Since it was exactly two weeks ago today that we landed in Kiev, Ukraine, it's a perfect set-up. This way, those who are interested can experience our trip as we did, one day at a time.
First off, I have to say that the details of this trip were overwhelming. We spent hours, and hours, and hours, often late into the night researching, comparing prices, scheduling, reserving, and on and on. Plus, international travel appointments, immunizations, visa invitations, applications.... Before we even left, I told James it was going to be nice when we got back and we didn't have such a huge undertaking constantly on our plate.
But, the bottom line, it was all worth it. (Not that I would do it again any time soon.) Miracles took place before we ever left, and continued with us the entire time. For example, our visa applications (which contained our actual passports) somehow got headed in the wrong direction in the mail. Timing was on the line and we didn't even know they were "lost." A friend in our ward who works at the post office noticed the mistake on the computer and personally drove from Pasco to Richland to retrieve our applications and head them to Seattle where they were supposed to go. No one can tell me that was a coincidence.
Because we would be traveling so much, we decided that in order to forego the risk of losing luggage we would "backpack" without backpacks, just carry-ons. This is my life for two weeks:
Note:
Water purification tablets (As a missionary, the only bottled water you could buy was carbonated---I hated it. Then, our apartments were equipped with very expensive, 3 way filtering systems of which we would not have the luxury this time around. I was very concerned about water. Fortunately, I didn't need to be, there was plenty of normal, bottled water.)
My flat iron which got fried at my first attempt to use it in St. Petersburg. Even with our power converter, it only took about a minute for it to be smoking and the plastic around the metal plates to turn to goo. So enjoy my "bob" in all the pictures.
Noxema facial wipes for overnight trains.
TIDE and two gallon Ziploc bags for handwashing.
Unseen: TP, duct tape, can opener...all those little things we learned 12 years ago can really come in handy...and they did.
Long introduction, but here goes...
On Monday, August 16th, we left the Pasco Airport at 6:30am, flew to Denver, then Washington D.C., then Frankfurt, Germany, and finally arrived in Kiev, Ukraine at 1:30pm on Tuesday, August 17th. We stood in a lot of lines over the course of the two weeks, but none was more time consuming than the customs line upon arrival in Kiev. We were glad we were only going to have to stand in that line one time.
I have to say from the get go that James and I haven't spent this kind of time together alone since we were married. I loved it and was amazed by him over and over again. His gift with the Russian language was incredible. Not only did he navigate our entire affairs, but when we visited with the people, he had them laughing and crying in their own tongue. We truly enjoyed the time together and the experience shared.We only had a few hours to make it to the temple open house since we would be flying out of Kiev early Wednesday morning. We got ripped off on our first taxi, but we learned fast and it didn't happen again the whole trip. When we checked into our hotel the room reserved had no air conditioning. Even though it was around 100 degrees we figured we were so tired we'd sleep through the heat anyway. (We were wrong about that.) It was twice as much for a renovated room and let's just face it, we're cheapskates.
So we changed our clothes and headed for the metro (subway) which we needed to ride to the farthest stop and then catch a marshroot (like a minibus) to the temple. The marshroot had been rented by the church and they had the curtains drawn and the video of Joseph Smith's First Vision playing. We met a recently returned missionary, a native of Kiev, who had served in one of the cities in which I had served. As I started to ask him about some of the people I remembered he said that he and his companion had actually baptized the father of a family that I had worked with shortly before he died. I was so excited to hear that.
Caught up in conversation and sight blocked by the closed curtains I hadn't been aware of the surroundings as we approached. As we stepped of the bus and the sight of the temple met my eyes I was overcome and I couldn't hold back my emotions. There, in sharp contrast to all that surrounded it, on former Soviet soil, stood a most beautiful and glorious House of the Lord. All of a sudden, despite how foreign the sights, sounds, and smells had been all over again, I felt at home. The tours were conducted by natives and the inside was as stunning and beautiful as any temple.
with Natasha Luchina, a dear friend from my mission (We wore an undergarment fanny pack of sorts with our documents and money the entire time.)On the way home we stopped by a little supermarket. Twelve years previous a few had begun to spring up but were very expensive. This one was larger and busier. We began our diet of peeled fruit, yogurt, bread, and ice cream bars. Overall, we were extremely disappointed by the bread. Before, there were bakeries on every block and you could always buy a loaf of warm bread. We never did see a bakery.
That night, I think I would have paid the extra for the renovated room, but then that wouldn't have made for a very good story would it? Instead, we had this:
Two twin beds, some original soviet construction painted over a few dozen times, and a bathroom with no hot water.
The most interesting part of the bathroom was the bi-level clawfoot tub but the only picture we have of it is James standing in it with a towel that doesn't look as modest in a picture as we thought it would. Oh, we also brought flip-flops to wear in the showers, glad James remembered that one.
From my journal: "I held the shower head for James and he for me after we put a towel over the faucet because it was spraying water all over the bathroom. I have to admit it felt good after a very hot, sticky day and night...the toilet paper was of much higher quality than 12 years ago."
James took care of the spiders, and we left the room door open until we went to sleep to try to get a through breeze. A busy street was right below our window, and if you know Ukranians, you'd know our neighbors were out on their balconies until the wee hours of the morning. But, to close the window was stifling.
view from the windowEven though you can't see it in the photo, this is the statue we could see illuminated from our balcony across the river. So, not much of a room, but an incredible view.
Mother Motherland Statue in Kiev, Ukraine (taller than the Statue of Liberty)We made it through the night, and before light the next morning, we were headed back to the airport to head to Kaliningrad, Russia.
Approximate Miles Traveled: 5303
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