After 437 days in Ukraine, I finally left the Kyivska oblast, shortly before midnight on May 13, 2005, for a whirlwhind trip to Kharkiv. I went with some folks from my university and some businessmen and businesswomen from Bila Tserkva to attend a conference. Our mode of transport was a marshrutka (van) and we drove throughout the night - arriving about 8 hours after we left - at 8 o'clock in the morning. We were back in the marshrutka around 5 p.m. on Saturday, but the ride back took longer. We arrived back in Bila Tserkva at 4 o'clock in the morning on Sunday. It was a fun trip, but an exhausting trip.
This is most of the group I made the trip with. We walked around town and saw the sights for a few hours before the conference started. Kharkiv was the capital of Ukraine until the 1930's so it has some interesting sights. And it is one of the larger cities(population = 1,555,000 (1996 estimate)).
This is a shot of most of the group again, but on the return trip. The marshrutka (van) we travelled in is the most common form of transportation in Ukraine. Every seat was full and I think there were 19 of us, including the driver. I found it virtually impossible to sleep. The seat size and the amount of legroom seems to be a little less than on a cheap seat on an airline.
One of the many churches we saw, and the most prominent one on the skyline of Kharkiv.
Another church, with me in the foreground.
From the left: Lessa, Dima and Iryna.
Iryna and Lessa in front of an old Soviet tank.
"Matroshka" - wooden nesting dolls
My "perevodchik" (translator), Iryna, and me.
A Soviet-era monument to honor the workers.
Iryna celebrating a break in the somewhat boring conference.
Roadside Picnic. On the way back we made a number of stops. This first one was to celbrate Valera's birthday.
Valera was more than a little surprised when this belly-dancer appeared from the van.
Valera was given an "official" document making him an official sex inspector of Ukraine.
A birthday toast. One of many.
Another stop, this one in Poltava, to continue the birthday celebration.
Yukking it up in the marshrutka
Yukking it up in the roadside store with the store clerks
