The Borderland Chronicles

You’d think that, being as exhuasted as I was after two buses, a plane ride, a taxi and 34 hours of traveling, that I’d sleep in. But that’s a rare occasion for me, sleeping in. On my first morning in Prague I awoke before my girlfriend, a bit disoriented, but feeling all right. I liked her top-floor apartment. It was the filet of the building, really. The mid-century, post-war complex in the Zhizkov neighborhood was just outside of the tourist traps and a few blocks walk away from a number of parks. The kitchen and dining rooms were comfortable and spacious, and I often drank coffee perched on the windowsill with the windows swung open. I would be in Prague for 10 days – the first six with my girlfriend alone, the last three with my uncle and a longtime friend.

Having been to Prague before and seen most of the sights, my girlfriend and I opted to simply relax in the parks and beer gardens surrounding the city and stay clear of places like Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square, at least until the others arrived. At night we drank at quaint cafes and bars. Bukowski’s, in particular, I thought was a great spot.

Later in the week, when my uncle and friend arrived, we ended up doing a bit of the touristy thing. We visited the Prague Castle grounds, Old Town and Wenceslas Square, Vyšehrad and more. I imagine that once a upon a time this old city was as romantic as many people make it out to be. Unfortunately, rampant with tourists’ flashing cameras, it just doesn’t feel that way today. Except for maybe the cobbled, hilly streets of Zhizkov and other neighborhoods off the beaten path, I can’t say the city is as great as so many make it out to be. But that’s just my take on it. Honestly, I find Kiev to be much more interesting and entertaining. But I’ll get to that part of the trip a bit later.

But a good time was had in Prague. Tourists aside, one can’t deny the beauty of Prague’s architecture. And we ended up finding an incredible asian-fusion restaurant called Sansho, which was recently opened by Chef Paul Day, formerly of Michelin-starred London restaurant NoBu. We also gorged ourselves with traditional Czech food – bread and potato dumplings, duck, sausage, red and white cabbage, as well as plenty of street food, including some fantastic potato chips.

The journey to Kiev was done in two steps. First, my uncle and I took an overnight train from Prague to Katowice. Much more comfortable – and faster – than the bus, I might add. From Katowice we flew to Kiev, where we checked into an apartment, thus beginning the second leg of the trip. My girlfriend and friend would follow suit a week later.

Posted in Kiev, Prague, Travel |

Posted in Prague, Travel |

I left Artemovsk June 9, on my way to Prague. In an attempt to save a bit of cash I opted for the longer but cheaper route there. The first leg of the trip was by bus. Leaving Artemovsk in the afternoon, the bus bounced and glided over the vast Ukrainian steppe, passing fields of grass and sunflowers all along the way, visible to the horizon and then disappearing. For thirteen hours I stared out the window. I cherished each rest stop we came to – Krasne Liman, Izyum, Kharkov, many unknown places with nothing around other than a toilet and a kiosk selling cold beer, warm water and chips. I arrived in Kiev at 4:30 a.m., and found a taxi to take me to the airport.

The driver was more than pleased to help out a Russian-speaking American. Elated, he asked the usual questions – Where are you from? What are you doing here? Do you like Ukraine? Do you like our women? – and then we had a conversation about the media situation in Ukraine. He’d asked me about my profession in America, and I’d told him I was a journalist. Upon hearing that, with his hand, he gestured a slice of the neck, making a sound with the corners of his mouth. The media in Ukraine is too heavily influenced by the government, he said. And those journalists that refuse to concede to government influence get whacked, he said. After insisting on helping me with my bags inside the terminal he shook my hand, wished me luck, and then we parted ways. I waited there for five hours before boarding my flight to Katowice.

In Katowice I had to make my way from the airport terminal to a bus station somewhere near the city center. I befriended a bus driver who told me his route would take me near to where I needed to go, and that when we were approaching that area he’d make a special stop for me and point me in the right direction. It worked, and I made it to my bus in time.

