Completely knackered when we boarded aeroflots hard leather seats. Possibly even more knackered when we got to the other end an hour early due to daylight saving. No pickup but managed to rustle up intourist agent and get the first of many scary cabs for the day. Makes driving in india seem safe. hotel is very grand in a used way. Breakfast room has 3 gaudy chandeliers and a large assortment of food ranging from cucumber to saveloys for breakfast. M has a meringue cake as well, most unlike him. We go back to our single beds (not our choice but we're too tired to care).
Did the intourist tour with sergei and now know the history of every “yellowish building to the left” as every building seems to have a historic past...though they could be making it up and we'd never know.Got the giude to tell us a good place for dinner and thawed out over mulled wine. M had 'tabbacco chicken' which looked like road kill flattened out on his plate, but tasted like peking duck. He could hardly cut into it but had backup dumplings to fill him up. Did the usual trick of getting posh hotel to get taxi back to ours as everyone has been warning us not to use the private cabs and we really do look like tourists. Maybe we should buy and light some ciggies to walk around with, to blend in.
Now hanging in the lobby bar having a 'gasser' local beer...any lighter and it could be called 'bud' (sorry americans) watching a couple of hookers waiting for the lift (it is a safe hotel really) as my mum would say, they'll catch they're death of cold dressed like that. The other interesting sight today is watching a well dressed woman at the airport put out her cigarette by spitting onto a piece of paper, stubbing it out in the spittle before folding it all up and carefully putting the whole lot in her pocket!
October 31, 2004
October 29, 2004
last day
Up at 5:00 to get the cleaning finished
last day at work
feels like another day with huge amount to do..feeling very guilty about all the things I haven't done, trying not to get upset about it
Reuters team and Katie gave me a nice bottle of champagne to say thank you, very thoughtful...couple of other people popped by to wish me well
Think M got a bit of a leaving do..nice they think so much of him
no time left, have to get back to work
later gator
last day at work
feels like another day with huge amount to do..feeling very guilty about all the things I haven't done, trying not to get upset about it
Reuters team and Katie gave me a nice bottle of champagne to say thank you, very thoughtful...couple of other people popped by to wish me well
Think M got a bit of a leaving do..nice they think so much of him
no time left, have to get back to work
later gator
October 28, 2004
Almost there...We've made it to Thursday
The movers have taken everything off in a giant orange 40ft container. Too late now to worry if we've packed anything we might need for the next 6 weeks.
Onto the cleaning, and finger crossing to get the bond back.
Not much time today to post as I got to work late due to the large amount of things that had to be done this morning...you know you''ve got too much in your suitcase when you have to sit on it to close it.
The nice Kiwi bloke I spoke to on the phone today (just remembered to cancel the car insurance!) asked for my favorite travel tips, so I thought I would post them today for you all:
Onto the cleaning, and finger crossing to get the bond back.
Not much time today to post as I got to work late due to the large amount of things that had to be done this morning...you know you''ve got too much in your suitcase when you have to sit on it to close it.
The nice Kiwi bloke I spoke to on the phone today (just remembered to cancel the car insurance!) asked for my favorite travel tips, so I thought I would post them today for you all:
- http://www.priceline.com/ is the site to bid for hotel room, try being as cheeky as you can (we stayed in a 4 star in Zurich for £40 for 2 per night)
- http://www.smoothhound.co.uk is the best site I've found for B&B's in the UK and sometimes overseas...huge variety and price
- http://www.highways.gov.uk/trafficinfo/ if you're planning on traveling anywhere in the UK and don't know what the traffic is like...useful for bank holidays and trying to get to the airport or ferry on time!. Check if your mobile phone provider offers a road news service or tune into 1152am (traffic updates every 10 minutes in the morning that will help you on that hell trip around the M25)...so NOT going to miss the words 'experiencing severe delays on the Heathrow stretch...'
- http://www.regentpalacehotel.co.uk/ for a cheapo hotel (for London) if you want to have the night out and don't want to train home (or have lots of whanau wanting to visit) - it's not flash (I think they hide their two stars under a pile of laundry) but it's handy
- Go to Germany/France/Switzerland etc in winter as they have cool Christmas markets, and the Gluwien helps keep the cold away
- If you're flying sleazy jet or lyin air (easy or ryan), booking cars through the site usually works out the best price but plan for one person picking up the bags and the other nipping through to get to the front of the queue, particularly in teeny-tiny airports to some obscure place, where the whole flight needs a hire car. ALWAYS ask where the nearest fill up petrol station is on the map, AND if they are open on Sunday (can you tell we've been caught out and had to pay exorbitant petrol fees!)
- Look for a European hotel through easyjet(they're not bad) then look for the hotel itself online and see if you can book direct, it's sometimes cheaper, so is ringing them (but get a fax confirmation)
- Any food product with a reindeer picture in Scandanavia is not showing their national symbol (like a kiwi or bulldog)...you really are eating Rudolf made into salami...but it's quite tasty!
October 26, 2004
4 days to go
The house is a halfpacked bombsite..the NTL people have not turned up to pick up the cable boxes and we're knackered - not bad for a Tuesday!. I think we've spent about 4 hours on hold to NTL so far. They were supposed to pick it up yesterday morning at 8 and when I finally go through to someone they suggested a new appointment next week...um NO...we'll be in Russia...well how about leaving it with a neighbour...um NO, we wouldn't dream of asking them to stay around waiting for your guys to NOT turn up, and besides most of them work...so how about sending it to us...let me think about that for a moment...two heavy cable boxes and wires to that we pay to post to Scotland...um NO WAY. They can't tell us a depot to drop them off at and they can't tell us when someone can come and they don't seem keen on us leaving them outside the front door in a plastic bag...today it's M's day to call them, just checked with him and he says the supervisor is going to ring him back. He told them that if she didn't by 5pm that he would ring the president of the company. Hokey dokey...you'll have to wait for tomorrow for the next exciting installment of the NTL saga.
