Worrisome Night

Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 3 & 4, 2014--Ivano-Frankivst to Odesa

There was a surprise drizzle when I awoke Wednesday morning.  The forecast had been for sunshine for days, and I had the whole day ahead of me before catching my overnight train at 18:30.  I ate my breakfast which included two fried eggs, ham (in a Jewish hotel), an eggplant pate, two warm croissants, and orange juice.  Then I read in my room awaiting checkout time at noon.

When I did check out and left my luggage in storage at 11:45, the drizzle had stopped momentarily, but still threatened.  I walked to the center of town and found a seat under a large tree where it was dry even from the past drizzle.  I sat there and read for about an hour.  During that time, it drizzled a little, and then it came a heavy rain for a few minutes.  But then it stopped and the clouds did not look so menacing.  I walked around the city watching people who were gradually coming out now that the rain had stopped.  By 15:30 when I returned to the hotel to get my luggage, the sun was starting to peek through.  I walked to the station, bought I ticket I need for getting from Odesa to Kiev on Sunday, and read while awaiting the train.

While waiting, I finished reading Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann.  It won the National Book Award a few years ago.  It's another very well written novel that has characters that pull you into the story and make you care for them. It's set in New York in the early 1970s and seems very realistic in its portrayal of the times.  I gave it 3 1/2 stars out of 4.  I would have given it all 4 stars except a couple of the many stories just didn't seem to be needed, since they weren't significant in tying together all the others.

Also, while waiting, I watched a woman see her husband dressed in military camouflage off on a train--probably to go fight with the Russians. They were clinging to each other as long as possible and hugging and kissing.  And as soon as he had to get on the train for it to depart, he called her and they continued to talk as she walked along watching him disappear with the departing train.

The platform was full of people when the train pulled into the station.  Fortunately, they have a conductor for EACH car who manages just that car.  He/she stands at the doorway and takes the tickets as each person goes aboard.  That assures that people don't board and then walk through the whole train to get to their car.  When I found my seat, it was with two ladies who had reserved the bottom bunks.  I had one of the top bunks, and the other was not taken.  The car has two "side" bunks opposite the aisle, and two men sat there, too.

Two concerns arose during the evening--both critical for me.  First, the train was headed northward, but Odesa is south of there.  I became afraid that I had gotten on the wrong train.  My seat number seemed right and no one else was trying to occupy it, but the opposite seat (for the other upper bunk was vacant, so that was no assurance I was on the right train.  After a few minutes when the train did not curve southward, I asked, "Odesa?"  People around me shook their heads which made me think I was okay.  But after a while, I began to wonder:  Did the train START in Odesa?  Maybe that was what they were indicating.

After just over two hours of heading north, I was becoming more worried.  While at a station, I turned on my phone to let GPS tell me where we were.  We were in Lviv!!  I asked again, "Odesa?"  One of the women spoke in halting English, "Yes, this train goes to Odesa."  That solved one problem, but then...

Suddenly one of the men said something.  They all rushed to turn on their phones.  They all had a worried look on their faces.  Then the one who spoke English said, "Putin is in Kharkiv."  That threw me for a loop, because Kharkiv is near the border, but far north of where the fighting has been.  But even moreso, I thought immediately, "How am I going to get to Georgia?  My flight to Georgia, the only one I could find and book, is from Kiev to Kharkiv to Batumi."  I barely had time for that thought, when the woman said, "Ukraine is at war!"  And some of the men were standing and turning with a worried look on their faces.  I spent the rest of the night wondering about things:

1.  Will my airline still fly me to Georgia by some other route?
2.  Do they have an office in Odesa where I can talk to them?
3.  Is a war situation one of those cases where they tell you it is not their responsibility?
4.  What can I do?  Other airlines were booked for Batumi.  I already have an apartment reserved in Batumi; does it have liberal or strict cancellation rules?  Can I rebook my return to the US to leave from Kiev; I think it is possible with a fee of $100-150?  Or could I book a ticket that would take me directly to Armenia and bypass going to Georgia?

All of that was on my mind during the night.

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The ladies gave me some breakfast on the train--a piece of brown bread and a piece for fried steak.  Along with it, they gave me a small glass of a cherry-flavored liqueur.  It was just as I've seen in the movies with trains in Ukraine and Russia!!  Then the lady who speaks some English said, "I hope when you return home you will help start a conversation for Obama and the people there to understand that we want our freedom and that we need some support."

We arrived in Odesa on time at 9:30, and Georgii, a friend of the owner of the apartment I have rented, met me at the train station.  Unfortunately, he had booked a taxi to go only 6 blocks which cost me enough money to buy a nice meal (even though my communication had said I would prefer to walk).  The apartment is just as it looked on the Internet.

My first concern was to get onto the computer and read the news to help me decide what I need to do about my trip.  There are a few news items about Kharkiv, but none of them involve an invasion by the Russians.  There was one about them capturing a terrorist cell there.  There was another about the citizens wanting to recall the Russian-leaning mayor of the city.  All indications, however, are that Kharkiv is still far from the fighting.  The report they got last night was either in error, or they panicked and thought it was more than the situation actually was.  What a relief for me.  So far, my trip can continue as planned with 3 days here and 5 days in Kiev followed by my flight (via Kharkiv) to Batumi in Georgia on the 12th!!!

After that, my first order of local business today was to go to the bank to exchange money.  A surprisingly large cost for my train ticket I bought yesterday to get me from here to Kiev on Sunday plus the unexpected taxi cost today left me with only 53 UAH (about $4).  I made a big miscalculation the first day thinking that the local currency would continue to decrease in value each day.  Instead, it has increased in value every day.  It seemed that a currency ought to go DOWN when a country as large and strong as Russia is threatening them with war!!  Anyway, today I got the least amount for my money so far.  Since I only have 8 days left here in the country, I was careful not to exchange too much, though.  If I need to, I can exchange another 10-20 Euros next week, but my train ticket is bought and my apartment in Kiev will be charged.  I will only have incidental and food expenses.  What I have should be enough to get me at least through the weekend and maybe all the way to my departure for Georgia.

After that, I did some exploring of Odesa.  It has surprised me so far.  First, it is so much bigger than I expected.  Second, it is not as poor as I expected.  Third, the streets forming the center of the city are arranged in a grid pattern which is far from usual in this part of the world. 

I observed lots of work being done and found some very unique buildings.  One looks like it must have had a theater inside, but it seems it also seems to consist of opulent apartments.  Another was an oval-shaped building that probably was for shops facing outward, but now the outer walls are still there and a 4-story mall has been built within them.  One very elaborate building has apparently been a galleria-style shopping area (also here) for many years. 

This being about the only Black Sea port remaining since the Crimea was taking from Ukraine by Russia recently, the city is full of sailors.  They have very nice uniforms.  Some of the guys even have a blue baseball-style cap to match their blue pants and blue-and-white-stripped shirts.  The women have a blue mini-skirt as part of their uniforms.  (Unfortunately, I couldn't find any of the uniforms on the Internet.)

Having not slept well on the train with its shaking, stopping, etc., and having dealt with my worries about being able to complete my planned trip during the night, I was already tired today.  But it is also warm here, so being out in the heat is also tiring.  By 15:30, I stopped at the supermarket and bought food to bring home for dinner and for breakfasts and returned to the apartment.  I will just relax the rest of this evening and will get a good night of sleep, I hope.