From Katowice I was to ride eight hours to Prague, and by nightfall I’d be at my girlfriend’s apartment, clean with a belly full of food and beer. Unfortunately, it took a bit longer – about five hours longer. Most of the ride was smooth sailing, without any hitches. In fact, the Polish countryside was gorgeous. Trees and fields, rolling hills and quaint cottages lined the rural roads. But just before crossing the border into the Czech Republic the bus was stopped by border guards. Uniformed men came on board to check each passengers passports. A couple of young Ukrainian men sitting near me seemed nervous. They made eyes at each other repeatedly, rolling and flipping their passports in their hands. When the guards reached my section of the bus I handed over my passport. He examined it for a moment, asked me something in Polish, which I didn’t understand, then passed my passport to a guard behind him, who had a stack of more than a dozen of the passengers’ passports in his hands. They took the two Ukrainian’s passports, too. I wasn’t sure why the men were so nervous, perhaps their papers weren’t up to par. I just hoped the guards wouldn’t think I was traveling with them, because I had multiple Ukrainian stamps inside my passport, and I was seated between them. Nearly three nerve-racking hours passed before they returned with the passports. A few questions were asked to the Ukrainians, as well as a handful of other passengers, before we were let on our way. The anxiousness didn’t go away after that. It was dark and late – almost 11 p.m. – and I’d been traveling almost without sleep for more than a day, but I couldn’t shut my eyes. I was supposed to arrive two hours earlier in Prague, and my girlfriend had been waiting since then, I was sure. Without phone service I was unable to contact her. So when we rolled into the city just after 1 a.m. I wasn’t sure if she’d still be there, or if I’d have to make it to her place on my own. Luckily, she was there. And the bus arrived just in time, because the gates to the station would close just a few minutes later.

Posted in Kiev, Media, Prague, Public Transportation, Russian, Travel, Ukraine |

Next wednesday I’ll depart on a five-week excursion through Katowice, Prague, Kiev, Chernobyl, Odessa and Artemovsk, meeting my girlfriend, my uncle and a very close, long-time friend along the way. There will be buses, trains and planes. There will be museums, castles and cobbled streets, as well as food, beer, vodka, underground champagne factories and salt mines. Along the way I’ll be snapping photos and taking note of the places and people we encounter. And then, upon returning to Artemovsk sometime in July, I’ll report here on what all was experienced.

I’m writing this now to simply ask that you excuse my brief absence from the blogosphere. There will probably be a time or two in which I check my email, but other than those times I’m going to do my best to spend the days and nights unconnected to this wired world and instead step out into the physical one.

Until July, all the best.

Posted in Artemovsk, Chernobyl, Culture, Food, History, Holidays, Kiev, Life, Packing, Prague, Public Transportation, Travel, Ukraine |

Bri and I made another movie.

Posted in Culture, Holidays, It's Cold!, Prague, Travel |

As most of you know, I spent two weeks in Prague over Christmas and New Years. I’ve updated you on some things already, but in case you wanted more, here it is.

New Years Eve was a wild time. Unfortunately, the large-scale fireworks were cancelled because of the city’s budget woes (or, so I heard). But, as usual, and with little concern for passers-by, people lit fireworks in the streets and city squares, back alleys and even out windows. After a tasty traditional Czech meal of red and white cabbage, venison sausage, beef tenderloin and bread and potato dumplings at a quaint pub around the way, my girlfriend and I returned to her Žižkov apartment to partake in a party hosted by her French roommate. About a dozen French students, as well as the other roommate, a 28-year-old from Slovakia, that roommate’s sister and friend, along with the two of us, shared whiskey, wine, beer, multiple hors d’oeuvres and baked treats. Just before midnight, my girlfriend and I made our way to another party at a apartment up the hill. There, we met some of my girlfriend’s expat friends, along with a couple Czechs and others. These sort of cultural patchwork celebrations are typical when living outside of the states. Three years ago I spent Christmas in Amsterdam with a group of Americans, Brits, Greeks, Italians and Dutch, and New Years in London. I’ll add that these holidays I’ve spent away have certainly been the most entertaining and unpredictable. I’m not sure what time we made it back to my girlfriend’s apartment, but it’s safe to say it was early morning.

