Buses are not for the faint of heart

Once again, I slept like a rock at Techno Hotel.  I woke at 8, read a bit, showered and went down to breakfast.  Breakfast is included in the price of the hotel.  There's no menu, no one speaks English, and there's no indication of what's possible for breakfast.  I ordered coffee and an omelet. After a few minutes, the waitress came back and asked "a sausage omelet?"  I said "sure."  Now understand that there's no equivalent of breakfast sausage here.  This kind of sausage is mild and looks like a hot dog.  It is sliced into the omelet.  It was served with two slices of bread, not toasted.  It was very good and I was hungry.  I went back to the room and packed and then checked out. 

I waited on the steps of the hotel to be met by Julia, one of the LIGA staff, who would come to the bus station with me.  Andrii would have come but he had university classes and Julia kindly offered.  She waited with me at the bus station and even got on the bus to make sure I was settled.  While we waited for the bus, we chatted about our lives and ideas about Ukraine and the future.  She told me about her husband and 4 year old daughter and her satisfaction with her job at LIGA.  The bus came and I immediately noticed that it was a newer, fancier bus than I had arrived on.  Each seat had a small monitor with options for movies, music, television.  We even had a woman (I guess the equivalent of a flight attendant) who brought tea or coffee as requested.  The bus was only a third full.  All along the way, there were the equivalent of roadside stands.  I say equivalent because it really was a lot of individuals, sometimes four or five in a row, selling onions, potatoes, apples, hot peppers, and watermelons.  There were several selling different kinds of honey.  We stopped twice for brief periods to get out and stretch and walk around.  There's no way a bus trip here is pleasant.  Sitting for that long re-aggravated back and hip pain and each time I descended from the bus, it took a few minutes to be able to walk without wincing.

The good news was that we arrived 45 minutes early.  I had thought I'd take a taxi from the bus station, but for some reason, I decided without deciding to take the metro and then walk to the apartment.  Of course it was raining, lightly but steadily.  I guess I thought that the walking would loosen up my back muscles.  I was wrong.  I got to the apartment a little after 9pm, dropped my bag and backpack and went back downstairs to the market to pick up a few things.  Then I had a cup of coffee, a cheese sandwich and went to bed.  I slept restlessly and couldn't find a comfortable position.  The pain all seems to have settled into my left hip.  I'll soak in a tub of hot water before heading out today.  I want to stop into Glossary for a cappuccino.  Later I'll meet Sergei and we'll wander the city.

Last night, after I settled in bed, I hear fireworks.  I don't think I've ever been in a city where they have fireworks more often.  It's kind of cool.