London is so easy and relaxing

On Monday, after the police ordeal I discussed in the last post, I continued on through the park to the Caves Monastary. The Monastary is split between the Upper Lavra and Lower Lavra. I went through the upper section to see the religious sights. I went in to a couple of museums as well. The one containing Ukrainian folk art was pretty memorable. Next, I went down to the lower section to go in the crypts themselves. I walked down the stairs with dozens of of worshippers holding candles. I was supposed to buy a candle as I was the only person without one. I had to walk behind other people just so I could see my way. There were a whole bunch of caskets and sarchophaguses with Ukrainian religious figures in them. Every person was praying and kissing the tombs. A lot of the people buried there were monks. It was a very unique experience. I continued on to the WWII museum, yet arrived there too late to go inside (I blame the cops for the delay). It was interesting to walk around outside, however, as there were lots of tanks, artillery, monuments, and a helicopter. Also, a massive Soviet metal monument is there. It is a woman over 100 meters tall, my guide book says people call her 'tin tits'. Yulia hadn't heard that before and thought it was hilarious. I think normally you can climb inside her but she was closed for renovations. I cooked dinner again for Yulia, Japanese food.

On Tuesday I got on the metro to find the Chornobyl Museum. It took an hour to find off the metro which was kind of frustrating. Even when I know the street names I am looking for, they are very rarely posted anywhere and I can't understand the letters. I really should have gotten a map in Ukrainian, oh well. The museum was really cool. It had all sorts of artifacts and peoples' stories of the disaster. There were recreations of the power plant and simulations of the explosion. I really wish I could have gone to Chornobyl itself, but you can only go on guided tours which don't run very often. The area is about 2-3 hours north of Kyiv. The contaminated area reached the outskirts of the city but fortunately no person in Kyiv received radiation poisoning. The stories of the people working at the plant at the time were really fascinating. It was also interesting to read the Soviet newspapers at the time. All they mentioned was a two sentence statement about an accident at the plant in the paper one full week after the incident. I went to see the main university in the city, but they wouldn't let me go inside. I walked through the botanical gardens nearby, then to another beautiful church. After that was the Russian art museum. Most of the art was really cool, it was nice to see very different art than what I have been used to these last few months. It was also the premier of a new exhibit of interesting modern Russian art, so the place was packed with people. I met up with Yulia later on in the evening for a live organ and chamber music concert. There were lots of different performances and it was very enjoyable. I cooked Yulia pork chops and mashed potatoes when we got home.

On Wednesday morning, Yulia took me on the metro out to a bus stop. I got on the bus to Odessa, about 5 hours south of Kyiv on the Black Sea. I arrived and met Masha (nickname for Maria), who is Yulia's friend she asked to show me around. Masha was really nice to come meet up with me and take me around town. We walked through the main sights in the city center. We saw the main walking boulevard and the beautiful opera house. We headed down to the port and strolled along the water. We took a funicular to get back up the hill. Afterwards, we went back to Masha's flat for me to unload my daypack. I met Masha's husband, Vova (not sure how to spell that, nickname for Volodymyr). He is a really cool guy and we got along great. Both of them spoke English well. They have a fantastic apartment in a really massive 20 story building similar to Yulia's. Vova stayed in for the evening, while Masha and I headed out to meet up with her friend. We went to a cool underground bar until her friend showed up. The three of us listened to some live jazz music and had a few drinks. We got in a cab and were dropped off on a very dark residential looking street. I was really confused until they pointed towards this cellar door. We walked down some stairs and found another really cool bar. It amazes me that none of the places have signs or even names it seems. The three of us enjoyed champagne, sushi, and backgammon while sitting on pillows with our shoes off. A strange combination, but lots of fun! We had a blast and Masha and I didn't make it home until very late.

On Thursday, after sleeping in of course, Masha and I walked down to the beach. It was a nice walk from her flat down to the water. Unfortunately my first view of the water involved some old dude stripping down and jumping in naked. But aside from that, the Black Sea is really incredible and the beach was great. The water is incredible clear despite the name and not even that cold given the time of year. We walked along till we got to the dolphin aquarium. We didn't spot any wild dolphins off the coast which are seen sometimes. So we decided to go see the dolphin show. I felt like a little kid watching the show. There were 4 dolphins doing some really cool tricks. We grabbed some dinner as we walked back to Masha's place. I also stopped at the supermarket to pick up some snacks for the road. I grabbed my things and Masha and Vova went with me to the bus station. I really enjoyed meeting both of them and hope that I see them again in their European travels. I bussed back to Kyiv and arrived around midnight. I got on one of the local busses and hoped it would go to a metro stop. Luckily it did, but the metro stop was closed. They don't usually close till later, but now I was in a dillemma. I got on a different bus that listed some metro stops in the window. After 10 mins or so, I was pretty sure I was not heading into the city. I called Yulia and she told me to just get off so we could figure out where I was. It took quite awhile, but we decided the best way for me to get home was to have her talk to somebody. So I walked up to random people on the street and asked for help as I handed them the cell phone. Needless to say, the first two people just stared at me like I was crazy. Yet the next guy and girl I walked up to decided to grab the phone and see what I was talking about. They explained to Yulia where I was, which was out in the burbs somewhere on the wrong side of town. She arranged for them to explain to a cab driver how to get me home. I eventually did get home, spending the last of my hrvynias, about 5 euros for the 45 minute ride. I felt really helpless which is not a good feeling. Though I am definitely grateful for Yulia and don't know how I would have survived without that cell phone she let me borrow. She had dinner waiting when I got back as well.

