Time to pack and to contemplate the long road home; the return journey is always more tortuous as sufficient time must be allowed to ensure train connections; five changes in total; I was imagining a journey of such complexity back home.
First breakfast, a variation of the theme but each day wholesome and tasty; today, pumpkin rice and sausages. I should have said, each morning preceded by a glass of Kefir, a fermented milk drink, similar to a thin yogurt, which is made by inoculating the milk of cows, goats, or sheep with kefir grains. This now worldwide drink first originated in the North Caucasus; traditional kefir was made in goatskin bags that were hung near a doorway; the bags would be knocked by anyone passing through to keep the milk and kefir grains well mixed.
Misha then drove me to Novus to exchange a little money; Be Prepared; a return may not be long delayed. Money exchanged and a 4 kms walk back to Dmitry’s house; fresh air to clear the head after yesterday’s merriment. A stop in the little shop for one or two provisions; some cakes for a farewell cuppa. They’ve come to know me in the shop; for sure, the pointing and grunting and bon-homie is exacerbated.
Tea, cakes and au revoir; for me, after just ten days, it’s very hard to say goodbye; to have had to say a maybe forever goodbye to family and friends doesn’t bear thinking about.
Today’s picture is of ‘The Mariupol Memorial’ that stands in Sophia Square in Kyiv; a makeshift monument to the ‘Heroes of Mariupol’ who fought for 86 days in inhuman conditions; the monument stands until the last defender is released from captivity.
Oleg kindly drove me to the metro at Slavutych; or so I thought; but he sailed past the station. I look perplexed but he said better to drive to Dnipro metro station across the river in case the Pivdennyi Bridge (Southern Bridge) that carries the metro across the Dnipro was closed; as can happen during an air alert.
But, when we arrived, Dnipro was closed; closed in fact since February 2022. The station has become largely irrelevant as there are no residential buildings, no significant industry or cultural venues nearby. This station is a legacy of the times when the Kyiv metro was being constructed in the 1950’s and 60’s. It is also useless as a civil defence shelter as it is not underground.
Time was ticking and we made a dash along the dual carriageway; I hoofed it to (I think) Kontraktova Ploshcha station on The Blue Line; it was Sunday rush hour; I was leaving as I came; heads down, scrum down; crouch, bind, set, engage, push; two stops to Maidan Nezalezhnosti; then a scrum through the walkway to Khreshchatyk metro station on The Red Line and three further stops to Vokzalna. Thereafter, a brisk walk across the plaza to Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi.
Some clock watching, a circuitous route but I made it; fifteen minutes to spare.
I boarded the 19:23 hrs train for Uzhhorod; Wagon 9 Bed 3; I settled in for the twelve-hour journey ahead; the compartment of four was quiet; I think everyone was tired. The train pulled away at 19:23 hrs; in Ukraine, 19:23 hrs means 19:23 hrs.
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