My Adventures Where in the world is ….

December 15, 2017

A delayed post – the rest of our Trip with the Patriarch

Filed under: Adventures Intro,Our House — admin @ 12:29 pm

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.

 

 

December 2, 2017

A Trip Around the Ukraine with Elder Neuenschwander

Filed under: Adventures Intro,Our House — admin @ 12:20 pm

A map of our mission with the original tour shown in red.

November 24 – November 30 2017

So this is the original tour we were going on.  However, Elder Neuenschwander needed a rest day so instead of going to Krivoy Rog we headed home after a day in Kremenchug.  So instead of coming home on Friday we were home Wednesday night – to an ice storm.  In fact that morning as we left the hotel I took a fall when I stepped off the prepared path – icy is an understatement and from then on we worried about Elder Neuenschwander falling.  During the day it warmed up and we left just fine that afternoon and the roads were fine until we got closer to Dnepropetrovsk.  Then when I stepped out of the van Aleks said be very careful and Elder Morgenegg was right there to guide me to safety.  Interestingly in our complex the walkways and roads were mostly fine.  We had to go out to get milk and had to be careful where we walked when we left our development – fortunately the little market is just outside our complex so a short walk and then home to pancakes for dinner.  It was so good to be home but then I am getting ahead of myself and giving you the end before the beginning.

Except for the first day most of our traveling was when it was dark so not many pictures of the cities we were in so enjoy what little I have.

 

 

November 24 to November 27 2017.  From Dnepropetrovsk to Kharkov and then on to Sumy for three days.

We left our apartment about 10 in the morning to drive the three hours to Kharkov where we went in October for the special meeting with Elder Kearon.

Houses not apartment buildings.

We soon were seeing actual houses something we don’t see in our little world.  Interesting thing here is that all the houses are surrounded by walls – brick, stone or other.  Later we saw some with fences but mostly they have walls.  I think perhaps it is for privacy but I don’t know.

Some more houses.  They seem to be close together but fenced/walled in.

Fields with houses in the distance.

Looks like a nice house out there in the field.

The sign just by the mirror says Kharkov in English and Ukrainian – the Ukrainian is with an i. Russian has no i.

Snow left from our first snow. Aleks says they get more snow in Kharkov than further north in Sumy. Interesting.

It is a little hard to see but these are very modern homes not unlike we might see in the States.

For some reason I am having trouble getting pictures to be side by side so I am just putting them in a string for here on.  Sorry if that makes this very long.

A closer look at some more modern homes. After seeing so much older construction it was surprising.

Welcome to Kharkov!

Oh there are the apartment buildings.

There was this beautiful church in the background but look at the sign in the front.  If you cannot read it it says “PORSCHE.”  Ukrainians like fancy cars.  In fact across the street there was a “dealer” of “Classy Cars.”

Ykr Bank and the exchange rate of the day.

Very ornate details on the building.

Shop for 30% off today.

Shafran Hotel in Sumy Ukraine

Driving from Dnepropetrovsk to Kharkov was mostly on four lane highways like home – all in very good condition.  Driving from Kharkov to Sumy was a different story.  There were so many potholes that Aleks was weaving back and forth.  The road was sort of two lanes but it was so bad.  When there were no pot holes the road was like a washboard.  On occasion we would get a small section of smooth road and we all relaxed and then back to the pot holes and washboard.  It was so terrible.  We were exhausted and I know Aleks was as well.

When we finally arrived in Sumy we drove past our hotel and began to understand what President Sullivan meant when he said it was a little over the top.  The hotel they usually stay at is very noisy on weekends and Elder Neuenschwander needed a quiet room to rest in so we were booked here.  Before we checked in we went to eat at a Ukrainian restaurant the Aleks (our driver) recommended.  We are so glad we did as it was delicious and we all enjoyed our meals there.  The restaurant is Shalena Shkvarka and I had Borscht with pork and a delicious roll with a garlic topping and, of course, sour cream.  Then I had Vareni with potatoes and spices.  Aleks said the are best boiled but I had mine fried and it was so delicious.

Then off to check into our hotel and we saw that is was truly over the top in side as well.  Elder Morgenegg and I travel simply and although we have stayed in some very nice hotels and motels over the years and some very nice bed and breakfasts as well – we are simple and don’t need anything fancy especially when all we are going to do is sleep.  So here are some pictures of the hotel we stayed at.  It was actually quite nice to have this nice place to stay on Sunday afternoon when Elder Neuenschwander was resting and so did we.

Entrance into the suite part of our room.

More of the suite

Our huge bed.

Night from our balcony

Robes hanging in the bathroom.

Tube and shower. The only bad thing is the shower head hit about my shoulders. Interesting. But truly our only complaint.

Sink and mirror – toilet is to the right.

Desk to check in with stairs to the left. Unfortunately there was not an elevator and we were on the third floor and Elder Neuenschwander was on the fourth floor. But it was quite.

Out on our balcony you can see an apartment building near by.

Nest to it is a very nice brick home.

Two large homes with walls between and not much space.

This very fancy house was directly across from our room.

This house has a large and very fancy yard.