Need a mental break from looking at the spreadsheet I'm working on so went to look at the hotel we're staying in Moscow for 2 days...holy cow, I think the words 'it looks like a wedding cake' spring to mind.
Tommorow I'm sending this link out to all with our new address...hope no one gives me too much of a hard time!
Need a mental break from looking at the spreadsheet I'm working on so went to look at the hotel we're staying in Moscow for 2 days...holy cow, I think the words 'it looks like a wedding cake' spring to mind.
Tommorow I'm sending this link out to all with our new address...hope no one gives me too much of a hard time!
October 25, 2004
The Weavers are leaver - part 1...el tapas
ohhhhhhh...the hangovers are finally wearing off...we had the bestest leaving do, in conjuction with Gills birthday. Managed to scrape together 17 of our nearest and dearest living in the UK (would say British but the Welsh, Irish and Shi Lanka contingent will be offended)and trundled off to our favorite tapas bar Los Hermanos in Sutton. What better way to say farewell to old blighty by drinking sangria and singing Delilah with the entire restaurant...all together now...WHY WHY WHY DELIAH LAH LAH LAH MY MY MY DELILAH... Those that had never been before thought we were joking about the singing bit, but we've always had a fab time and weren't disappointed. There was dancing, there was singing, there were flaming B52s (and I SWORE I was never going to drink on of those foul concoctions after last time) and the old classic 'oops upside your face' which somehow involves everyone sitting on the floor pretending to row.
I think I remember doing my version of salsa with one of the chefs when I went to pay the bill and eventually they kicked us out at 1:00. Staggered off home propping my drunken sot of a husband (it doesn't happen very often but it's awfully funny when it does!) and remebered to take on an alka seltzer and take of my earrings, so must have had some command of faculties after all.
M was so hangover the next morning he let Dylan (V's monster cat) lick his face..I swear that cat thinks its a dog somedays...lots of water and a greenfaced drive home, then it's back to the packing.
Finally ready for the packers at about 11:30 last night (NEVER try inventoring your household contents late at night on a hangover...how much is a drawer of sleepwear really worth!)I know I've moved 22 times in the last 18 years, but I think from this day forth the only packers I ever want to hear about are the sort that run around in a stadium in Greenbay
so five sleeps left to go...we move into the motel tonight...just spoken to M (he's on 'packer shift' today and there are four of them in the house.
I think I remember doing my version of salsa with one of the chefs when I went to pay the bill and eventually they kicked us out at 1:00. Staggered off home propping my drunken sot of a husband (it doesn't happen very often but it's awfully funny when it does!) and remebered to take on an alka seltzer and take of my earrings, so must have had some command of faculties after all.
M was so hangover the next morning he let Dylan (V's monster cat) lick his face..I swear that cat thinks its a dog somedays...lots of water and a greenfaced drive home, then it's back to the packing.
Finally ready for the packers at about 11:30 last night (NEVER try inventoring your household contents late at night on a hangover...how much is a drawer of sleepwear really worth!)I know I've moved 22 times in the last 18 years, but I think from this day forth the only packers I ever want to hear about are the sort that run around in a stadium in Greenbay
so five sleeps left to go...we move into the motel tonight...just spoken to M (he's on 'packer shift' today and there are four of them in the house.
October 11, 2004
Geoff and Amy get hitched
Thursday Midnight
Get through new fingerprint and eyeball camera shot stuff at airport, find shuttle to car rental, breathe in warm air and smile about leaving cold England.
Fire up in car mobile phone sat navigation system and gasp at paying $3.00 toll to LEAVE airport...This must be how they are still paying for the 'Big Dig'.
Get hopelessly lost at roadworks following sat nav instructions and having to press reroute button, yell at each other (cos that always make things better - yeah - right!), turn off sat nav, pull out paper instructions and get there in 10 minutes. M collapses into bed and I pull out lap-top to finish ghastly uncompleted work. Pad downstairs to fax stuff to UK at 4:00am and make friends with night manager whilst waiting. Crawl into bed too wired to fall asleep easily.
Friday
Lovely sunny day (27 degrees) and Boston is having autumn while UK missed it entirely. Go to cafe for breakfast (spinach/mushroom/feta omelette - definitely not the full English), wander into town after checking with stressed bridal party for tonight's arrangements and spend morning puttering around Quincy Square and Fanueil hall behaving like tourists (well we are!)
M has to buy shorts and polo shirt it's so hot..Soak up the sun and head to the Prudential Tower to look at the view...360 degrees of Boston and very entertaining audio tour, favorite part being the tidal wave of treacle that killed 13 people (you'd think they'd be able to get away from a wave of TREACLE)
Catch Ross about to quality assess 'house of cheesecake' product though he denies this and says he's only buying a coffee to get a seat whilst waiting for us.
Go home, nap and watch TV marveling at advertising standards...You can actually advertise a drug by slagging off what a similar drug can't do!
Catch up with Sara, meet new in-laws and reassure stressed bridal couple that everything will be alright on the day...Feel small amount of satisfaction that stress is not own from own wedding.
Out to dinner at nice Italian restaurant in the middle of renovation with very not-so-calm bridegroom, ply him with wine and all head home under strict instructions not to be late. Remind brother to iron his new shirt or be disowned.
Saturday
Go to scary old lady hair salon in basement of hotel, get crispy curls put in, learn Massachusetts is home of Dunkin Donuts when making suggestion that Krispy Kreme were the best donuts in the world when Husband comes by to flaunt breakfast in face before proceeding to room. Smile nicely when older salon owner suggests that I get a 'set' next time as the curls will last longer, whilst thinking how much i will miss my glamorous UK hairdresser.
