Parallel to Doug's Summer/Fall Trip to Ukraine

[JayH]

Doug -you are a true adventurer!  A couple of points arise from the TR today-- money-- it does seem to disappear fast!!
Reading Doug reminded me about this--- I use GPS all the time. I recommend a stand alone-- quality GPS.I use it in the car , driving-- but I can also use when on foot( walking). I know some will say they can get on phone etc-- But-- it makes the world of difference to finding your way around easily. I drive myself-- all the time in Ukraine!!  Taxi drivers( as Doug illustrated) often do not know the way-- out of cities there are places they will never have been.
ON GPS-- the shortest route between cities may not be the best-- doing a little research on road conditions can help a lot.Driving at night on a lot of these roads is not something I would recommend.The road condition is unpredictable and the verges often dangerous.Personally I try and avoid night driving unless I know the road.
Dougs trip at 13 hours is probably not to bad-- a best possible would be about 8 1/2 hours-- plus time for really bad condition roads--it is 600kms or so journey-- with many changes of roads. Price was very fair to you -- Doug!!Your driver was a good guy.I do know some of the roads that you probably travelled on.
There is an established group that does inter-city taxi at fixed price-- you can book and pay over the internet. I would presume they will know the best routes.
The gas/petrol stations out of the cities close at night--or appear closed-- you need to go knock to wake attendant to turn the pumps on--or come and serve you-they are usually there.
I almost forgot to say-- did you realise you must have past quite close to Kirovograd on your journey?

[ML]

Doug, thanks again for your well written TR and the pictures.

A couple of notes:

I suspect the grain was not buckwheat, but rather millet or barley.
We just had the porridge this morning made from millet.  The general name is kasha.  In the west, kasha is often made from buckwheat, but in FSU millet or barley is more common.

Second, most of us learn very quickly about letting local language speakers negotiate the local prices.  However, even that has precautions and limitations.  Not only should  the local owners not know a foreigner is involved prior to negotiations, they should not learn of the foreigner BEFORE the deal is closed - - money changed hands.

I have had a couple of very nasty instances when the owners found out about me . . . they would not go through with the previously negotiated price and, in one instance, they kept coming back trying to get more money AFTER the money had changed hands.

[calmissile]

Doug, thanks again for your well written TR and the pictures.

A couple of notes:

I suspect the grain was not buckwheat, but rather millet or barley.
We just had the porridge this morning made from millet.  The general name is kasha.  In the west, kasha is often made from buckwheat, but in FSU millet or barley is more common.

Second, most of us learn very quickly about letting local language speakers negotiate the local prices.  However, even that has precautions and limitations.  Not only should  the local owners not know a foreigner is involved prior to negotiations, they should not learn of the foreigner BEFORE the deal is closed - - money changed hands.

I have had a couple of very nasty instances when the owners found out about me . . . they would not go through with the previously negotiated price and, in one instance, they kept coming back trying to get more money AFTER the money had changed hands.

Good points.  Just wanted to point out the basics for the newbies that might not have thought about this ahead of their first trip.

[Ranetka]

Doug, thanks again for your well written TR and the pictures.

A couple of notes:

I suspect the grain was not buckwheat, but rather millet or barley.
We just had the porridge this morning made from millet.  The general name is kasha.  In the west, kasha is often made from buckwheat, but in FSU millet or barley is more common.

Why? Is it one of you knowledge of FSU that is better than that of Russian people? Buckwheet is THE MOST commonly used grain in Russia (after rice I would think) and certainly the most traditional one.  I had to even look up millet in a dictionary....


And who on earth would eat barley porridge?

[SANDRO43]

And who on earth would eat barley porridge?

...or porridge, for that matter ? Although there is an astonishing number of varieties throughout the world, probably because it's filling and comparatively inexpensive and simple to prepare:

Varieties
Porridge oats before cooking
Oat porridge (oatmeal), traditional and common in English-speaking countries, Nordic countries, and Germany.[citation needed] Oat porridge has been found in the stomachs of 5,000 year old Neolithic bog bodies in Central Europe and Scandinavia.

Varieties of modern oat porridge include:
Groats, a porridge made from unprocessed oats or wheat.
Owsianka, a Russian and Polish traditional breakfast made with hot milk, oats and, sometimes with sugar and butter.
Rolled oat porridge is common in Scotland, England, Australia, New Zealand, North America and Scandinavia. It is known as simply "porridge" or, more commonly in the United States and often in Canada, "oatmeal".
Steel-cut oat porridge is common in Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ireland. The oats are often pre-soaked overnight.
Terci de ovăz, traditional oatmeal in Romania.