This guy is sitting in the front of the house.

A family walking between the hotel and the houses.

We spent Friday night relaxing after we had dinner and then we had a delicious buffet breakfast at the hotel before heading to the church for blessings.  As we were finishing we wanted to go back to the Ukrainian restaurant so Aleks called for reservations but they were booked solid so we went to the restaurant under the church for dinner.  It is called “Vin&Gret.”  Elder Morgenegg felt it was very overpriced and it was but I enjoyed my meal of pumpkin puree soup with greens and prosciutto and pasta with grilled chicken and mushrooms with a cheese sauce.  Then back to the hotel to relax.

Sunday morning we again had the buffet breakfast (which included some Ukrainian pastry, dumplings, sausage and beans as well as the standard fare of scrambled eggs.  There was also yogurt and dried fruit and some things we did not try.  One highlight for me was the bag of hot chocolate that Elder Neuenschwander had brought from home.  We both enjoyed it very much.  Then off to Church.  The branch is not large but the members are so friendly and were so happy we were there.  We really enjoyed visiting there.  Then as Elder Neuenschwander was so tired we headed back to the hotel so he could rest.

While we waited Elder Morgenegg and I decided to leave our room so they could clean it and so we took our books and kindles and went to the “Library” to have our Family Home Evening reading.  Here are some pictures of the library.

Entrance to the library

One wall of books

A very uncomfortable couch and more books

Another uncomfortable couch

More books

And more books. Elder Morgenegg said there was one English one – A guide to Windows.

Later, Aleks and Elder Morgenegg and I went to dinner at the Ukrainian restaurant again.  I had Borscht again – I do like it a lot.  Then I had dumplings with ground pork.  Then we all decided to have dessert – not because we were hungry but just because.  We had cherry vereniki – boiled not fired and oh my goodness it was so delicious.  Another absolutely delicious meal. Then we went back to the hotel to rest and relax and check our e-mail.

Monday morning we went to breakfast but on weekdays they have menus.  You order English, French or other from the menu.  I ordered French and got scrambled eggs, bacon, a croissant and two little apple dumplings.  I also have gained a taste for pomegranate juice and again hot chocolate.  Then off to to the church for more blessings.

When the day ended we headed off the Poltava on roads not as badly potholed but with construction and many washboard areas.  Not a very pleasant drive but we got there safely.  I am going to write about that in another post.

It has been so wonderful to get to know Aleks and Elder Neuenschwander on this trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 22, 2017

An incredible trip and a great meeting

Filed under: Adventures Intro,Our Mission — admin @ 6:39 am

On Sunday, October 15th, we traveled via a big bus to Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine.  It is three hours north and east of Dnepropetrovsk and most of they way it is just driving through the country.  It could have been anywhere in the US until you saw a sign in Russian (and often in English as well – it was so interesting to see somewhere we had not been before.  We have heard that going south is even different from this – perhaps sometime we will get to see that as well.  Please asked what we thought of Kharkiv – well, what we saw from the bus is just fine.  Also the Church building they have is very nice and much bigger than the one in Dnipro.

The missionaries were very well behaved – they had better have been as they had Sister Sullivan telling them how to behave and me reminding them before we got to Kharkiv and in fact when we got on the bus in Dnipro.

Here are some pictures I took on the drive up from the bus.  The passengers sit very high above the driver so we could clearly see out the front window.  Sorry they are a little blurry – it was raining and the bus ride was quite bumpy – bad roads abound.

Country side from front window.

From side window

Missionaries clustered in the back of the bus.

More countryside

The road goes on and on

Along the side of the road – lots of power lines

Dark fertile soil

I couldn’t get a clear picture but the sign points to the left to Kyiv and to the right to Kharkiv.

After passing the sign the traffic suddenly increased and continued to increase until we got to Kharkiv which is a very busy city.

And the same style buildings we have in Dnipro

Lots of traffic – here they often make their own lanes and their own rules.

I don’t know if you can read the back of this car but it clearly says “Mary Kay.” Mary Kay cosmetics are very popular here.

Once inside the Church Elder Bates began playing – he just went home this last week and he will be greatly missed as he can sit down and play anything – fortunately we have a couple of new missionaries ready to pick up where he left off. The Elder next to him is Elder Dinehart who is taking Elder Bates place as acting Branch President in on of our branches – he plays the violin and does so beautifully. He turned pages for Elder Bates.

Sister Busath and Sister Horne practicing the musical number they were going to sing a duet of “Come Thou Font of Every Blessing” and “If You Could Hie to Kolob” which was absolutely incredible – it had Elder Kearon in tears.

Before the meeting began we were told there would be a receiving line so we could all meet Elder Kearon, Elder Golden and Sister Golden.  We were to tell them our names and where we were from.

Elder Morgenegg and I with Elder Kearon. He took our hands and thanked us for being there – he said of the thousands of seniors who could come on missions we would be great blessed for being there and that he was so grateful for our service – something he repeated several times and spoke of again later when he was talking to all the missionaries. He made us feel very special. Having him hold our hands was electrifying.

