Dear Comrades,
Ikaika, Keoni, Diane and I have officially become
Kievians. We live on Khreschatyk Street which is the main thoroughfare in
the city. During holiday times (ever since we got here on New Year’s Eve,
Eve – Eve), they’ve had it largely blocked off for pedestrian traffic /
partying. We are fortunate to have landed where we did as the area is
much fun!
On Sunday (the day before we were going to the US Embassy),
I decided that we should walk to the embassy so that we would know where it
is. A dry-run if you will and we could get some exercise in the
process. We bundled up, I programmed the address into my phone and we
would be there in just over 6 miles. Oddly the first ¾ mile was uphill
(not the best way to start when Diane and Keoni weren’t exactly fired up to
stroll through the cold on one of my missions) and as I watched the directions,
I realized that my iPhone 5 is amazing at 2 things, technology and sucking down
battery life. No way we would make it all the way to our destination
without running out of battery and then we’d have to find our way home. A
smart commander knows when a mutiny is a strong possibility and there was much
grumbling in the ranks (along with sarcastic remarks directed at your faithful commander).
About this time, I noticed we were walking by a Hyatt
Hotel. Note that Hyatt’s outside of the US are often times on par with
Ritz Carlton hotels in the US and this one was no exception. Dimitri at
the Concierge Desk became my new buddy who gave me amazing directions via
subway to the embassy (dry run no longer necessary so mission declared a
success and aborted) along with a map to a great steak house called
“Beef.” Keoni was hooked and soon enough, our bellies were full.
The US embassy was a beacon of hope for us as they hold our
ticket home. The Counsel General, Ms. Mila Millman and I did not hit it
off (usually I need to walk people for a mile in the cold before they dislike
me). She told me that they require DNA testing on all foreign born Americans
in the Ukraine to which I didn’t argue although I was disappointed. Since
I anticipated that this might take place, I had already ordered a DNA kit from
one of their approved labs in the US and the kit was at the embassy. When
she told me that we could pick-up Ikaika’s passport after she received a hard
copy of the DNA results via Fed Ex, the situation deteriorated as I could not
understand how she could ignore the 1990’s technology which America invented
and perfected. Suffice to say neither of us invited each other to New
Year’s Eve dinner. To boot, she said we should come back on Jan 2nd
to take the swabbing for DNA since it could dry up before the Fed Ex went out
on Wed and this would cause more delays. Another bundled up trip for
Ikaika to the embassy….
On New Year’s Eve, we walked the very festive Khreschatyk
and figured we’d have some dinner around 9 and then party with the
locals. Unfortunately, all of the eateries, including McDonald’s closed
at 8 p.m. so our wandering became a quest for food. I figured that we
could go back to the Hyatt even though my fam unit of Diane and Keoni poo
poo’ed the idea as “nothing is open.” Happily, Father Knows Best and we
found a tremendous Asian Fusion restaurant in the hotel and it wasn’t very
busy. It was priced like it would be at home which makes it very pricey
for most Ukrainians.
While we missed joining the family for New Year’s Eve dinner
at Lawry’s in Beverly Hills (I hadn’t missed since we started our annual event
27 years ago), this was a fine substitute and we enjoyed great food, fine wine
and each other’s good company until 11:30 p.m. We then took part in the
very festive countdown at the main square and loved the fireworks show before
turning in.
After taking Ikaika back to the embassy for a mouth swab and
then letting the doctor swab my mouth, we decided to enjoy everything
Kiev. Keoni studied the iBook on Ukraine and found both UNESCO World
Sites in the city. He honed in on the one Monastery which had caves with
118 buried saints beneath and where one could go down and visit. Like the
catacombs in Paris, Keoni was fired up and like the catacombs in Paris, Diane
was not although in fairness to her, dead bodies is really not her cup of
tea. That said, she was the good trooper present for the trek (just like
in underground Paris).
We bundled up, went down to our local subway station (very
interesting as these stations hold some Soviet propaganda art
throughout). I haven’t seen on statue of a smiling Lenin but then he
might not have liked the idea of communally sharing all of his stuff with everyone.
