Last Day in Ukraine

Left at 9 am for the girls to have medical exams as required by the U.S. Embassy for the visas. The facility was everything you have ever heard about socialized medicine...  Once again, we were able to go the front of the line....found out the girls have had some immunizations but they need more before school starts and they did have chicken pox when they were small.  No medical information available about parents though. Headed over to the U.S. Embassy for 2 pm to pick up visas and immigration paperwork.  Met a nice family from New York who were adopting a little boy.  Went out for a celebratory pizza dinner and then headed home to pack for tomorrow.  Taxi will pick us up at 8 am.  Our flight leaves about 11:00 am and after a New York layover and traveling over 14 hours, we will be HOME! 

Ukraine Construction

These are some pictures of typical construction projects.  Ukriane is hosting the World Cup in 2012 and there is quite a bit going on. There are certainly no OSHA rules and the typical worker is wearing shorts and flip flops.....

Monday August 30, 2010 - Visas & Passports

10 am appointment today with the U.S. Embassy.  There were so many non-U.S. citizens in line at the embassy tyring to get permission to go to the United States it looked like a queue at Disney World.  But as a U.S. citizen, we went right to the front of the line. Filled out paperwork for the girls to get visas...they are not officially US citizens until they land on American soil, so they will still be traveling as Ukrainians. Then drove 2 hours to Chernigiv to get new Ukrainian passports with their new names on them.  The new passports will be useless once we get into the United States, but it is just another requirement. Tomorrow we go to American medical facility for girls to get brief physicals as required by U.S. embassy for visas.  Then a 2 pm appointment to pick up are visas and WE ARE DONE!!!  Our flight leaves at 11:05 am on Wednesday with a brief layover in New York City and then HOME TO DETROIT! 

Picked Up Girls From Camp!

Busy day. Left at 6:30 am to drive 3 hrs to pick up girls from camp. They were packed and ready to go when we got there! Then to Gorodnya court, orphanage and City Hall to complete paperwork. Already had Anya's baptismal certificate, thank goodness Inna's teacher was at school and we were able to get Inna's. Both were recently baptized in Russian Orthodox church. Drove another 2 hrs on COUNTRY roads to where they were born, Bakhmach, to get birth certificates with their new names. Backhmach is now 3rd City Building we have been in where there are NO lights on in the hallways.  Driving back to Kiev right now, should be home about 9:30 pm.

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Thursday August 26, 2010

Visited Berlin on Saturday. Shopped on Kurfürstendamm, the most famous avenue in Berlin — full of shops, houses, hotels and restaurants. Saw the ruins of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, destroyed by Allied bombing and preserved as a memorial. Went to the KaDeWe, the largest department store in continental Europe. Ate famous German sausage at Im Biss and visited what used to be East Germany and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.

Sunday we went to the 700-year old Wolfsburg Castle and St. Andreasberg which is the highest mountain town in the Harz Mountains and has the steepest roads of the region. Rode the summer toboggan run and viewed the electronic surveillance tower built as a NATO listening post on Stöberhai. This signals intelligence facility was used during the Cold War to listen into military radio traffic in East Germany.

Fred’s been taking pictures of construction sites….notice how small the dumpsters and job trailers are!

On Tuesday went with cousin Inga to pick up her new car at Volkswagen Autostadt.  We toured the Volkswagen plant and ate more famous sausage , "Currywurst" made especially by Volkswagen.

The Danndorf neighborhood where we stayed is immaculate and within walking distance there is a bakery, hair salon, biergarten, horse farm, lake, party store and more.  There is even a service truck that drives around and delivers fresh baked goods!

Flew from Germany to Kiev this morning. We moved to a bigger, nicer apartment, not so close to downtown. But the elevator is like a coffin.  Even though we are on the 4th floor, I will not get in the elevator. We have already done all the main tourist attractions and needed a change of scenery. Tomorrow we pick up the girls from Gorodyna, for good!

Friday August 20, 2010

Finally arrived in Germany about midnight.  Have been spending time visiting relatives that Fred has not seen in many years, some he has not seen since he moved to the U.S. in 1974.  Check out the pictures of the windmills and notice how big they are next to the normal-size trees.  Interesting notes about Germany: everything is well-maintained and spotless, recycling is very big and all garbage bins are divided accordingly (glass, paper, plastic, waste), their sales tax is 19% compared to 6% in Michigan, all Germans also pay a tax specifically to help East Germany redevelop, on the autobahn you have to pay to use the restroom and the toilets have a device that automatically cleans the toilet seats, and there are bike paths everywhere. 

What an Adventure!