Maize porridge:
Atole, a Mexican dish of corn flour in water or milk.
Champurrado, or "atole de chocolate", a Mexican blend of sugar, milk, chocolate, and corn dough or corn flour. A similar Philippine dish, "champorado", often substitutes rice for the maize.
Cir, Păsat, or (when firmer) Mămăligă are all Romanian maize porridges.
Cornmeal mush, a traditional dish in southern and mid-Atlantic US states.
Dalia or Daliya, an Indian and Pakistani maize porridge.
Gofio, a Canary Island porridge of toasted coarse-ground maize.
Grits, ground hominy or ground posole, is common in the southern United States, traditionally served with butter, salt and black pepper.
Kachamak, a maize porridge from the Balkans.
Polenta, an Italian maize porridge.
Rubaboo is made from dried maize and peas with animal fat, and was a staple food of the Voyageurs.
Shuco, a Salvadoran dish of black, blue, or purple corn flour, ground pumpkin seeds, chili sauce, some red cooked kidney beans, which was traditionally drunk out of a hollowed-out gourd at early morning, especially coming from a hunting or drinking trip.
Uji, a thick East African porridge made most commonly from corn flour mixed with sorghum and many other different ground cereals, with milk or butter and sugar or salt.
Ugali, a more solid meal, is also made from maize flour, likewise often mixed with other cereals. These two, under various names, are staple foods over a wide part of the African continent, e.g., pap in South Africa, sadza in Zimbabwe, nshima in Zambia, tuwo or ogi in Nigeria, etc., though some of these may also be made from sorghum.

Pease porridge or peasemeal porridge, made from dried peas, is a traditional English and Scottish porridge.

Potato porridge, eaten in Norway, is a thick, almost solid paste made from cooked potatoes mixed with milk and barley.
Helmipuuro ("pearl porridge") is a porridge made from grains of potato starch swelled in milk into ca. five-mm "pearls", traditionally found in Russia and Finland.

Tsampa is a toasted grain flour, usually barley, eaten in Tibet, often mixed with tea and butter.

Wheat porridge:
Cream of Wheat or farina.
Dalia, a simple porridge made out of cracked wheat, is a common breakfast in northern India and Pakistan. It is cooked in milk or water and eaten with salt or sugar added.
Frumenty, a boiled wheat porridge eaten in Roman times, sometimes with fruit or meat added.
Gris cu lapte (Romania), dessert made with semolina boiled in milk with sugar added, sometimes flavored with jam, raisins, dried fruit, cinnamon powder, etc.
Mannapuuro, a traditional Finnish dessert made with semolina.
Semolina.
Sour cream porridge, a Norwegian porridge of wheat flour in cooked sour cream with a very smooth and slightly runny texture. It is served with sugar, cinnamon, cured meats, or even hard-boiled eggs depending on local custom.
Upma, a fried semolina porridge traditional in southern India, flavored with clarified butter, fried onions, toasted mustard seeds, and curry leaves, and often mixed with vegetables and other foods, such as potatoes, fried dried red chilis, fried cauliflower, and toasted peanuts or cashew nuts.
Velvet porridge or butter porridge, a Norwegian dish: a generous amount of white roux is made from wheat flour and butter, adding milk until it can be served as a thick porridge.
Wheatena, a brand name for a whole-wheat porridge.