Scare husband with large hair, gulp down donuts and go off to do The Duck (amphibious vehicle) tour of Boston. Can highly recommend this, very entertaining, fun to be out on the water and even more fun making 'quack quack' noises to every small child who quacks at us. Even more fun making 'silent quacking' sounds with hands in the posh neighborhoods.
Scary curls have settled down now thanks to surprisingly fast amphibious vehicle, get glammed up and attempt to use sat nav to ceremony (it works this time)
The ceremony
Amy has just sent a link with some photo's from the wedding
pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/pluton74/album?.dir=/8872&.src=ph&.tok=phxOA5BBMdElIbDc
She had quite an unusual dress in that it was quite classical and she looked very cute in it. it had 3 diamond shaped cutouts in a vertical row down the back, with a bow joining each one together. Sara stepped down a step funny an hour before the ceremony and twisted her ankle, but 2 ibuprofen, an ice pack and an elastic bandage later she managed to carefully walk up the aisle, slip her shoes off under her long dress (thank goodness) and discretely walk back down the aisle with bare feet...no one noticed as everyone was looking at Amy and Geoff, until we had to retrieve her shoes and prop her foot up.
It was a very informal and personal wedding and very suited to both of them. I read out a message from Yvonne and Allen (Geoff's mum and dad), and phoned them after the ceremony to let them know their baby boy was married.
The reserve was lovely and the house very grand, but in need of a family to love it, I think it's now just used as a meeting space etc. We then drove back to the hotel (Geoff and Amy wanted us to bring back some stuff from the ceremony), had a wee bit of a nap and then went to the Chinese restaurant for dinner. Amy changed into this beautiful pink/gold brocade gown made from fabric that had belonged to her grandmother...a real mix of cultures as we were all going'''ohhhh, that's a lovely idea', and to the Chinese, to use something old like that is a sign of being poor!, She wanted to wear something of her grandmothers, so i think her western side won out.
We managed to be at the vegetarian table, which meant some interesting things to eat, they even had one dish where the noodles were tied into knots like skeins of wool, no idea how they did that. Had some wonderful dishes though, got to see the tea ceremony where the bride and groom serve tea to all the older relatives and they give gifts of money, and listen to Geoff give a speech in cantonese...having been coached by his father in law. There were some strange expressions on the Chinese people when he said the words, so hopefully he didn't call his mother-in-law a fat red horse or anything.
We all went to a club for dancing afterwards (and a much needed cocktail) and crawled home at 1:30...ready to get up to take Sarah to the airport at 5:30...Sunday seemed like a very long day after that (had brunch with Geoff and Amy, Ross and Geoff's friend Greg from NZ) and I think I was still tired when we crawled off the plane at 6:00am.
Get through new fingerprint and eyeball camera shot stuff at airport, find shuttle to car rental, breathe in warm air and smile about leaving cold England.
Fire up in car mobile phone sat navigation system and gasp at paying $3.00 toll to LEAVE airport...This must be how they are still paying for the 'Big Dig'.
Get hopelessly lost at roadworks following sat nav instructions and having to press reroute button, yell at each other (cos that always make things better - yeah - right!), turn off sat nav, pull out paper instructions and get there in 10 minutes. M collapses into bed and I pull out lap-top to finish ghastly uncompleted work. Pad downstairs to fax stuff to UK at 4:00am and make friends with night manager whilst waiting. Crawl into bed too wired to fall asleep easily.
Friday
Lovely sunny day (27 degrees) and Boston is having autumn while UK missed it entirely. Go to cafe for breakfast (spinach/mushroom/feta omelette - definitely not the full English), wander into town after checking with stressed bridal party for tonight's arrangements and spend morning puttering around Quincy Square and Fanueil hall behaving like tourists (well we are!)
M has to buy shorts and polo shirt it's so hot..Soak up the sun and head to the Prudential Tower to look at the view...360 degrees of Boston and very entertaining audio tour, favorite part being the tidal wave of treacle that killed 13 people (you'd think they'd be able to get away from a wave of TREACLE)
Catch Ross about to quality assess 'house of cheesecake' product though he denies this and says he's only buying a coffee to get a seat whilst waiting for us.
Go home, nap and watch TV marveling at advertising standards...You can actually advertise a drug by slagging off what a similar drug can't do!
Catch up with Sara, meet new in-laws and reassure stressed bridal couple that everything will be alright on the day...Feel small amount of satisfaction that stress is not own from own wedding.
Out to dinner at nice Italian restaurant in the middle of renovation with very not-so-calm bridegroom, ply him with wine and all head home under strict instructions not to be late. Remind brother to iron his new shirt or be disowned.
Saturday
Go to scary old lady hair salon in basement of hotel, get crispy curls put in, learn Massachusetts is home of Dunkin Donuts when making suggestion that Krispy Kreme were the best donuts in the world when Husband comes by to flaunt breakfast in face before proceeding to room. Smile nicely when older salon owner suggests that I get a 'set' next time as the curls will last longer, whilst thinking how much i will miss my glamorous UK hairdresser.
Scare husband with large hair, gulp down donuts and go off to do The Duck (amphibious vehicle) tour of Boston. Can highly recommend this, very entertaining, fun to be out on the water and even more fun making 'quack quack' noises to every small child who quacks at us. Even more fun making 'silent quacking' sounds with hands in the posh neighborhoods.