The next day was slow-going, and I can’t recall with any certainty what we did. Oh, now I remember. We went to a fascinating art exhibit called Decandence Now! (Yes, with exclamation point. *It’s only January, you think I’d use the one exclamation point I’m allotted this early in the year? [*I had an editor at a job a couple years back who told me writers should be granted just one exclamation point each year, so choose wisely]) Artists such as the famous and controversial Czech artist, David Černý had works on display. I mention him first, because his “Dead Raped Woman” and “Jesus Christ” 1:1 scale punch-out sculptures were among my favorites there. Plenty of racy nude paintings were on display, too, including a few pieces by David LaChapelle. But the rest of the time I spent in Prague was much more relaxing. We’d had enough of running around getting caught in tourist traps; that had been done. Instead, we spent time discovering the neighborhood of Žižkov, catching up with one another, drinking Czech lager in darkened basement pubs and even doing a bit a karaoke.

Wait, I almost forgot. We spent the last day in nearby Kutna Hora. There, we visited the famous Sedlec Ossuary, also known as The Bone Church, its interior decorated with the bones of more than 40,000 people, and the gorgeous St. Barbara’s Cathedral, which is poised atop a hill overlooking the city. As it goes, Kutna Hora was once a big player in the silver game and a contender in the race to become the region’s premier city. It was once home to the official coin of Europe, as well as a member of the Wenceslas royal family. But when the silver mines dried up, so did much of its acclaim. Today, visitors enjoy the quaint tourist destination in much the same way we did, strolling through its churches and cobbled streets, sipping hot wine at local cafes.

The city of Prague really is exciting and beautiful. With it’s museums, non-stop bars and nightclubs, swanky modern architecture and cafes juxtaposed with art nouveau, cubism and ancient castles, the city of a hundred spires made a lasting impression on me. And this is why I was sad to leave it and my girlfriend (the latter only for the time being). What made my leaving worse was that, upon my arrival in Ukraine, I was met with a new foot of snow on the ground and more coming down from the sky. The temperature was ten degrees colder than where I’d come from and I still had a 13-hour train ride and 50-minute bus ride to endure before making it back to my eastern Ukrainian city.

Posted in Culture, Holidays, It's Cold!, Prague, Travel |

1. I’ve eaten my fair share of carp in Ukraine. Fried, boiled, flattened and salted – you name it, I’ve eaten it.

2. I didn’t want to watch it be clubbed and butchered in the town square, and then carry it on the tram back to Bri’s apartment.

3. Purchasing it alive and keeping it in the bathtub till it came time to kill and cook it would just be odd. I’ve had carp kept alive in my tub before while living in Ukraine. I never felt fully clean after bathing in that tub from then on. Plus, in this scenario I’d have had to do the clubbing and butchering.

4. If clubbing a carp can make Chuck Norris pass out, there’s a damn good chance I’d do the same. After all, he’s Chuck Norris. Enough said.

Posted in Culture, Food, Holidays, Prague, Television, Travel |

I left Artemovsk on a blustery Tuesday afternoon. It was Dec. 21, and the first of many legs of my journey to Prague. The last afternoon bus from the main station brought me 25 km west to konstantinovka, where I spent three hours with my PCV pal Ben, drinking beer and cooking a chicken dinner. Ben’s always willing to put me up for a few hours before my train leaves from the city’s station at 8:18 p.m. (Cheers to your hospitality, pal!).

On the train I found my wagon nearly empty, an oddity if you consider that usually people are crammed in like sardines and left to either freeze (more often than not the windows won’t be sealed shut, allowing the winter’s cold to slip in) or overheat (In the off case you find yourself in a wagon in which window seals are up to code, you’ll most certainly be wishing you hadn’t, as the thermostat seems not to have an OFF setting). My bunk partner, an older woman in her 50s, proved great company. Not only did she speak English, but Russian, Ukrainian, Swedish and some Dutch. We chatted in the morning before arriving in Kiev, and she told me about her daughter, who dances in the Imperial Russian Ballet Company, and of her expat life with her new husband in Sweden. She’d been in Donestk – her hometown – visiting her ailing father. He didn’t have much time left, she said. This would most likely be the last time she’d see him, she said. I helped carry her bags and showed her to the bus station, then I went on my way.