Friday was my day to leave Kyiv and Ukraine. I asked Yulia how I should get to the airport, and she said she was coming with me. For work, she has a car and driver she can call pretty much anytime, very cool! We hopped in the black sedan and were escorted an hour away right to the airport. Another painless airport experience and a few hour flight got me to London. I think I must have forgotten how ridiculously easy it is to get around in London. I got out of the airport and there were signs and English-speaking people everywhere ready to help! It felt almost too easy! I got the bus into town, bought a weeklong metro card, and found Cameron's flat. He has a really cool place in an amazing location in the northeast part of central London. He lives with 4 other Aussies that are all really nice. I settled in, then headed out for a beer with Cam and Fathead (Tim). Their place is about a 5 minute walk from amazing nightlife with hundreds of young people roaming the streets. When we got back I set my sleeping bag up on the couch which is my current home. I also finally got a SIM card for the phone I have been carrying around. So if anyone needs to call me, the number is 0044 7760 875 321.

Saturday was Halloween! I spent the day taking care of some errands, exploring the neighborhood, then finding some things for my costume. I got black and white face paint because I was to be Uncle Fester from the Addam's Family. I'm not sure that I looked anything like him, but Cam (Frankenstein) shaved my head to try and pull the look off. The paint was the oily type which I soon found out does not dry. What a mistake, I had to be careful what my face touched the entire night. We went to a house party of one of Cam's friends. I met a bunch of fun people and we stayed at the party until it was starting to get light outside! I had a plan in mind to stay awake, but Cam bailed and got a few hours of sleep. I stayed up and hung out with a South African girl named Deborah. We met up with Cam at about 11 AM, yet she was too tired and headed home. Cam and I then proceeded on to The Church! This was the crazy party that is every Sunday in north London. I went to it back in July and having been raving to Cam about it though he still hadn't been. I made sure to wash all the oily paint off my face first. The Church was the same wild drunken debauchery that it was in my previous experience, though with it being post-Halloween, even more people wore costumes. I was really starting to crash around 2 or 3 PM, so I managed to make it back to Cam's place on my own. I fell asleep for a few hours, woke up and ate the communal dinner with Cam's roommates that they have almost every night. I fell back asleep at 9 PM and didn't wake up until 10 AM Monday morning. All in all, Halloween was fantastic!

Yesterday, Monday, I felt pretty good after sleeping so long. I took the Tube a couple of stops to the Museum of London. This covered the entire history of the city, from cavemen to the Romans to the monarchs. There was a whole lot to see but my favorite part was the exhibit on the Great Fire which destroyed basically the entire city in 1666. It still amazes me that so many museums in London are completely free to go to. I went grocery shopping in the afternoon and relaxed back at the flat. I hung out with the flatmates last night, we had another communal dinner.

Today I went to the Imperial War Museum, another free one. After sleeping in a bit and making breakfast, I didn't get there till noon. The place was really incredible, it covered WWI and WWII in great detail. There were tons of tanks, planes, and artillery, not to mention a German V2 rocket. There were so many exhibitions within the museum as well, on the Holocaust, genocide around the world, British Secret Service, war's affect on children, and more. I spent nearly 4 hours in the museum and didn't feel like I even saw it all. I had to get back because I had volunteered to cook dinner for everyone. I roasted a chicken along with stuffing, mashed potatoes, and corn. Everyone seemed to enjoy it so I might cook again this week.

Tomorrow I will do some more sightseeing, then hopefully meet up with a friend in the evening. One cool thing about London is that a lot of people I have met on my trip so far live here. There are at least a few people that I will see while I am here (besides Cam). I'm leaving for Krakow on Saturday and am really excited for it. After I get back to London, I plan on exploring some other English cities until I fly the 18th when I fly to Frankfurt and then Seattle. I'm also having a party to see all of my friends from home on the 21st at my mom's house which should be lots of fun! I can't believe tomorrow is the start of the 20th week of my trip!