Andreevski Street in Kiev

KIEV

 "The Heart of Ukraine - the most beautiful and eye-catching city in all of Europe"

Here are some fun facts about this beautiful old city:

*Kiev celebrated its 1500th anniversary in 1982*

*The world's deepest subway station is located in Kiev with a depth of 345 feet*

*Kiev is the capital of Ukraine and the national language is

Ukrainian although most people actually speak Russian*

We got to spend an afternoon in the city before we boarded the train for an overnight ride. 

Three of my favorite things about this city are:

1) the crazy drivers

Sidewalks, railways, and tunnels are fair game,

pedestrians have to really watch out,

and traffic signals and road lanes are simply suggestions.

This one looked South Georgia style! ;-)

This picture is a little better.  People are in there respected lanes and traffic is actually flowing.

2) the cathedrals (next post!)

3) Andreevski Street

In Russian it is Андре́евский спуск pronounced "Andreevski spoosk" which literally means "Andrew's Descent", but often referred to by Americans as Andreevski Street.

It is a market on a steep street lined with many small stands where artists sell their art, crafts, collections, and souveniers.  At the top of the street it is mostly painters that lay out their masterpieces on the pavement.

or cobblestone streets, rather.

When you go further, you will pass stands with hand-made jewelry,

pottery, clothing, and...

"matroshka" of course!  (AKA nesting dolls)

Each detail is hand-painted.  Even the tiniest doll in the set.  These are a symbol of Russian culture!

There are not only Ukrainian/Russian souveniers, but also symbols of the Soviet Era such as big furry hats and WWII memorabilia. 

St. Andrew's cathedral also lends much Ukrainian/Russian charm to this old cobblestone street. 

Everything is quiet inside the church.  The ceilings are tall, the interior ornate, and the candles aglow.



Back outside on the street, the air is filled with the hum of the Russian language and dreamy music from a local musician.





We continue to make our way down this old street pausing to look at silver jewelry with amber stones and anything else that catches our attention.  I even practice my Russian.  "Skolka stoit?"

We make our way to the bottom of the street and stop to eat with our group at a local restaurant.
 

I even know what the food is this time around!  Big difference from the last time I was here!  Two other rather large differences?  One is I could order on my own and two is that I actually liked the food.

Cabbage salad, fried potatoes, cutleta (meatballs), and green borsch.  The green borsch was my favorite!



After lunch, we visited some parks

more cathedrals (next post!)

and went on a not-so-scenic "metro" ride to the river only to find out we had run out of time.

We had a train to catch! 

Hope you are enjoying this series of pictures and posts! 
Next up is "Onion Tops". 

Trains, Planes, and Automobiles

Were we really in Ukraine this summer?  It feels like an entire lifetime since then, but really we just got back to the States only a few weeks ago!  What a world away....

I love Ukraine.

We had such a wonderful trip.  There is so, so, so much to share.  So many stories, friends, experiences, and pictures.  My next few blog posts will be highlights from our trip to Ukraine.

There will be ten posts in this series starting with this one....

"You Can't Get There From Here"

One of the most interesting changes I've noticed in myself since being married to Misha is the fact that I don't worry about things much anymore.  Everything really will work out.  Don't sweat the small stuff - roll with it.  It's what makes life life.  Of course, you still have to plan and prepare for things, but worrying (the stressful part) just isn't there anymore.  I know everything will be taken care of.  If not, it makes things that much more interesting and memorable. 

When I went on this trip three years ago, I began packing my suitcase about one month before we left.  This time around?  The night before.  It also helps to know what to expect when you are going overseas.  I didn't have that luxury on the previous trip.

Let the packing begin! 

Did you know we were only allowed ONE check-in per person? The previous trip, the airlines allowed each person to check in TWO suitcases at no charge for international flights. This time we had waaay more things to take - camp supplies, gifts, two computers, inventory for a business deal we're working on...and....oh yeah...don't forget about clothes and personal things for each of us for three weeks!

By the way, I do not pack light.  I try - really I do.  It just doesn't work. 

How in the world would we be able to do this?  Could we do this?  and don't forget about the 50 lb. weight limit!

That's right.  50 pounds baby!  One the first try!  For both suitcases.

 

Somehow we managed to fit everything (including food & snacks).  We  had one check-in and one carry-on each.  I think God pulled some strings on that one.  :-)

Remember?  Everything will work out! 

So for our trip this was the travel plan:

Birmingham → Atlanta

Atlanta → Paris

Paris → Kiev

17-hour train ride to Debaltzava

(longer this time around due to most rails being closed b/c they are getting ready for the Euro cup 2012 that will be in our Donetsk region)

Bus to Dzerzhinsk!   

*The only form of transportation we did not use was a camel (okay...and a boat).  Everything else was fair game.*

Our prayer was that we would make all our connections and that we would have safe & uneventful travel.