Rice porridge:
Congee, a common East Asian, Southeast Asian, and South Asian dish of boiled-down rice:
In Sri Lanka congee is prepared with many ingredients. As a porridge, Sinhala people mainly use coconut milk with rice flour, it is known as "Kiriya."
Chinese congee, called zhou in Mandarin, and juk in Cantonese, can be served with a century egg, salted duck egg, pork, cilantro, fried wonton noodles, or you tiao, deep-fried dough strips.
Indonesian and Malaysian congee, called bubur, comes in many regional varieties, such as bubur sumsum, made from rice flour boiled with coconut milk then served with palm sugar sauce; and also bubur manado or tinutuan, a rice porridge mixed with various vegetables and eaten with fried salted fish and chili sauce.
Japanese congee, called kayu, is mixed with salt and green onions.
Korean congee, called juk, can have added seafood, pine nuts, mushrooms, etc.
Thai congee, called "khao tom" (ข้าวต้ม), can have added coriander, preserved duck eggs, fish sauce, sliced chili peppers, pickled mustard greens or salt cabbage preserves, red pepper flakes, etc.
Vietnamese congee, called cháo, can be made with beef or chicken stock and contains fish sauce and ginger. It is often served with scallions, coleslaw, and fried sticks of bread.
Philippine congee, called lugaw or arroz caldo, contains saffron, ginger, and sometimes meat. Less common ingredients include boiled eggs, pepper, chilies, puto, lumpiang toge, tofu, fish sauce, calamansi sauce, toyo, and spring onions. It is common as a street food.
Cream of Rice, a brand of American rice porridge, boiled in milk or water with sugar or salt.
Kheer (or Ksheer), a traditional Indian sweet dish, made of rice boiled in milk.
Rice pudding (or porridge), sweetened rice porridges usually made with milk and commonly flavored with butter and baking spices such as cinnamon. In Nordic countries, it is a traditional breakfast for Christmas Eve.
Risotto, an Italian rice porridge cooked in broth.
Rizogalo, a Greek traditional rice porridge, made of rice boiled in goat or sheep milk and served sprinkled with cinnamon.
Tsampurado, a sweet chocolate rice porridge in Philippine cuisine. It is traditionally made by boiling sticky rice with cocoa powder, giving it a distinctly brown color and usually with milk and sugar to make it taste sweeter.
Buckwheat porridge, made of buckwheat in butter, is eaten by many people in Russia, with yoghurt more common in the Caucasus.
Terci de hrişcă, buckwheat porridge from Romania.
Quinoa porridge.

Millet porridge:
Foxtail millet porridge is a staple food in northern China.
A porridge made from pearl millet is the staple food in Niger and surrounding regions of the Sahel.
Oshifima or otjifima, a stiff pearl millet porridge, is the staple food of northern Namibia.
Middle Eastern millet porridge, often seasoned with cumin and honey.
Munchiro sayo, a millet porridge eaten by the Ainu, a native people of northern Japan.
Milium in aqua was a millet porridge made with goat's milk that was eaten in ancient Rome.
Koozh is a millet porridge commonly sold in Tamil Nadu.

Sorghum porridge:
Tolegi, a sorghum porridge eaten as a midday meal during the summer in New Guinea.
Tuwo or ogi, a Nigerian sorghum porridge that may also be made from maize.

Rye porridge:
Rugmelsgrød, a traditional dinner of the Danish island Bornholm, made of ryemeal and water.
Ruispuuro, a traditional Finnish breakfast.
Flax porridge, often served as part of a mixture with wheat and rye meal. Red River Cereal and Sunny Boy Cereal are common brands in Canada.

Mixed grain and legumes in Ethiopia:
Genfo is a thick porridge made by lightly roasting, milling and cooking any combination of Ethiopian oats wheat, barley, sorghum, millet, maize, chickpeas, yellow peas, soybeans or bulla, the starch from the root of the false banana tree; it is traditionally eaten for breakfast with a dollop of clarified, spiced butter (kibe) or oil and chili-spice mix berbere, or with yoghurt. For those who can afford it, it is a popular holiday or Sunday breakfast dish and is often given to pregnant women and women after birthing to bring them back to health and strength.
Atmit, Muk or Adja is a thinner version of Genfo porridge for drinking, mixed often with spiced, clarified butter, milk and honey, or on its own with a pinch of salt. It is popular in the rainy season and for nursing the sick back to health.
Besso, made of roasted and ground barley is a popular snack for travellers and, in olden times, foot soldiers. The powder is either mixed with a bit of water, salt and chili powder to make a thick bread like snack, or mixed with more water or milk and honey for drinking. The Gurage and other southern tribes in Ethiopia ferment the Besso for a few days with water and a bit of sugar, add a pinch of salt and chili and drink it as a fortifying and energising meal-in-a-drink.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porridge

The term is rather all-encompassing, I'm only familiar with the 2 highlighted Italian variants: polenta is a solid 'porridge', and our risotto can hardly be called that, IMO.

Polenta - Risotto alla milanese

Risotto was our staple first course in Northen Italy up to WWI (most rice fields are in our area), after which we saw the arrival of Southern pasta here.

As for buckwheat, it's not at all a cereal/wheat (i.e. a Graminacea) but a Polygonacea, related to sorrels, knotweeds, and rhubarb.

The crop plant, common buckwheat, is Fagopyrum esculentum. Tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum Gaertn.) or "bitter buckwheat" is also used as a crop. We call this hardy plant grano saraceno, and its flour is used in Valtellina to make pizzocheri, a grey-looking type of mountain pasta, mixed with boiled potatoes and herbs:

Pizzocheri

[JayH]

Good photos Doug-- they give the real feeling of the Sub base.There is really a lot to see in Sevastopol as it is directly involved in so much history fro different eras.

