm not sure. Everyone exits through a different door than they entered.

We started moving a little faster, heading back toward the hauptbahnhof again. I was very aware of the time, and knew I couldn't afford to miss my train back to the airport. When we got to the hauptbahnhof I ordered food for both of us, while Bo went to get our luggage from storage. We met up again in the middle of the train station.

We said our goodbyes, and I boarded the train. Around 20 minutes later I was at the airport, printing out my boarding pass. The airport offers 30 minutes of free wifi, I wish it was a little longer. My flights back to Kyiv were easy and smooth.

I hope to come back to Dresden another time, and get to know the rest of the city better, and maybe even do a day trip in the area.