Not kidnapped

Kyiv, Friday, April 20th

I am not sure if I mentioned that we are travelling with 6 suitcases, each weighing between 20 to 23kg! This creates a taxi problem. Again from our hotel, they had to call for a van. Off to the airport. First, the girl at the Czech Air counter looked at our suitcases 4 to check and 2 to carry-on and said that our ticket was only for one checked suitcases. Czech Air code shares with AeroSvit to Kyiv, so she sent us the AeroSvit counter to pay for excess baggage. The girl at AeroSvit, looked the note, looked at me (I smile a lot) and wrote "please pass", stamped it and sent us back. No problem, and the young lady from Czech Air was nice, but following the rules.

Up we go to the bording gate, where unsuspecting travellers are coming from the duty free shop to security where they promptly confiscate their booze! At security, I ended up ahead of Gail by one person. In my carryon were all my meds - a month's supply, all in original packaging which is a requirement, while Gail had pretty much as much of first aid supplies, toilettries and generic meds for anything from allergies to diarhia. The young lady at security looked at Gail at the carryon and asked if she was with me (who was already putting everything back together) and when she answered yes, she just smiled and passed it thru.

Anyway, onto the plane and a delay of about half an hour while they check something - the pilot announces that he isn't going anywhere till they do, the implication being that if anyone else wants to fly - go ahead! Anyway, water and juice are passed around as well as newspapers - anyone travel Air Canada lately? The pilot announces that we are cleared and off we go.

We land in Kyiv, are met by our driver and taken to our apartment. It is 40km or so from the airport, but because of the traffic caused by all the constitutional protests, the streets are jammed and it takes us about an hour of going in circles avoiding the blockades and marching protesters. We finally pull up to an old Soviet style apartment - the kind you see in spy movies or where there are drug deals going down. However it does have a security system. I go with the driver and we are met by the manager at the door. I figure hey, it's got to get better right? The door opens and all I can see is the dimly lit lights, confirming that this is obviously a drug den. Open stair cases, elevator between floors, the size of a phone booth. I am quite anxious by now.

The door to the apartment opens and it is quite nice and large, all new appliances, great bathroom and now, to get Gail and the luggage! She is certainly apprehensive, but brightens up once we get to the apartment. We settle in and go to find something to eat. It has started to rain. We walk to what looks like a main street, the rain intensifies. There is nothing - well, except for a KyivStar office where we buy a sim chip for our phone. I think the only time in our marriage that Gail has gone into a "toy store" voluntarily. Must remember to take Gail shopping during sou'westers! We ask about a place to eat and they say there is really nothing except a very expensive restaurant across the street and a pub somewhere, but the directions were complicated and in Russian. I should have mentioned that by this time, I had been asked if I spoke Russian at least eight times. I felt like saying why, I'm in Ukraiina! I bit my tongue. Gail was proud of me! Hey, we were at the mercy of these people.

Anyway, back to the street. We walked in the by now pouring rain for about 750 metres or more, nothing! Back to the KyivStar store, next to which there was a corner store and we bought fixings for a dinner and breakfast. We had a foreboding of dying of hunger in Kyiv!