Scary curls have settled down now thanks to surprisingly fast amphibious vehicle, get glammed up and attempt to use sat nav to ceremony (it works this time)
The ceremony
Amy has just sent a link with some photo's from the wedding
pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/pluton74/album?.dir=/8872&.src=ph&.tok=phxOA5BBMdElIbDc
She had quite an unusual dress in that it was quite classical and she looked very cute in it. it had 3 diamond shaped cutouts in a vertical row down the back, with a bow joining each one together. Sara stepped down a step funny an hour before the ceremony and twisted her ankle, but 2 ibuprofen, an ice pack and an elastic bandage later she managed to carefully walk up the aisle, slip her shoes off under her long dress (thank goodness) and discretely walk back down the aisle with bare feet...no one noticed as everyone was looking at Amy and Geoff, until we had to retrieve her shoes and prop her foot up.
It was a very informal and personal wedding and very suited to both of them. I read out a message from Yvonne and Allen (Geoff's mum and dad), and phoned them after the ceremony to let them know their baby boy was married.
The reserve was lovely and the house very grand, but in need of a family to love it, I think it's now just used as a meeting space etc. We then drove back to the hotel (Geoff and Amy wanted us to bring back some stuff from the ceremony), had a wee bit of a nap and then went to the Chinese restaurant for dinner. Amy changed into this beautiful pink/gold brocade gown made from fabric that had belonged to her grandmother...a real mix of cultures as we were all going'''ohhhh, that's a lovely idea', and to the Chinese, to use something old like that is a sign of being poor!, She wanted to wear something of her grandmothers, so i think her western side won out.
We managed to be at the vegetarian table, which meant some interesting things to eat, they even had one dish where the noodles were tied into knots like skeins of wool, no idea how they did that. Had some wonderful dishes though, got to see the tea ceremony where the bride and groom serve tea to all the older relatives and they give gifts of money, and listen to Geoff give a speech in cantonese...having been coached by his father in law. There were some strange expressions on the Chinese people when he said the words, so hopefully he didn't call his mother-in-law a fat red horse or anything.
We all went to a club for dancing afterwards (and a much needed cocktail) and crawled home at 1:30...ready to get up to take Sarah to the airport at 5:30...Sunday seemed like a very long day after that (had brunch with Geoff and Amy, Ross and Geoff's friend Greg from NZ) and I think I was still tired when we crawled off the plane at 6:00am.
September 28, 2004
Blackberries from Kiev
M's postings from Kiev.
My first day in the Ukraine went pretty well. I landed at the airport and was met with lots of red tape trying to get through immigration--it took about an hour to go through two checks.
I was met at the airport by my driver who was there to take me to the hotel. His name is Yevganey and he is a former officer in the Russian Army. He left the Army because they were not getting paid regularly and it was low paying to begin with now. He now drives tourists around for a living. He likes the freedom they now have in the Ukraine since 1991 but I think he misses the old days when life was a bit easier. Today there are either very rich people or poor people without really much of a middle class.
My hotel is an ancient Soviet relic called Hotel Tourist. The room is remodeled so it is fine, but the elevator is ancient and I am up on the 20th floor. There is also a female attendant on each floor who holds the keys when you are away and keeps the floor tidy. She has a little desk rigjht by the elevator--must be a carryover job from Soviet times!
This afternoon the driver came back with a tour guide and I had a three hour tour of the city by car. There are lots of typical Soviet highrise apartments everywhere that are really ugly and crumbling, but there are also lots of beautiful Greek Orthodox churches and wonderfuly larger than life monuments to Russian/Ukranian friendship and to the Ukrainian independence.
The tour guides name is Yelena and she ia a former English teacher. She became a full-time guide about 20 years ago and got to travel all around the world as a translator for Soviet officials.
Tonight I took the subway (10 cents eac way) into the city center and had dinner at a Cossack themed restaurant. They were dressed in fancy costumes and had a little band singing and playing traditional folk songs. It was a little cheesy but still fun. I had Borscht (beet soup) and Chicken Kiev. For desert I had dumplings stuffed with cherries. All was very good.
When I got back to the hotel tonight I got the key for my room and started getting ready for bed. Then the phone rang and a woman with a thick English accent asked if I wanted a beautiful sex massage! I said nyet! (M did tell me this...)
Tomorrow I'm off with the driver and guide at 8am to try to find the town where Grandma was born. Its not called Heimthal anymore so we are having a little difficulty finding it but I think we will manage.
Day 2
I had a really successful day today. I found the village where Grandma was born! I wasn't too confident in the morning when we left the hotel at 8am. We were guessing on the area and spelling of the town. The driver had a map from the Internet that listed the town names in German before the first world war. We fouind a name that we thought was correct and headed off.
About two and a half hours into the journey I looked at the map and saw 'Heimtal' in a slightly different area on the map so we stopped the car and tried to pinpoint that on today's road map.
We headed off the main highway first on to a bumpy asphalt road which then turned into a gravel road and then in to a dirt road. We passed cows and geese in front of farm houses and also passed lots of people on horse and buggy. It was like stepping back in time.
Finally after having to stop several time to ask locals for directions, we turned on to a paved road and saw the sign marking 'Yasynivka' which is the current name of the town in the Roman alphabet. It looks very different in the Cyrilic alphabet!
The village had about 20 houses. Most seemed to have small plots of land behind them where people grow crops and raise animals. We stopped and the driver got out and spoke to one of the villagers for a while. He confirmed that the town was definitely called Heimtal previously. He told us about an old seminary down the road and also about another family down the road that might have more information.
We went and saw the ruins of the old Lutheran school and seminary. I took a few pictures.
Next we went to speak with the family that the villager had mentioned. We got very lucky! The man and his wife in their early 40's invited us into his house where he pulled out a newspaper article from 2002 that talked about the history of the town and how it had three different names over time. My guide translated the article which was in Ukranian. It confirmed what Grandma had told us.