Started off Monday morning packing up to switch to bigger apartment. Found out about 10 am that the SDA came thru with our papers and that we could go to Gorodnya (which is almost 3 hours away) for our 4 pm court appt. The rental car company had already given our car away and we could not find another rental so had to hire a driver. Packed up all luggage and took off for Gorodnya. Court went well and judge approved our petition to adopt ...... We are proud parents of Inna Noelle (because we met them Christmas 2008)and Anya Elizabeth (after Fred's aunt)Gerstenberg! But girls had to stay in camp near Gorodnya with other kids for ten day wait period required by Ukraine. Thank God for my Blackberry.....if girls were not going to be with us cheapest thing to do is to fly to Germany for the wait period. So contacted Fred's cousin who booked us flights thru Prague, Czechslovakia and into Hannover, Germany. After taking pictures of our passports and credit cards with our phone to prove our identities and sending them to booking agent at midnight last night we were finally able to get confirmed flights. Checked into new apt for about 12 hours and then packed up for airport. Stuck in Prague as we missed our connecting flight and were re-routed to Frankfort. Temps in Germany are 20 degrees cooler than Kiev which is great but I have nothing to wear!

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Court Date Today!

The SDA came thru with the paperwork this morning! It is 1:30 pm and we are on our way to Gorodnya for a 4 pm court appointment! Thank you to all for your thoughts and prayers!
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Sunday August 15, 2010

Visited the Golden Gate, a huge arch built in the 10th century. Would have loved to go to ballet but Opera House is closed until September. On weekends the main street, Khreshchatyk, is closed to traffic (except people still park and drive on the sidewalks)so the crowds can walk around. Took the subway for the first time (like 150 ft underground, built to double as a fallout shelter) to a shopping mall that opened about two years ago. The mall is just like home, it has an ice skating rink, bowling alley, food court, indoor putt putt,etc. Notes of the day: pop is cheaper than water, the only pop is Coke, Coke Light, Pepsi, Fanta Orange, 7-Up and Sprite; when you want water they ask you "gas or no gas" (gas is like Perrier); a popular drink is lemonade, but it comes in different colors and does not taste like lemonade; gallons of ice cream come in long plastic tubes and not cartons; we could not find any spaghetti sauce and the one thing that looked like it tastes like ketchup; and there is no "green" economy here. They do not recycle, there are no electric cars or flex fuel vehicles or hybrids, no bottle return deposits, no whole foods markets or organic foods, no LED'S, no motion detecting light sensors. The only energy saving mechanism that we have noticed is that the refrigerator beeps if the door has been open too long. Since we are so near the main churches, we have seen about 15 brides, which Ukrainians say is good luck. We hope that luck helps us and the SDA has our paperwork done tomorrow so we can go to court at 4 pm...

Saturday August 14, 2010

Yesterday took cable car (about 18 cents per person, one way)down to Podil River District along the Dnieper River. Thought it would be cooler down there but it wasn't. Lots of hustlers wanting to take your picture, get you to play carnival games. Took a boat ride along the river. The only fast food restaurant we have seen here is McDonald's, and there are quite a few of them, although we have not broken down yet and eaten there. Had good pizza for dinner...very thin crust and choice of some odd toppings: tuna, green beans, canned cucumbers (?),mayonnaise and ground 'meat' but they don't say what kind of meat (you can buy horse meat at the grocery store). We skipped the ground meat.

Thursday August 12, 2010

Found another Ukrainian buffet to eat at. Works out great when you can't read the menu because this way you can point to what you want. Everytime we go down to the subway we discover a new mall...it is amazing how much shopping there is underground. Along the main streets there are these pay toilets. Someone sits in the middle section and collects 2 UAH (about 25 cents)per person. There are also tents EVERYWHERE selling beer and refreshments. On the streets, in the parks. We haven't seen anyone drinking mixed drinks with ice, it is all beer or small carafes of vodka with shot glasses and juice chasers.

Second Trip to Gorodnya

Yesterday we had our preliminary court hearing in Gorodnya and picked up papers to file with SDA today. Notice in the pictures along the road to Gorodnya....there is no City water system, just community water wells. Lots of goats, cows, chickens, sunflower farms. When we got to court, there were no lights on inside the building. Don't know why. Don't know how that metal detector at the entrance would work without power. Hearing only took a few minutes. Final Gorodnya court date tentatively scheduled for Monday August 16 at 4 pm, as long as SDA completes paperwork that we are filing today. On way home stopped at HUGE Kiev grocery store...over 50 check out lines. The big grocery stores here are combined in one building that include clothing, hardware, appliannces, etc.