So as on Sunday the 15th this was our entire mission with President and Sister Sullivan, Elder and Sister Golden and Elder Kearon. Then on Tuesday seven of these fine missionaries went home and between Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon fourteen more joined us.

After the meeting and a quick goodbye to all we reboarded the bus and headed back to Dnipro.  We left at about 11:30 am and returned about 10:30 pm.  It was a long day and by the time we took the tram and walked home it was after eleven pm – we were tired and glad the day was behind us.  The memories are very special and the Spirit was so very strong.

October 7, 2017

A cool Day – perfect for shopping and baking!

Filed under: Adventures Intro,Our Mission — admin @ 8:19 am

We started our Saturday a little late.  Elder Morgenegg needed a haircut and although we did not bring our hair cutting supplies our mission president’s wife supplied us with a set they had but did not use as President has a very chic haircut and his wife is just too busy to do it for him.  So I am back to cutting Elder Morgenegg’s hair – but it is not too bad and it is better than trying to find a barber that we could communicate with that would not butcher his hair – many of the missionaries sport butchered hair.

Then after showering we were off to the store.  We have a plan.  The carts are different sizes but the size we like to use allows Elder Morgenegg to mount our cart on the rail of the cart and then hold it on as he pushes the cart.  I just move along and put things in.  He is very patient as I pick and choose produce, meat, cheese and other things.  His main job is to remind me when we get close to capacity as our cart to carry home groceries does have a limit.  Mostly he just follows me around as I shop for what is on my list (and other things I think look good).  Sometimes he offers suggestions as well.

Today, I thought I would share what our cart looks like.  Here it is after we got home – it is full.

Our full cart – actually super full today as we had two large bags in it and a little.

Side view of our very full bag. We have bungee cords that we use to hold it all in.

When we come home we unload all the groceries and put them away.  Today I put them all on the counter so you could see what we bought today.

The size is not apparent but these two bags held all our groceries for today. They are bigger than the ones I have bought in the States.

All of this was in our two bags and in our one cart. It includes a 5 kg bag of flour, meat, milk, juice, cheese, eggs and so much more.

After we put them all away we folded up our cart for storage in our coat closet near the door ready for next week.  I actually keep one of the grocery bags in my bag that I carry to work.  It is what I use to carry mail in when I have a lot to carry like the last two weeks when I have filled it up and then some.  Here is our folded cart.

Our cart all folded for storage.

Side View – it is quite compact!

Now I had cooking and baking to do.  First I used the tomatoes I found in the clearance basket to make a large pot of sauce for the lasagna I would make for the couple who are coming to dinner tomorrow night.  I used onion, garlic (the cloves of the garlic here are huge – in one large bulb there are usually only four or maybe five cloves), red pepper, carrot, and spices to make a good beginning sauteing them in olive oil.  Then I chopped up about twelve tomatoes and put them in with some water and a little tomato paste.  I let it simmer while I made oatmeal cake for our dessert and then the dough for cinnamon rolls for breakfast (tomorrow is our general conference Sunday), wheat rolls for dinner and wheat bread.  After all the dough was ready I began to make the lasagna and got it into the frig.  By then the oatmeal cake was done and Elder Morgenegg was cooking his peanuts (we can buy them raw here very cheaply and then he roasts them in our oven – they are really a great snack) while I worked on the dough.

In between somewhere we stopped for dinner and now as I write this (it is now 6:10pm) Elder Morgenegg is almost done vacuuming our apartment and all our little rugs.  I still need to clean the bathroom and mop the kitchen floor and, of course, we need to do all the dirty dishes I have piled up.

Here is a picture of the rolls raising in my new silicon baking cups.

Rolls raising in our new silicon baking cups that Andrea and Andrew sent us. One set is in the muffin pan I found a month or so ago and the other on a cookie sheet.

And here is the end result of my day so far.

A half a days work! the cinnamon rolls are in the round pan, the unbaked lasagna is in the middle, the oatmeal cake is on the right in the back and the bread for our week on the right front.  I hope I have room in the freezer.

So now I am off to put it all away, clean the bathroom, mop the floors, and crash – oh, we also did two loads of wash which are hanging to dry in our hall so Elder Morgenegg will probably be ironing later as mostly he irons his own shirts and other clothes here – most of my things just hang and don’t need to be ironed – yeah for that!

As soon as we finish out cleaning we plan to watch another session of General Conference.  Probably the Priesthood session and then tomorrow we will watch the last Sunday session.  We have seen the others but love that we can watch via the internet or downloads.  What a wonderful blessing to live at this time.

The couple we are having over tomorrow are very young.  His name is Pavel (there are lots of Pavels in our branch – and lots of Sergeys and lots of Igors – very common names here).  Her name is Sondra and she is so gorgeous – she is a model but right now she is on “vacation” as they just had their first child – a darling little boy – in June.  Sometimes she leaves him with her mother – I hope tomorrow she brings him.  They both speak enough English we hope it works out but we will love having them here no matter what.  He sent me a text this morning saying they look forward to tasting our delicious meal – I hope they like it.

Love you all!  Hope you enjoyed seeing my homemaker day.

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