Monday in Kyiv

Monday our friend Sasha drove us to Kyiv. We left Pereyaslav Khmelnitsky at 6:00 am and by 8:00 we were in downtown Kyiv. The trip took one hour five years ago. Vehicle ownership and subsequently traffic has increased dramatically. The Kyiv street and expressway system was never designed for the amount of traffic it has today.

Going back to PK also took two hours. One hour to the edge of town and one hour on the road. From downtown we took a route that had us on three lanes merging into four lanes, both backed up for several kilometers. As we approached the bridge over the Dnipro River another three lanes of traffic also was trying to merge with us. The four lane main expressway then narrows to three over the bridge but that is ignored and it becomes an effective four lane bridge.

Downtown is all big expensive cars - Mercedes, Audis, Land Cruiser SUV's of all brands, Lexus, BMWs. Interestingly enough, morning and evening commuter traffic was all middle class cars. Ordinary Joes (Volodyas?) commuting from Boryspil and other bedroom communities.

Our first chore was to look after Tanya at the Canadian Embassy. Sasha and I dropped Tanya off at the prescribed bank to start the process. She paid $150 CAD at the bank and took the receipt and all her documentation to the Embassy gate and turned it in by 10:00, then she went for lunch and waited until 3:00. She went back to the Embassy and they handed her a five year multi entry visa just like that. Three successful trips to Canada and a Canadian husband in Ukraine made her a safe bet to leave when the trip was over.

Sasha and I went to the Russian Consulate to apply for my visa. We had to get in line to find out how much the visa cost and what exact documentation they needed. $125 USD for two weeks tourist visa to Moscow and Krasnoyarsk, to be picked up in 10 days (24 hour turnaround was $350 USD). I had everything I needed for a visa applied for at the Russian Embassy in Canada but they are all different. Thankfully they let Sasha in to translate for me as that speeded things up, even though one lady there spoke perfect English.

I needed copies of three documents I did not have. I had an original that needed photocopying and two on my flash drive that needed printing. Where to go? Sasha noticed that there was a small office in which a girl was photocopying documents. One problem solved but where to print from the flash drive? She would do that too. I was very relieved and said to Sasha in English, "Give that girl a kiss". She blushed beet red. Oh, Oh. Sasha told her (in Russian) that he was willing even without my orders, which just made it worse. All documents done, everything handed in just by 1:00 the daily deadline.

IF they give it to me, I will pick up my visa on June 24th in Kyiv. On June 25th we take the train to Moscow and then on the 26th fly to Krasnoyarsk. There are six companies competing on that route and it was cheaper than train. Tanya's Papa will come back with us for two months. Tanya will take him to Moscow and put him on a plane home just before we go to Canada in September.
We then met Tanya, had lunch, waited until 3:00 when she got her visa and went to a travel agent to buy our return tickets to Russia. All lined up and go to pay. Cash only. Can you believe it? $2000 worth of tickets and they want cash. We had to go find a bank machine. They closed at 6:00 pm. At 6:00 pm we walked out the door with the tickets and my blood pressure at an all time high.

No, it was high last summer too when we went to Turkey and a different travel agent wanted cash for $2000 worth of holiday package. Parts of the country are not yet in the 21st century, I guess.

The chess match

Today is a nice warm sunny day. Natasha (who walks my dogs for me when I am away) brought her chess set so she can clobber the boys. They asked if they could set up on our patio table. Maxim is to be the first victim. Maybe. He is no slouch at this game. Ivan (he with the all-boy grin) will likely be wiped out in three moves, when his turn comes.

Trip to Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky 1.

We left ZV at 8:00 am Sunday morning and drove the 400 km distance leisurely, arriving in PK about 3:00 pm. We stopped in Kremenchuk to visit our friend Volodya, and in another town to go to the fish market. This place had dozens of stalls of various dried, smoked, salted and fresh fish. One table held a catfish the size of a small cow. Tanya said they can be as much as 300 kg.

Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky is a very old city, having celebrated the 1100th anniversary of its founding not long ago. Origionally known as Pereyaslav, the Kmelnitsky was added when Bohdan Kmelnitsky, after beating Poland at Zhovti-Vody in 1648, agreed in 1654 to place the independent Cossack Hetmanate under the protection of the Tsar, rather than get clobbered by the Poles again. The jury is still out.

We really went to visit friends, though there were enough other errands to run to make the trip necessary. Artur and Oksana Gordin and Sasha Gritsyuk have been friends of mine since 1997. Tanya met them in 1999 at the Beef Forage School, where we met also. Tanya had not been back since then but had kept in touch. Oksana is also a garden person. One of her flower gardens is pictured below. We returned home today with the back of the car full of perennials, which Tanya planted immediately that we got home today.

Maxim came over to inspect the new flowers and fell in love with some tiny yellow ones. He went home and asked his Babushka Lucia to ask Tanya if he could have just one of them to plant. Lucia was reluctant where upon little tears rolled down his cheeks. He got his flowers.

On the Road Again

We got a good rain shower last night so I took a picture of Tanya's back flower garden this morning from our upstairs window. It looked prettty good after the rain and we hope will hold our garden until we get home again. It will come into full bloom over the next month or so.

Tanya and I are headed out sometime tomorrow to drive to Pereyaslav-Khmelnitski to visit friends. On Monday, we will go to Kyiv apply at the respective Embassies for a Russian visa for me and a Canadian visa for Tanya. I will use the trip also to follow up on some of my work regarding revitalizing the livestock industry in Ivankiv and Chornobyl Raions.

This will be my second cross country trek in our own car but at least this time Tanya will be navigating. Last fall Berny Wiens and I tried driving to Zaporizhzhia in the dark. Not a good idea.

Driving in Kyiv is a non-starter for me so we are either going to take the mini-bus from P-K or see if our friend Sasha will drive us. On Tuesday we will drive to Mironivka (also spelled Mironovka if you are Google Earth-ing) to visit a large American-owned feedlot and on Wednesday we will visit a feedmill and large pig enterprise near P-K.

Should be home Thursday night, all things being equal; Good Lord willin' and the creek don't rise.

Reasons I Love My Wife

Today was houseplant day. Tanya got up at 6:00 am, watered her flowers until 9:00 and then came in to repot a number of plants and care for the other 47 in the house. The kitchen counter was covered with mud, pots and plants. She decided she wanted breakfast, cleared off a spot, plunked down the breadboard and the remnants of a loaf of bread. Both ends and one side already gone (crust is her favourite slice); and the other side and bottom next. Leaving me with the centre of the loaf.

Tanya called Andrei this morning to sort him out about something. Masha overheard her Papa’s end of the “conversation”. Several hours later she calls her Babushka:
“I am worried about you since you and Papa had that argument”.
“You are not worried about your Papa?”
“No. Next time he phones you, don’t answer”.
“Good advice, Masha, thanks”.

The downstairs bedroom cools off pretty good at night. Tanya had the blanket. I had the sheet. At 4:00 am I am getting cold and try to sneak under the blanket. She is barely awake but: “Are you cold?” “Yes”. Mutter mutter “…old men need to keep warm...” Whumph. I got the blanket. She got the sheet.

We were driving to P’yatikhatki the other day. “Do you remember when you were driving in Victoria at night? I wasn’t worried…I didn’t know how bad a driver you were. Now I would be scared”. I get no respect.

Class Visit to a Farm

UK Police Use of Firearms More than Doubled

According to Home Office data, reported by the BBC, British police officers fired their weapons in the line of duty 7 times last year, up significantly from 3 times the year before.

The article went on to say that British scientists have developed a portable scanner to detect hidden firearms and were hoping to perfect it to detect hidden knives as well. The user will be able to stand at a safe distance and determine if a suspect is armed or not.