So I apologize but life is so crazy busy right now and it seems that just when it might calm down something else needs to be taken care of. Weekends I just feel like vegging but tonight I have a little time and want to finally post the last of our pictures from our trip. First, the actual mileage from our trip.
The total time of travel for our trip when it was to be eight days was 19 hours 46 minutes. Our actual time was 19 hours 52 minutes at least according to google maps but if you add in the potholes we had to avoid and the swerving we had to do and the bumpy roads that slowed us down – perhaps another half of that time was actually spent in driving on our six day trip minus one city. The mileage was supposed to be 755 miles but without the extra city and having to travel back to Dnipro instead it was 739.7 miles, again according to google maps and going as the crow flies. One funny thing happened on the way home and I thought of a favorite movie. At one point we turned off a very busy road and went on a dirt road for a while and then on a paved road the led to a four lane paved road with almost no cars on it. Alex called it a “shortcut to the shortcut.” In Holiday Inn the driver for the Inn takes Miss Linda on a short cut and then on a shortcut to the shortcut. I had to chuckle when I thought of that. I don’t know if it was shorter or not but it was a very nice drive compared to most of the roads we were on.
So here are some pictures from the rest of our trip.
In Poltava we stayed at the Palazzo Hotel. A really old but very nice hotel in downtown Poltava.
Here is the entry in our room in the Palazzo
And the sitting room with the long bench we put our suitcases on.
The windows out to our balcony – we had a room at the corner (like the front of that building view of the hotel) so we could see in many directions
Our TV (like we could understand anything they would say on it) – no we didn’t turn it on – and another opening out to our balcony.
Our bed and desk and more windows.
View of Poltava from our balcony – more views follow
Our little balcony
Hotel Lobby. that door goes into the dining room
Palazzo Hotel Dining Room – not my picture although it was not very crowded when we were there.
We had dinner in the Hotel Dining room as we were all very tired. Some were not so impressed but I had Roasted Trout Ratatouille and it was delicious. The trout was so tender and one free and the vegetables were done perfectly. Then off to bed for some rest. The next morning we headed to the Poltava Church. The have a lovely two story building downtown Poltava. We were set on the second floor for blessings and again I was at the top of the stairs but this time it was not cold.
Elder Rodgerson and Elder Hubbard studying at the bottom of the stairs.
At the end of our day we were off to Kremenchuk but not without dinner at the Tau Asian Restaurant. The missionaries live above this restaurant and that must be hard and the aroma is delightful. I had a sweet and sour chicken and vegetables with noodles. It was excellent. Everyone said their meals were excellent as well. We would definitely go to this restaurant again.
Tau Restaurant – Poltava
A table in the Tau Restaurant
It seemed to take forever to get to Kremenchuk because of the traffic and the bad roads but finally we got to our hotel – Kremenchuk Hotel Europeyskiy. At first I was not impressed but once inside – well it is another “more than we would ever choose” hotel.
A picture I found on line of the hotel but this is not what we saw as the entrance in not on this side.
Entry complete with a bench to store your shoes under (and slippers to put on) and polish to polish your shoes before you put them back on. The mirror is nice to have so you can be sure you look good before you leave your room – the entrance/exit door is on the left.
To the right of the mirror is the this door. To the ….
Half bath for guests.
Turning around from the mirror is the door into the parlor complete with refrigerator (this hotel charges for water bottles – Aleks knew this so we brought our own in) but they are chilled in the refrigerator for your guests.. Then you go on through the next door and ….
Here is the bedroom with a large king sized bed. – the door straight ahead is to the “master” bathroom.
A view of the bedroom from the bathroom.
When you enter the bathroom you see a corner shower and sink and to the right of the sink a bidet.
The a toilet and a large corner bathtub. We took showers.
We took time to use the “ironing room” and iron the tablecloth for the patriarch’s table before heading to bed for a good night’s rest. We had breakfast downstairs in the dining room and were glad for Aleks explaining the menu because unlike other places it was only in Ukrainian.
Dining Room in the Hotel where we had breakfast. You get a menu but you order one thing and that determines what else you get. I ordered oatmeal and got yogurt and a roll with apricot jam.
The next morning it had “wetted” and I thought the ground was just wet but Aleks assured us it was very very icy. I learned that the hard way as I slid on a step and landed hard – mostly on my padded bottom. I was achy for a while but it didn’t last. When we got to the Kremenchuk chapel (a small basement chapel – very nice but very small) Aleks and Elder Morgenegg were careful to assure that Elder Neuenschwander and I were safely inside. Later the ice had all melted and it was fine for walking and driving.
We headed back to Dnipro for a warm meal and a good night’s rest but as we neared Dnipro Sister Sullivan called and warned us that there was an ice storm and that all the transportation in and out of Dnipro was stopped so there were missionaries that had come in for meetings that were not stranded. She said to be careful and for Aleks to call when he got to the Mission Home so President could come down and help Elder Neuenschwander walk in.
Aleks took Elder Morgenegg and I home first and when he and Elder Morgenegg got out they told me to wait as the area outside our complex was a sheet of ice. Once we got into our complex though it was fine. We were so happy to be home in our nice comfortable warm apartment. We did go out to get milk so we could make pancakes for dinner but the market is a very short walk and soon we were inside for the night.
A funny aside. We went to the office the next morning and when the missionaries that had covered for me while we were gone came in Elder Gerasimov gave me a big hug “You’re back. I am so glad you are back!” Elder Eliason, who had the bulk of the responsibility, shook my hand firmly and said I am SOOO happy to see you. It is nice to have a little “vacation” but also nice to be welcomed home and missed.
All in all it was a great trip and we are so glad we were able to go and to have had the wonderful spiritual experiences we had as well as to be treated to great food and good company.