Well, for our first flight we remained grounded for 1 1/2 hours due to bad weather.  We took off from Birmingham at the time we were supposed to arrive in Atlanta.  If we missed the international flight, we missed the flight to Kiev, the train...everything. 

We were at the very back of a full plane. 

We landed in Atlanta twelve minutes before our international flight was scheduled to take off. 

We landed at gate A and our flight was at gate D. 

 

We SPRINTED through the Atlanta airport. 

They were closing the gate. 

They had already called our names for last call to board. 

We were the last ones.

God worked another miracle on this one. 

We made it on our flight!!!

Two flights and many time zones later, here we are in Kiev!

(Stay tuned - Kiev post to come next!)

After some time in the city of Kiev, we get ready to board our train.  This is the best part of all the travel!  

 

You have to find your train line and what car you will be on.  Keep in mind that car #4 doesn't necessarily come behind car #3 and before car #5.  It could be by car #20.  Yes, that's right. 

You have 3 minutes to board the train.  That is a major adrenaline rush when you have twenty-something Americans and 60+ pieces of luggage.



Whew!  Everyone made it on the train!  It takes a little while to calm down and cool off after the rush of boarding the train. 

This trip we had an entire train car dedicated to our team!  Each car has several cabins with four bunks.  The train ride is my favorite part. 



You get to hang out with friends, talk, laugh, play games, and have interesting travel snacks.

You see such beautiful country-side, the sound of the train is a lullaby, and you get the best sleep as the movement of the train rocks you to sleep.

Just remember to lock your cabin door!
After a much-needed overnight rest on the train, we arrive at our destination the next afternoon!

Next form of transportation:  bus.

Finally!  We arrive in Dzerzhinsk and are greeted by familiar faces of friends and family.  Misha gets to see his dad for the first time in three years.  It's going to be a great three weeks.

Recent Eats

Dinnertime is very important at our house.  It is a time for Misha and I to reconnect at the end of our busy days.  Preparing a meal, actually sitting down at the table, and just talking with each other is the perfect way to bring the day to an end. 

We love cooking at home and trying new foods.  I try not to prepare the same thing too often - we really like to mix it up.   Here are pics of some fun and very interesting dishes I have recently made. If you are interested in the recipe, just message me and I'll post it.  Also - side note, many of these ingredients are straight from our garden! 

First up, a vegetable plate - collard greens, new potatoes & dill (from the garden) with feta cheese, 

and sauteed grean beans (also from the garden) with mushrooms.

Also on the vegetable plate is a traditional Russian summertime dish - Vinaigret.  It looks really funky and - I will admit it - I did not like it when I first tried it at Lyuba's house.  The purple color from the beets scared me a bit.  However, now it is one of my favorite dishes and it is soooo healthy for you.

It's a very interesting combination - beets, white beans, carrots, potatoes, and pickles - but ohhh! so! good!

Next up is this delicious white fish that Misha caught on a recent fishing trip.  Striped bass skillet-fried with olive oil, garlic, onion, and salt and pepper! 

 

This is zucchini-wrapped pork with roasted tomotoes.  This meat is also from one of Misha's hunting trips and the tomatoes and zucchini are from our garden.

 

This one I looove and it's super-easy!

Roasted okra! 

Split the okra in half length-wise.  Brush or cover with olive oil.  Sprinkle with S&P.  Spread okra in single layer on a baking pan.  Bake in the oven on 350 for approximately 25 minutes.  Just check it - you may like yours a bit crunchier, but you can be the judge of that!

It's way healthier than fried okra, but still has lots of flavor!  Also - it looks really trendy on the plate!

Here we have another traditional Russian dish.  This one is called Okroshka.  Let me clarify here - Misha loves this one, but I do not.  I just make it because he asks for it.  It's boiled potatoes, carrots, eggs, and meat with radish, cucumber, green onion, dill, and parsley (most everything is from the garden).

You then mix all of it together and pour this lemon/milk-like liquid over it.  It's like veggie cereal.  Not a fan, but he loves it. 

Moving on to a much better dish - Ceviche!  This is so, so yummy and very good for you.  It's really a seafood salad.  It has tilapia, scallops, and shrimp marinated in lemon juice with onion and cilantro.  The lemon juice actually cooks the seafood.  It has the best taste!  

I usually serve it with avacado and sometimes over a bed of spinach. 

Hmmm...now my mind is on what's for dinner tonight?

 

Fig Jam

From this:

Hand-picked from our fig tree.

Well, our neighbor's fig tree, but most of its limbs and fruit is in our yard. ;-D

To this:

That's right!  Homemade jam!

It was my first time ever making something like this and I'm super-proud! 

...and YES!  It's delicious!