We got off at the station and headed off towards the
Monastery. We came across the tomb of the Unknown Soldier and took a few
moments to think of the Red Army soldiers killed abroad and never brought
home. Sadly, this sadness is universal and reminds one of the insanity of
war.
Next we came across a museum dedicated to the almost 4
million Ukrainians who died of famine. The famines of 1921-1922,
1932-1933, 1946-1947 were detailed and it was a Ukrainian nationalist site
which blamed the Soviets for their misery. Through statements posted
throughout, it was an effort to both commemorate the dead and to build a
national pride in being an independent Ukraine. I don’t know exactly when
the Kazan family left Ukraine but as bad as it was for them, things would have
only gotten worse under the Soviets. Ukrainian history is one of Russian
/ Bolshevik domination and misery for a proud people who were subjugated.
I quietly thanked my Kazan ancestors who had the foresight and courage to make
a new home a long way away from their homeland.
Next stop was the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. This is the oldest Christian Orthodox Church in Eastern Europe dating back to 1051. Really cool site and history. One of the main churches was blown up by the KGB in the 1940’s and the monks were either shot and killed or sent to Siberia. That church building was recently rebuilt. Thankfully most of the rest of the site withstood the Soviet era. We hired an English speaking guide who took us around and gave us a tour. Keoni’s description was “oh here is a church, blah, blah, blah, and here is another, blah, blah, blah.” Finally she took us into one of the two caves, we bought candles and down we went. Very cool and apparently the main way to became a saint was that your dead body was put into a room in the caves for 3 years. If after three years, you did not decompose, you were a saint. I like my odds as I eat plenty of pickles and try to do the right thing (my theory). Keoni liked the caves and the 2 bodies which had hands protruding from their burial outfits (Diane winced)…
Our guide told us that there was a war museum just down the road as you couldn’t miss a giant Russian female statue standing in the hills below. We then walked the 10 minutes or so down to this museum. It was a throwback to the Soviet times with Russian music blaring, bronze statutes of comrades struggling in military gear and in manufacturing work (think Rosie the Riveter only more angry). There were tanks, cannons, helicopters, MIG 21’s and MIG 23’s, jeeps and missiles. The missiles and the silo head brought back memories of growing up in the cold war. I wondered if this missile might have been armed and pointed at Los Angeles at one time.
Overall, a very nice day of site-seeing and back through the snowy weather to the subway station!
As Kiev locals, we found a nice fruit and vegetable market along with the local Kiev version of Pink’s hot dogs (although it is a special Kiev dog in a warm croissanty roll that sells for about $.50 with a long line of locals every day). Diane and Keoni love this dog while I find it tasty but there is not mustard or ketchup so it could be a tad better. Lastly, I purchased us 2 week memberships at a fantastic health club / spa at you guessed it (wait for it), the Hyatt. They have a huge jacuzzi and a nice warm pool along with great workout facilities. We took a pilates class and Keoni’s and my abs are still sore…
Our days consist of playing with the baby (we still have a 24 hour nurse, Natasha with us although she leaves on Sunday evening but supposedly will be sending one of the nurses we liked in Kharkiv on Monday), wandering around Kiev, working out and hanging at the health spa and then enjoying a nice dinner. Tonight we just took Natasha out for a dinner thanking her for the week and Ikaika enjoyed his first restaurant experience.
We closely followed the travels of our DNA kit via the Fed
Ex website and it was delivered on Friday morning to the lab in a suburb of Chicago.
I have gotten to know the folks at the lab and was able to have the tests
completed and sent back in less than 10 hours (yes, the baby is indeed
genetically ours although since it is Chicago, I am probably now a suspect in 3
homicides and a possible newly identified member of the Chicago 8). The
weekends are dead time for us so it is nice that our results are moving via Fed
Ex (last I checked they were at the airport in Paris). Monday is
Christmas here so my hope is that the Fed Ex is delivered on Tuesday so that I
can go visit my buddy at the embassy. We are scheduled to return on
Friday although if I can move that up again….
All of that said, don’t cry for us Ukraine as we are having
a good time.
Best,
Kyle
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