First Days in Ukraine

We've been in Ukraine now for one week and 8 hours. Our first stop was in Dnepropetrovsk where we stayed in a beautiful three-bedroom, four-bath apartment on the 8th floor overlooking the river. The days were sunny but cold, and snow and ice covered the sidewalks. The river is frozen and we could see a few men ice fishing close to the shore. On Wednesday, a driver brought us to Kherson, about a five hour drive south of Dnepropetrovsk. Kherson is a city of about 350,000 and used to be a major ship port.

First View of Ukraine from airplane.

Our first impressions: Everyone wears fur - fur coats, fur jackets, fur trimmings, fur hats, sometimes fur purses. It's blistery cold! Everyone dresses up. There are packs of homeless dogs everywhere, but the good news about that is that they all look quite well fed and healthy. We've heard that people are kind to them. No grass. I know, I know, there is snow everywhere so we wouldn't be able to see it, but there is no grass under the snow - mostly cement or dirt. There's nice tree-lined walkways that will be beautiful in Spring. It's the older grandmas (baboshkas) who chip ice off the sidewalks (usually this isn't done at all), or sweep streets, and we've heard they are also the ones who do road construction.

Our apartment in Kherson could be out of a Soviet World War II movie - including the large metal door opening to a stairwell and then another large metal door (which we were advised to always keep locked from the inside when we're home) on the outside of our apartment's entry door.

There are also large metal shutters which we open each morning and close each evening. These are operated from a crank inside the house. The window sills are very wide, the barred windows are beautiful, and the apartment is nice and light. The doors to the bedroom, living room and kitchen (yes, each room has it's own door off the hall/entry way) are quite beautiful, in a 1950's sort of way, as they are a combination of wood and glass. The furnishings remind me of a 1940's or 50's newlywed era. The small washing machine in our bathroom holds two towels and two washcloths at a time. There are no dryers, so everyone has a drying rack in their apartment. Oh yes, and to get water to come out the shower head, you have to have a stream of water running in the sink at the same time.

Food: We love the yoghurt, which is liquid. We wash all of our fruits, vegetables and eggs and then soak them in bleach water for a few minutes. We're lovin' it! We haven't had too much experience with food yet, so more about this later.

Today was a major triumph as we went to the grocery store by ourselves for the first time! We have been really lucky to have another couple here, the Lattins, to show us around, i.e., how to ride marchukas (small buses) and trolleys and how to shop. More to follow later.