In the late 1800's, Catherine the Great had given plots of land to Germans free of charge and without taxes for 50 years as she wanted more of her own to settle there in the Russian empire as she was German by birth. Later sometime around 1915 (can't remember the exact date), Tsar Nicholas II decided he didn't want the Germans there any more, so he plunderd the area, killed many, and exiled many more to Siberia. Then in 1917, Tsar Nicholas was overthrown and people were allowed to return home and Ukraine was a free country for almost a year with its own president until the Bolshevic revolution in 1918.
The dates really seemed to match up with Grandma's experience and it also helps to explain why Germans were in the Ukraine and why they got shipped to Siberia.
I took a photograph of the article. I don't think there was a photocopier anywhere nearby!
We then drove back to Kiev amd stopped at a roadside restaurant on the way back. I had a nice soup and some really good potato pancakes. The food was good and cost a total of $7 for soup, salad, a main course, and a glass of wine for two people! The only downside was they didn't have a restroom, only an outhouse with a hole in the floor out back! It was a little scarey!
We got back to the hotel at 6pm. It was a long day of lots of driving, but was well worth it! I was so glad that we actually found the village.
Tomorrow is sightseeing and shopping in Kiev.
Day 4 (not sure what happened to day 3)
My last morning in the Kiev was fairly uneventful. I took the subway into the city centre again to look for some souvenirs. I went to the State Department store which had lots of everyday items, but still looked like what you would expect of a communist era department store--dark and outdated looking inside with old creaky escalators. For some reason only the up escalators were working. The down escalators were blocked off and there were ladies sitting on chairs in front of the down escalators on each floor to make sure that no one went down them. Very strange. I couldn't find anything interesting there to buy so I went back to one of the churches I visited on Sunday and found a small watercolour print and some Ukrainian painted eggs. That was pretty much the extent of my shopping--not too much to buy there.
My trip home was a bit of a nightmare. I didn't think I was going to get out of the country! I arrived at the airport 2 hours ahead of my flight. There was an unruly queue at the main door to the airport. Everyone going in to the airport itself had to go through and metal detector and have their bags x-rayed. Inside the airport, it was chaos. I found a lane that I needed to be in for the 'nothing to declare' group. The line didn't move for 1/2 hour as the single customs official scrutinised documents, let others go through freely, and then walked away from the desk when he felt like it. Added to that there were four lines of people trying to merge into this one official. It was really like what you would expect in a third-world African country. It took over an hour to get through that line. Then I got in another to have my luggage x-rayed again before I went to the check-in counter. When I finally got to the check-in counter the queue there was at a standstill. I finally found out that their computers had crashed and they couldn't check anyone in. After waiting another 1/2 hour, they finally started to manually check people in with paper boarding passes and handwritten luggage tags--I wasn't too sure my luggage would make it. Next was another metal detector and x-ray of hand luggage. When I made it upstairs to the gates, they were just starting to board my plane! The plane ride home was uneventful and I was thankful to be back on British soil!
Overall, I was really thrilled that I could find where Grandma was born. That was definitely the highlight of the trip. Kiev itself is a beautiful city with lots of lovely churches to see. But, the constant fear of petty crime, the senseless bureaucracy, and the seemingly corrupt police/officials made it one of the more difficult places that I have ever visited. The Ukraine has quite a ways to go before being a hospitable tourist destination.
My first day in the Ukraine went pretty well. I landed at the airport and was met with lots of red tape trying to get through immigration--it took about an hour to go through two checks.
I was met at the airport by my driver who was there to take me to the hotel. His name is Yevganey and he is a former officer in the Russian Army. He left the Army because they were not getting paid regularly and it was low paying to begin with now. He now drives tourists around for a living. He likes the freedom they now have in the Ukraine since 1991 but I think he misses the old days when life was a bit easier. Today there are either very rich people or poor people without really much of a middle class.
My hotel is an ancient Soviet relic called Hotel Tourist. The room is remodeled so it is fine, but the elevator is ancient and I am up on the 20th floor. There is also a female attendant on each floor who holds the keys when you are away and keeps the floor tidy. She has a little desk rigjht by the elevator--must be a carryover job from Soviet times!
This afternoon the driver came back with a tour guide and I had a three hour tour of the city by car. There are lots of typical Soviet highrise apartments everywhere that are really ugly and crumbling, but there are also lots of beautiful Greek Orthodox churches and wonderfuly larger than life monuments to Russian/Ukranian friendship and to the Ukrainian independence.
The tour guides name is Yelena and she ia a former English teacher. She became a full-time guide about 20 years ago and got to travel all around the world as a translator for Soviet officials.
Tonight I took the subway (10 cents eac way) into the city center and had dinner at a Cossack themed restaurant. They were dressed in fancy costumes and had a little band singing and playing traditional folk songs. It was a little cheesy but still fun. I had Borscht (beet soup) and Chicken Kiev. For desert I had dumplings stuffed with cherries. All was very good.
When I got back to the hotel tonight I got the key for my room and started getting ready for bed. Then the phone rang and a woman with a thick English accent asked if I wanted a beautiful sex massage! I said nyet! (M did tell me this...)
Tomorrow I'm off with the driver and guide at 8am to try to find the town where Grandma was born. Its not called Heimthal anymore so we are having a little difficulty finding it but I think we will manage.
Day 2
I had a really successful day today. I found the village where Grandma was born! I wasn't too confident in the morning when we left the hotel at 8am. We were guessing on the area and spelling of the town. The driver had a map from the Internet that listed the town names in German before the first world war. We fouind a name that we thought was correct and headed off.
About two and a half hours into the journey I looked at the map and saw 'Heimtal' in a slightly different area on the map so we stopped the car and tried to pinpoint that on today's road map.
We headed off the main highway first on to a bumpy asphalt road which then turned into a gravel road and then in to a dirt road. We passed cows and geese in front of farm houses and also passed lots of people on horse and buggy. It was like stepping back in time.
