Donetsk

Aerosvit Airlines is really very good and efficient and there are good deals to be had.  I got round trip for just over $50 which is less than the train!  I got picked up at 05:30 on Friday and arrived at the airport.  At the Kyiv airport (Boryspil) buses take passengers out to where the plane is parked.  The fight was about half full and we taxied onto the runway about a minute ahead of schedule and arrived in Donetsk in about an hour.

My friend Roman picked me up and we stopped to have a coffee and French pastry (puff pastry, cheese filling, ring of pineapple) before coming to the apartment.  Traffic was miserable during rush hour and it took longer to reach the center than it took to fly from Kyiv.  We had lots to talk about so the time was not unpleasant.  I have the same apartment I had the second last time I was here.  Still no refrigerator and there is hot water only from 6 to 10a.m.  And the shower has terrible water pressure so showers take longer but those are both really minor problems.

Friday night, we went for dinner at a restaurant owned by a friend of Roman.  There were two birthday parties going on, both rowdy.  One was some police officials and the other some officials from the department of medicine.  There was live music and a lot of excitement.  It was really fun.  I had a bowl of solyanka, a rich soup with meat, and then fried potatoes and also a chicken dish with pineapple.  I am not a fan of sweet and sour and fortunately, it wasn't sweet and sour, just pineapple wedges in the chicken and vegetables.  It was really good.  For dessert, we were invited to share in a multi-layered cherry cake that was delicious.  We topped it off with coffee.  A nice meal.  The owner, a jolly woman, was everywhere making sure things were going smoothly.  It seems that it is not merely a restaurant but also in back there is a sauna.  I thought it a strange combination of businesses but apparently it's not so strange here.  There are "complexes" sometimes, restaurant, sauna, billiards.  So one can drink too much then go sweat out the alcohol.  oy!  After Roman brought me  back to my apartment, he went out to work.  He is a taxi driver.

Saturday, I caught up on some writing in the morning and in the afternoon Roman came so we could plan worship for Sunday.  We will have it at my apartment at 2pm.  Calls had to be made to let everyone know where we were having worship and that took a while.  We went out to dinner at a restaurant downtown.  I had green borsch, and a home-style pork stew with rich broth and potatoes.  We had ice cream with sour cherries and cherry liqueur for dessert.  And, of course, a coffee.  As Roman was driving me back to the apartment, he got a call to pick up a couple of friends who were quite drunk.  We took them to their places before coming back to the apartment and Roman went out to work.

This morning, we were supposed to go to a baptism at a Lutheran church but it got cancelled.  People will begin gathering soon and we'll visit before we have worship and food.  My friend, Sasha, is coming from Mariupol this afternoon late and we'll go out to dinner, hopefully, to celebrate our birthdays.  His is the 12th and mine the 17th.  He'll stay over because the last bus leaves at 7.  In the morning I have to be at the airport at 8 to fly back to Kyiv.

Visits to Donetsk are always enjoyable.  They are really gearing up for European Championship Football (soccer) in 2012.  They may be fixing the roads but they are neglecting to make sure that signs in other languages or guides/translators are available.  I think it will be a lot of fuss.  Ukraine is a great place but not ready for prime time, at least where language help for foreigners is concerned.  It will be a good learning experience.  I will be sure I'm not in the country during the time of the games.