I spent the morning and early afternoon in Kiev, mostly warming myself inside the Peace Corps Ukraine headquarters, before I began my second leg of the journey, a trip to Obukhov to visit my former Ukrainian host family.

Two metro lines and a marshrutka ride later, I arrived in Obukhov, the place where I spent the first two months of my time in country. I really enjoy my host family, Viktor, Tanya, Lyosha and Lena. Though Lyosha has joined the Ukrainian army and wasn’t able to be home, I spent that evening with the other three. I also met the babushka – Tanya’s mother – who’d come in a month earlier from Russia. She’d made borsch and galupsi, which she nearly force-fed me the moment I walked through the door. Lovely people, these Ukrainians.

In the morning I rode the marshrutka and metro with Viktor into Kiev. We parted below ground before I made my way to the bus that would take me to Boryspil airport. I was pleasantly surprised how quickly and efficiently I passed through security and customs. The new Terminal F is great. The only setback was the captain’s news that we’d be sitting on the tarmac for an hour before we’d be able to fly to Vienna, where I’d connect to Prague. Thick fog and snow had stalled and even cancelled many flights. I was lucky to only be delayed. Two and one-half hours later, I arrived in Vienna. My connecting flight had also been delayed. There were no problems. I pushed on to Prague, where I found Bri waiting for me outside the terminal.

Bri recently moved into a new flat, which she shares with a Slovak girl and a French girl. It’s a spacious, fantastic place far enough outside the city center to avoid the rampant tourists, but close enough in to get everywhere by foot or tram in just a matter of minutes. The neighborhood is called Zizhkov.

The first full day I was here, Bri and I, along with her friend Nikki and Nikki’s boyfriend Gleb, took a train to Dresden, Germany to visit its famous Christmas Market. We were not disappointed. The traditional roast beasts and bratwurst were excellent. There was plenty of snow on the ground and even more coming down on us, but the hot wine helped keep our spirits up. We enjoyed an eight-hour jaunt around the city before returning to Prague.

Christmas Day had us preparing food for about a dozen guests – expat friends of Bri’s. They arrived in the evening and didn’t leave till about 2 a.m. We had a potluck, with every type of dish and food group represented. The wine never stopped flowing. There was dancing, singing and more.

Since then, Bri and I have been through nearly half the city’s neighborhoods, hunting for churches, gravestones, a dancing building, cubist architecture, and an array of statues. There was a night of karaoke, and there will be another next Monday. New Years Eve should be a wild time. We’re going to join the street hooligans that toss fireworks aimlessly in the streets of old town Prague, then, from the Charles Bridge, watch the larger ones shot into the sky. There’s rumor of a party at Bri’s, but no word on whether that’ll happen for sure.

About this city, I’ll say this: It’s gorgeous, vibrant, diverse and unpredictable. There’s a wonderful blend of the old and the new, which fits seamlessly together. From what I’ve observed, the city is accepting of all sorts of people from all sorts of places. I must have overheard a dozen languages being spoken today alone, and not just from tourists. At the moment, I’m cozied up in a quaint, modern cafe around the corner from Bri’s apartment, sitting next to a frosty window at a small wooden table. Outside, snow and ice coat the sidewalks and lie in between the ruts of cobbled streets. I’m warm for now, but I know the cold will nip at any exposed skin on the walk home. Today was warmer than yesterday by about three degrees. Still, it’s just 26°F at 5 p.m.

Tonight we’re staying in and making dinner. Not sure what’s on the menu. But after all the walking Bri and I’ve been doing, it’ll be a welcomed break. There’s more to come soon, as I’ve still got eight days before I fly back to Ukraine. If you’re interested in viewing some photos of my time here thus far, you can see them over at flickr.

Posted in Artemovsk, Culture, Encounters, Food, It's Cold!, Kiev, Konstantinovka, Prague, Travel, Ukraine |