Finally after having to stop several time to ask locals for directions, we turned on to a paved road and saw the sign marking 'Yasynivka' which is the current name of the town in the Roman alphabet. It looks very different in the Cyrilic alphabet!
The village had about 20 houses. Most seemed to have small plots of land behind them where people grow crops and raise animals. We stopped and the driver got out and spoke to one of the villagers for a while. He confirmed that the town was definitely called Heimtal previously. He told us about an old seminary down the road and also about another family down the road that might have more information.
We went and saw the ruins of the old Lutheran school and seminary. I took a few pictures.
Next we went to speak with the family that the villager had mentioned. We got very lucky! The man and his wife in their early 40's invited us into his house where he pulled out a newspaper article from 2002 that talked about the history of the town and how it had three different names over time. My guide translated the article which was in Ukranian. It confirmed what Grandma had told us.
In the late 1800's, Catherine the Great had given plots of land to Germans free of charge and without taxes for 50 years as she wanted more of her own to settle there in the Russian empire as she was German by birth. Later sometime around 1915 (can't remember the exact date), Tsar Nicholas II decided he didn't want the Germans there any more, so he plunderd the area, killed many, and exiled many more to Siberia. Then in 1917, Tsar Nicholas was overthrown and people were allowed to return home and Ukraine was a free country for almost a year with its own president until the Bolshevic revolution in 1918.
The dates really seemed to match up with Grandma's experience and it also helps to explain why Germans were in the Ukraine and why they got shipped to Siberia.
I took a photograph of the article. I don't think there was a photocopier anywhere nearby!
We then drove back to Kiev amd stopped at a roadside restaurant on the way back. I had a nice soup and some really good potato pancakes. The food was good and cost a total of $7 for soup, salad, a main course, and a glass of wine for two people! The only downside was they didn't have a restroom, only an outhouse with a hole in the floor out back! It was a little scarey!
We got back to the hotel at 6pm. It was a long day of lots of driving, but was well worth it! I was so glad that we actually found the village.
Tomorrow is sightseeing and shopping in Kiev.
Day 4 (not sure what happened to day 3)
My last morning in the Kiev was fairly uneventful. I took the subway into the city centre again to look for some souvenirs. I went to the State Department store which had lots of everyday items, but still looked like what you would expect of a communist era department store--dark and outdated looking inside with old creaky escalators. For some reason only the up escalators were working. The down escalators were blocked off and there were ladies sitting on chairs in front of the down escalators on each floor to make sure that no one went down them. Very strange. I couldn't find anything interesting there to buy so I went back to one of the churches I visited on Sunday and found a small watercolour print and some Ukrainian painted eggs. That was pretty much the extent of my shopping--not too much to buy there.
My trip home was a bit of a nightmare. I didn't think I was going to get out of the country! I arrived at the airport 2 hours ahead of my flight. There was an unruly queue at the main door to the airport. Everyone going in to the airport itself had to go through and metal detector and have their bags x-rayed. Inside the airport, it was chaos. I found a lane that I needed to be in for the 'nothing to declare' group. The line didn't move for 1/2 hour as the single customs official scrutinised documents, let others go through freely, and then walked away from the desk when he felt like it. Added to that there were four lines of people trying to merge into this one official. It was really like what you would expect in a third-world African country. It took over an hour to get through that line. Then I got in another to have my luggage x-rayed again before I went to the check-in counter. When I finally got to the check-in counter the queue there was at a standstill. I finally found out that their computers had crashed and they couldn't check anyone in. After waiting another 1/2 hour, they finally started to manually check people in with paper boarding passes and handwritten luggage tags--I wasn't too sure my luggage would make it. Next was another metal detector and x-ray of hand luggage. When I made it upstairs to the gates, they were just starting to board my plane! The plane ride home was uneventful and I was thankful to be back on British soil!
Overall, I was really thrilled that I could find where Grandma was born. That was definitely the highlight of the trip. Kiev itself is a beautiful city with lots of lovely churches to see. But, the constant fear of petty crime, the senseless bureaucracy, and the seemingly corrupt police/officials made it one of the more difficult places that I have ever visited. The Ukraine has quite a ways to go before being a hospitable tourist destination.
September 27, 2004
Chock full of pilgrims
This weekend I went to Santiago de Compostela in the northern part of Spain. I've always wanted to go there ever since I found out about it, but have never really been sure why. It's hard to get to there cheaply and doesn't fit into the 'go on Friday night and back on Sunday' thing so I've never managed until now. Since this is the last weekend free to go to Europe before the big trip , Santiago had to be the place to go. M went of to Kiev to find his grandmothers town (and did) and I took the plane to Valladolid, intending to drive to Santiago. 2 mistakes, one was hiring the underpowered car for a long road trip (apologies to anyone out there that owns a Hyundai Getz) and secondly believing the website that it was only 300kms or so (or maybe it was miles). Pretty cool scenery and you traveled over this huge highway no one else uses complete with 500m plus high viaduct, but still a 6.5 hour trip to get there. Didn't manage to find the hotel easily from the map (turns out to be much further out of town) and was compounded by the owner only speaking Spanish, German, Italian and Portuguese...but no Inglese. My pidgin Italian wasn't quite up to it...where was my German speaking husband when i needed him...in blimin Poland. Resorted to handing the phone to the car park attendant to ask and then point it out on the map. Still couldn't find it so plan B consisted of driving to the airport, parking the car and getting a cab to the hotel (15 euros and 5 minutes later...Much gnashing of teeth and wishing that I had thought of it sooner!) the upside of it was it only cost 6.50 euros to park in the carpark overnight. Those of you who've parked in Heathrow/Gatwick/Auckland airports will appreciate this, as you can probabley by a used car in Spain for what it costs to park in those airports)
The hotel room was small and next to a busy road but I had my handy 'might have to share a room with my brother the snoring walrus' emergency earplugs so slept like a log.