Around Kiev Again

Passing time waiting for our first court appointment in Gorodnya. It is so hot, people (including the girls) are wading into the public fountains. Visited St. Michael's Church and witnessed a Ukrainian wedding. Spent time walking down Andrew's Descent, a stone street of vendors that winds down the hills behind St. Andrew's. The walk is very steep and we stopped a few times for refreshments. Lots of tourists in this area, met students from North Carolina and Maryland, couple from Toronto and a woman from Clawson, MI! Most English speakers here seem to be on some kind of Christian mission. Ate dinner at restaurant that served fried pig ears for appetizers....Stopped by O'Brien's Irish Pub for a drink. Visited Chernobyl Museum. Ordered a soft serve chocolate ice cream cone today and they gave me a cone partially-filled with vanilla with chocolate sauce on top and a spoon. Every evening we have been going to the corner beer garden for a nightcap: 2 beers for $2.50. Can't beat that. I must be looking like a native because people keep asking me for directions. Fred on the other hand, people are taking pictures of and asking him where he is from! (Could it be his Harley Davidson shirts, Tiger baseball hats?) Observation: Everyone is talking on their cell phones here, but no one is texting.

Ukrainian Cars

This post is especially for our nephew Joshua who wanted to know about the cars in Ukraine. We will add pictures as we take them.

Around Kiev

 Kiev

There is lots shopping in downtown, including designers like Burberry, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, etc. Two pairs of Juicy Couture flip flops for the girls: $35. There are ice cream kiosks all over the sidewalks: usually only chocolate or lemon flavors. Two ice cream cones: 80 cents.We like Two Ducks Restaurant, as everything is cafeteria-style and the Russian and English names are both listed for each dish. Tonight we ate pork cutlets with cheese and mushrooms,crepes,borscht, mashed potatoes and chicken with rice. The girls drank something that looked like chunky spoiled milk but tasted like Greek yogurt. Again, food prices very reasonable..all that for about $15. One water, one Sprite: $1.25. We have been going to bakery for great bread and cheese every few days. Even though both items are at the same counter, you pay the dairy lady for the cheese and the bread lady for the bread. Right now we are waiting for City inspector and lawyer to finish paperwork that must be submitted to SDA on Wednesday. Tuesday we have our first court appointment in Gorodnya.

Fred does laundry!

Dryers are not mainstream in Ukraine.  Everyone hangs their clothes to dry.

Sardines for Breakfast!

First Trip to Gorodnya

Started off at 8 am to rent car (manual) and drive 2.5 hrs to Gorodnya today. First stop was to a notary in Chernigiv to prepare two petitions: one goes to the SDA and one to Gorodnya city officials asking for permission to adopt.   Met with orphanage director, deputy director and lawyer as well as City inspector. Girls required to write letters indicating they want to be adopted. Ate at small Gorodnya cafe: potato and mushroom pancakes, borscht, french fries (very short, should eat with fork), great bread, mushrooms with sour cream for 5 people for about $15.  Home about 10 pm.

Hot Temps Call for Cold Beer!

Walked down to the grocery store today. Grocery store was huge, sort of a mix of Meijer's and Costco..but they are playing Frank Sinatra music overhead in English! We can't read the Russian labels, but we recognized some brands like Dannon yogurt. Ukraine has Coke and Sprite, nothing diet caffeine free.  Went to the SDA at 4 pm to pick up referral and met up with the Assistant Director from the orphanage..she is driving down five hours to Odessa to pick up the girls tonight and bring them back to Gorodnya.  We are going to Gorodnya tomorrow to file paperwork there so we hope to see the girls there.  Observations of the day:  It is a good thing we brought our own towels, 80% of the women here are wearing dresses or skirts, LOTS of people smoke and most of the men carry purses.

SDA Appointment

Our appointment with the State Department for Adoption and Protection of Rights of Child (SDA) was Monday at noon. We met our facilitator in Mikhailivska Square by St. Michael's and walked over to SDA. People park and drive on the sidewalks. Appointment was about ten minutes with SDA psychologist. Now we wait until 4 pm tomorrow to pick up our SDA referral, which we need to file in the town of the orphanage, Gorodnya. Today's adventure included no apartment hot water or electricity for the afternoon and trying to track down my luggage, which was finally delivered at 11:00 pm.

Apartment Pictures

What a long flight!

Flight from Detroit to NY was easy. Then at 3:30 after a 4 hour layover they started boarding us onto a Star Wars-like shuttle that took us out on tarmac to board plane for 4:15 flight. Flight did not leave NY until 6 pm and flight was almost 9 hours! We had exit row so plenty of room but too much traffic right next to restrooms. Met another family from PA who are also adopting.  They lost my luggage, for some reason it went to Amsterdam. Should be delivered later in the day. Our facilitator met us at the gate at about 3 am US time.  Definitely tired. About 40 minute ride into Kiev and to check in at apartment.  We do have internet and air conditioning. It is very hot. Went and got a local phone, something to eat: potato pancakes, rice, cottage cheese dumplings with apricot jam and a pounded-very-thin breaded pork chop. Very hot. Finally crashed back at apartment after being up about 28 hours.