Bill

I was supposed to return to Columbus on Wednesday, 17 September. Everything on the ship went well. The early groups got off the ship and to the airport, and the rest of us waited our turn. My group was finally called, and I dutifully took my carryon luggage to the gang plank and headed for the bus. Everything went smoothly as well. Darlene, friend of my sister-in-law was on the same flight as me and we kept together as this was her first trip to Europe. We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare only to find out our flight was cancelled due to a strike of baggage handlers. We tried to get the Holland America people to help, but their replies were: “Did you book your air transport through Holland America?” To those of us who booked our own travel were informed the agents had to take care of those who booked all their transportation through HAL. Next step was the airline, and those representatives advised there was a strike and they could do nothing (no meal vouchers, no housing assistance, no transport assistance!). Someone DID manage to really screw up my return trip. Good thing I took a close look at the paperwork handed to me! I don’t know where they got the idea I wanted to go (by way of Newark Liberty Airport of all places!) to Nashville, TN!!!!

I did manage to have the clerk correct that mistake, but she was unable to print out new tickets for me. Later on in the day I bought 5 hours of internet time (and it’s a good thing I did!). I spent a good bit of that time on Skype talking to a NWA agent trying to correct the “correction” to my ticket. Somehow, through all the mess my ticket got screwed up even worse than I thought, and it was a good thing that I spent the time Wednesday getting it corrected.

So, Thursday, we got up at 3:45 to get to the airport before opening up time of 5 AM to go through the same process and hopefully get out of Venice. It was a lot smoother today than yesterday. I am currently in the Amsterdam airport waiting for my flight to Detroit (which is going to be late leaving!). With luck, I’ll be home sometime!

Petya’s mom and sister arrived in Kyiv for a “quick” visit on their way from Moscow to Tvarditsa, Moldova. Ann and Igor were working, so I volunteered to show them around the city. The total time in Kyiv was a little over 24 hours, and we packed a lot of sightseeing into the time.

One of the stops was the Chornobyl Museum. We took a local bus to the museum. At one of the stops I was “shocked” out of my daydreaming by a loud “thump” which startled me. I quickly looked around to see an old man throw his crutches onto the bus and grab onto the handhold to pull himself onto the bus. Seeing his plight, I reached down and gave him a hand up, and then picked up his crutches and handed them to him. No one else seemed interested in his plight, which I thought was somewhat disappointing. I guess the attitude it “help yourself as no one is going to give you a hand. I would hope my actions would be an example to those on the bus, and others might be inclined to help someone else down the road.

Spending an extra night in Italy turned out to be an expensive proposition. The cheapest room I could find was in a B&B about 10 miles or so from the airport for €85, with a €20 cab ride in the morning!

The room was clean, big and with three beds! I shared the room with Darlene as it was easier for both of us. The owner or manager offered to take us into town after we checked in and we took her up on her offer. We found a Courtyard Motel with a restaurant and had lunch. I also noticed they had wifi. I booked five hours of time and spent most of the afternoon on the web (resolving my ticket issue for one, letting the kids know I was delayed, and did some other stuff). Darlene opted to go back to the B&B. When I finally used up all the time it was getting dark. I checked for a decent restaurant, and they were either closed or out of business (as near as I could tell). I took the bus back to the end of the line and walked the mile or so to the B&B. Along the way I looked to the east and saw a beautiful harvest moon rise! I wish I had my big tripod with me as the picture would have been fantastic. I’ve got a copy in my head, so it wasn’t totally lost. I wish I could share it as it was really beautiful.

Khrashatuk is the main boulevard in downtown Kyiv. It is a wide, tree lined, pedestrian friendly street and one of my favorite streets in the world. On weekends it is closed to traffic and becomes a pedestrian “happening place”. Vendors set up in the street and people walk from one end to the other, both on the street and on the pedestrian walkways. Frequently, there are festivals and music provided day and night. It always seems festive!

One evening while strolling along Khrashatuk, I noticed a young women being harassed by a man. I watched for a bit as I walked along the street, and noticed no one paid any attention. The woman obviously did not want this guy man handling her. It looked to me that he was trying to coerce her into something she did not want to do or go. I decided to intervene, and walked towards the couple. The guy (probably in his mid 20’s?) saw me approaching, and let go of the woman. She headed towards a couple and a single woman and seemed relieved to be away from the guy. Ann and Igor later advised I should have stayed out of it as there may have been others with the guy who may have intervened on his part and at my expense. No one did, and I am none the worse for wear, and the woman was released from an uncomfortable situation, at least for the moment. I do not know what happened afterwards. Perhaps the situation repeated itself elsewhere. Don’t know, but I did what I thought was right at the time.

Kyiv has a number of very nice parks. Among my favorite is Marinsky Park. It is close to Ann's apartment, and offers shade, fountains, a children's playground and benches. Several weeks ago, I was there one afternoon and saw a film crew making a TV commercial. Being the photographic "slug" that I am, I decided to stick around to see if there might be an interesting photo opportunity. One of the crew spoke English, and I struck up a conversation with him. The commercial was for one of the Kyiv banks, and the cast and crew had been there since 6 AM (it was not past 5PM!). While standing there, a woman came up to me and asked (in Russian) what was going on (as I found out later). Of course I responded I did not speak much Russian, and did she speak English. As a matter of fact, she did speak some English, so I explained what I knew. She seemed a bit frail, not unattractive, and after talking a while, I decided to ask if she would care for coffee, or a beer, or a glass of wine. Surprisingly, she accepted my offer for coffee, and we walked to the nearest coffee shop. She walked slowly, and at the curb, I offered her my arm, which she took and we crossed the street.

At coffee she asked me about the things I had seen in Kyiv, and had I seen the St. Michael's Monastery. I was not sure if I had been there or not, and she offered to give me a tour. "Why not"? I thought. "Sure, I'd like that" I responded. As I was leaving for Odessa on Monday (this was Friday afternoon), I explained I would not be back until 8 August, and could we meet on Saturday, 9 August? She agreed, and we set the time for noon, Saturday, 9 August. I was not sure she would actually show up (a week later) to give some crazy American tourist a tour of her favorite monastery. Surprise, surprise! She was there at the appointed time, and did in fact give a very good tour of the monastery.

We then walked through the park, rode the funicular down to the Podil section of Kyiv, had coffee and a pastry at a sidewalk cafe, and then back to the church (as she wanted to attend the service that afternoon).

Inna Vladimirovna has turned out to be an interesting person, and has taken the edge off of the negative experience (being robbed on 11 August in the subway) I had in Kyiv. We have visited the Kyiv Fortress and Museum, several other museums, and returned to the park several times to sit and enjoy the shade and quiet. I did not come to Kyiv looking for a girlfriend, wife, or relationship, but I did find a person whom I'm having a good time with, and seeing other parts of the city I probably would not have toured on my own. I am surprised at this "relationship" and curious where it will go, but I will be leaving Kyin on 5 September. I will keep you posted on what develops in the next two weeks.