Santiago is the ultimate destination for hardcore pilgrims who start 900kms away in France and others who start a few days or weeks away. You see them on the side of the road walking the trail...mostly barely talking to each other by the time they make it to Santiago. Apparently the long one takes about 3 months and you can tell who they were from the well tanned, socks and jandals look, whereas the part timers all had plasters and more baggage. The final destination is the catherdral, a gloriously gothic golden stone jobbie, with enormous front doors up the winding steps in front of a large square. I made it to pilgrims mass at 12:00 on Saturday and crammed in with the others to watch the 'handlers' organizing the special ones (not sure if they'd paid more or what) who got to confess to the priests. It was mostly a sung mass and quite wonderful to hear everyone responding when required. During the service there was some kind of disturbance at back of our crowd of people with the security guards dragging a couple away...Possibly for videotaping. The Spanish don't say shhhhh by the way, they say zzzzzzzh. There were lots of zzzzzzzh's when this happened. It was a sung mass so I subsituted the Lords prayer and sang along once I'd learnt the words in all the repeating bits. A nice combination of the practical and the spiritual...it's great to be an a working catherdral, one that's not just for show.
Had a wonderful lunch in the cafe attached to the oldest hotel in Europe (so the guidebook tells me) and was pretty impressed that most of what I thought I was ordering turned up. Watched yet another procession completed with dead saint under a canopy and men dressed as Joseph turn up...The entrance into the catherdral was marked by everyone throwing loud firecrackers that sounded like gunshots...Somewhat unexpected to everyone in the cafe, and somewhat frightening with Beslan so fresh in everyone's minds.
Spent the day walking around the old town...Peering in old doorways, admiring the large cooked squid and other assorted animals for eating displayed in the windows, and trying on jet jewelry...This part of Spain being home to well displayed meat cuts and jet production.
Ended up having a wee sun bathe in the park (after texting my nearest and dearest in the UK to skit how warm it was) and picked up some food to have a picnic on the way home.
Up early and did the long trek back without getting lost more than twice (always did find roundabouts tricky), the usual scramble to find a petrol station to refuel the car and a lesisurely (if cramped and noisy) flight home.
Glad I went as it's a very peaceful and 'Spanish' part of Spain, with a strong sense of it's own identity away from the influence of Madrid and Barcelona.
Must put up M's posts of his journey in Kiev
The hotel room was small and next to a busy road but I had my handy 'might have to share a room with my brother the snoring walrus' emergency earplugs so slept like a log.
Santiago is the ultimate destination for hardcore pilgrims who start 900kms away in France and others who start a few days or weeks away. You see them on the side of the road walking the trail...mostly barely talking to each other by the time they make it to Santiago. Apparently the long one takes about 3 months and you can tell who they were from the well tanned, socks and jandals look, whereas the part timers all had plasters and more baggage. The final destination is the catherdral, a gloriously gothic golden stone jobbie, with enormous front doors up the winding steps in front of a large square. I made it to pilgrims mass at 12:00 on Saturday and crammed in with the others to watch the 'handlers' organizing the special ones (not sure if they'd paid more or what) who got to confess to the priests. It was mostly a sung mass and quite wonderful to hear everyone responding when required. During the service there was some kind of disturbance at back of our crowd of people with the security guards dragging a couple away...Possibly for videotaping. The Spanish don't say shhhhh by the way, they say zzzzzzzh. There were lots of zzzzzzzh's when this happened. It was a sung mass so I subsituted the Lords prayer and sang along once I'd learnt the words in all the repeating bits. A nice combination of the practical and the spiritual...it's great to be an a working catherdral, one that's not just for show.
Had a wonderful lunch in the cafe attached to the oldest hotel in Europe (so the guidebook tells me) and was pretty impressed that most of what I thought I was ordering turned up. Watched yet another procession completed with dead saint under a canopy and men dressed as Joseph turn up...The entrance into the catherdral was marked by everyone throwing loud firecrackers that sounded like gunshots...Somewhat unexpected to everyone in the cafe, and somewhat frightening with Beslan so fresh in everyone's minds.
Spent the day walking around the old town...Peering in old doorways, admiring the large cooked squid and other assorted animals for eating displayed in the windows, and trying on jet jewelry...This part of Spain being home to well displayed meat cuts and jet production.
Ended up having a wee sun bathe in the park (after texting my nearest and dearest in the UK to skit how warm it was) and picked up some food to have a picnic on the way home.
Up early and did the long trek back without getting lost more than twice (always did find roundabouts tricky), the usual scramble to find a petrol station to refuel the car and a lesisurely (if cramped and noisy) flight home.
Glad I went as it's a very peaceful and 'Spanish' part of Spain, with a strong sense of it's own identity away from the influence of Madrid and Barcelona.
Must put up M's posts of his journey in Kiev
September 18, 2004
The great car boot sale
Ruthlessly went through all the possessions in the attic and managed to get them all stuffed into the car. At this point a word of thanks to the memory of my parents - who were great propronents of 'packing the car correctly' ie treating it like a 3d jigsaw to see just how much stuff can be packed in. You know how it goes, if we turn this up this way and wedge this thing in here then that can fit in here and everything else has to be carried in your lap...I like to think they were subsituting possessions for airbags in the pre-airbag days...But I suspect that we just traveled with a lot of STUFF.
So anyway we found a car boot sale http://www.u-boot.co.uk/index.htm loaded the car and left the house at 5:30ish, psyched to off load the goodies and make loads of dosh...The first one being the most important.
It was dark, it was cold and a bit damp and at 6:15 we were about car number 10 in a large field. Being newbies (but faking hard) we looked for a likely spot, got the pasting tables out and proceeded flog the stuff to anyone that would have it. The usual vultures (read dealers) converged and the first one asked if we had old military weapons...I think both of us laughed..Any two people less likely to have old military weapons I can't think of! The junk came out, the prices were low and we were not afraid to harangue passerbys to stop and look. Feeling no shame I even had M yelling 'It's all gotta go, we're moving to America, it;s not coming with us'...People buy the strangest things at car boot sales...Like the silk flowers but not the vase, and 24 business class airline kits...Still, £143 pounds richer we went home for a nap, with only 6 things and a few leftover books for the recyling.
Still more in the loft though....Might have to have another.
So anyway we found a car boot sale http://www.u-boot.co.uk/index.htm loaded the car and left the house at 5:30ish, psyched to off load the goodies and make loads of dosh...The first one being the most important.
It was dark, it was cold and a bit damp and at 6:15 we were about car number 10 in a large field. Being newbies (but faking hard) we looked for a likely spot, got the pasting tables out and proceeded flog the stuff to anyone that would have it. The usual vultures (read dealers) converged and the first one asked if we had old military weapons...I think both of us laughed..Any two people less likely to have old military weapons I can't think of! The junk came out, the prices were low and we were not afraid to harangue passerbys to stop and look. Feeling no shame I even had M yelling 'It's all gotta go, we're moving to America, it;s not coming with us'...People buy the strangest things at car boot sales...Like the silk flowers but not the vase, and 24 business class airline kits...Still, £143 pounds richer we went home for a nap, with only 6 things and a few leftover books for the recyling.
Still more in the loft though....Might have to have another.
September 14, 2004
Wot a lot of STUFF
The moving lady came today to review how much possessions we have and what size container (VERY BIG) would be needed for it. She was dainty and demure and really knew her stuff. Not a bad skill being able to look around the house and estimate what size container it would fit in...Wonder if she does that when she's visiting friends?
She even climbed up the ladder wearing high heels and a tight skirt...Not a skill all women have, myself included.
We have LOTS of stuff from both our houses now crammed into one, so its up into the loft and off to the car boot sale this weekend, since they don't do garage sales here.
Having someone come and pack stuff to move will be a rare treat for me since I've worked out I've moved 22 times for myself since the age of 18, not counting anyone else I've moved (like the time Ross said he was moving to a flat up some stairs and forgot to add the words '3 flights')
She even climbed up the ladder wearing high heels and a tight skirt...Not a skill all women have, myself included.
We have LOTS of stuff from both our houses now crammed into one, so its up into the loft and off to the car boot sale this weekend, since they don't do garage sales here.
Having someone come and pack stuff to move will be a rare treat for me since I've worked out I've moved 22 times for myself since the age of 18, not counting anyone else I've moved (like the time Ross said he was moving to a flat up some stairs and forgot to add the words '3 flights')
September 06, 2004
it's a family thing
a wonderful thing has just happened. My cousin Wendy from my dad's side has just contacted me. I've not had much to do with them as they were older than us, and lost touch over the years. My other cousin Susan saw our wedding website and passed it onto her. How cool..family is cooler as you get older. I've been quite envious of the relationship M has with his cousin so maybe I can mend some fences and have a wee bit more of that myself.
My left cubicle buddy has a bad cold but has noblely decided to spare showing me the yello phlegmn..and I'm grateful for that two...two good things today...oh and I just got tickets for the NZ/Aus ICC champions trophy match next thursday...keeeeeeeweeeeeeeee...sun, cricket, a day off and the possibility of whupping Aussie ass is a pretty good day out...
My left cubicle buddy has a bad cold but has noblely decided to spare showing me the yello phlegmn..and I'm grateful for that two...two good things today...oh and I just got tickets for the NZ/Aus ICC champions trophy match next thursday...keeeeeeeweeeeeeeee...sun, cricket, a day off and the possibility of whupping Aussie ass is a pretty good day out...
September 05, 2004
Sunday blessings
Summer seems to have stuck in old blighty for once...We've had at least 4 hot days in a row and I think this might constitute summer this year.. The weather gauge says 30 outside and we are inside cleaning damnit..tidying rather than cleaning, neither of us have been home much to be messy...Just seem to be bits everywhere, mostly mine for some reason, remind me why I married 'Tidy Man' again. Ran out the door to the photo shoot (oh lookitme...how glam) and the clothes didn't seem to make it up the stair...not helped by the Everest of ironing piles to tackle. Where is a Sherpa to do all the hard work so I can swan in and iron the last t-shirt..and I don't even iron M's stuff - poor sod! I'm pretty sure technically it's too hot and the last time I ironed in my bikini I still have the hotizontal line where I got too carried away, backed off very quickly though. I wonder if I could say ironing is hardardous to my health???
The new gardeners have mowed the lavender down outside the front doors so rather than smell of a tiny bit of France it looks a bit stark and bare. I managed to rescue a bit so its in the back of my car...looks pretty but I think it's supposed to put you to sleep so might not be the best thing for driving to work on Monday morning!
Better get back to the drudgery...need to work up enough energy to justify a siesta...Adios
The new gardeners have mowed the lavender down outside the front doors so rather than smell of a tiny bit of France it looks a bit stark and bare. I managed to rescue a bit so its in the back of my car...looks pretty but I think it's supposed to put you to sleep so might not be the best thing for driving to work on Monday morning!
Better get back to the drudgery...need to work up enough energy to justify a siesta...Adios
September 02, 2004
in the beginning...
I'm just about to embark on another really big adventure...moving to the states from the UK via a wee side trip to Russia/Mongolia/China/Malaysia...this seems like a really good way to let everyone keep in touch. If I can figure how to get some pics up you won't have to look at them all later...
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