[calmissile]

I may have got confused about her response to my question initially.  She might have thought I asked about what her daughter is eating for breakfast.  It looks like common oatmeal.

My question really was about what is in the attached photo, which was served with dinner as a side dish.  I still don't have a clue what it is.  I finally managed to get a decent photo of it using the manual focus on the camera.

Perhaps someone that reads Russian can translate the info from the package.  Attached is what she wrote me on the tablet translator.  The one word that names the cereal does not translate into English.

"You grechnivuyu cereals used for animal feed, we have considered the most useful and one of the expensive cereals. there is a lot of iron, as in beef, with anemia usually give grechnivuyu cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner as a side dish, pregnant women advised to fry and eat as seeds."

[Gylden]

That looks like grechka, or buckwheat as we call it.
We eat plent of it!

[Ranetka]

I may have got confused about her response to my question initially.  She might have thought I asked about what her daughter is eating for breakfast.  It looks like common oatmeal.

My question really was about what is in the attached photo, which was served with dinner as a side dish.  I still don't have a clue what it is.  I finally managed to get a decent photo of it using the manual focus on the camera.

Perhaps someone that reads Russian can translate the info from the package.  Attached is what she wrote me on the tablet translator.  The one word that names the cereal does not translate into English.

"You grechnivuyu cereals used for animal feed, we have considered the most useful and one of the expensive cereals. there is a lot of iron, as in beef, with anemia usually give grechnivuyu cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner as a side dish, pregnant women advised to fry and eat as seeds."

BUCKWHEET

[Eduard]

I may have got confused about her response to my question initially.  She might have thought I asked about what her daughter is eating for breakfast.  It looks like common oatmeal.

My question really was about what is in the attached photo, which was served with dinner as a side dish.  I still don't have a clue what it is.  I finally managed to get a decent photo of it using the manual focus on the camera.

Perhaps someone that reads Russian can translate the info from the package.  Attached is what she wrote me on the tablet translator.  The one word that names the cereal does not translate into English.

"You grechnivuyu cereals used for animal feed, we have considered the most useful and one of the expensive cereals. there is a lot of iron, as in beef, with anemia usually give grechnivuyu cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner as a side dish, pregnant women advised to fry and eat as seeds."

Yes, it's buckwheat. But the writing is in Ukrainian, not Russian.
When I was growing up in Russia the most common types of Kasha (porridge or hot serial) were cream of farina, oatmeal, buckwheat, millet and rice.

[Ranetka]

Yes, it's buckwheat. But the writing is in Ukrainian, not Russian.
When I was growing up in Russia the most common types of Kasha (porridge or hot serial) were cream of farina, oatmeal, buckwheat, millet and rice.

What is cream of farina? is it the same as semolina?

[Eduard]

What is cream of farina? is it the same as semolina?

cream of farina = манная каша  here in the US                millet =  пшённая  каша

[Daveman]

Anyone who has been involved with FSUW has probably eaten several pounds of Buckwheat..  It's kinda bland but I like it.




What I am really diggin' on at the moment is that Pizzocheri!  That dish looks delicious!

[calmissile]

Anyone who has been involved with FSUW has probably eaten several pounds of Buckwheat..  It's kinda bland but I like it.




What I am really diggin' on at the moment is that Pizzocheri!  That dish looks delicious!

Well, we had buckwheat and something else on the side for dinner tonight.  Your right is quite bland.  If I had to eat a lot of it, I would think of something to spice it up somehow.  LOL

[Hammer2722]

Well, we had buckwheat and something else on the side for dinner tonight.  Your right is quite bland.  If I had to eat a lot of it, I would think of something to spice it up somehow.  LOL

How about sprinkling some cinnamon on it?

[ML]

I was wrong and Ranetka was right about the buckwheat.
In my corrected version, my Gal makes kasha from millet and I really like it.
I now understand that kasha can also be made from buckwheat, and other grains.
My Gal does use buckwheat and barley in soups and stews, just not in kasha.

[Ranetka]

I was wrong and Ranetka was right .

YAYYYYYYYYYYY

On record!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ML]

Doug, are you now retired from full-time work?

If you  are retired . . . why bother returning to USA from your current trip?

You are having a good time with the gal and her daughter, and maybe even with her mother.  So stay and play it out some more.  Three females in the apartment . . . they would probably welcome a male.      A faucet or door always needs fixed.

[calmissile]

Doug, are you now retired from full-time work?

If you  are retired . . . why bother returning to USA from your current trip?

You are having a good time with the gal and her daughter, and maybe even with her mother.  So stay and play it out some more.  Three females in the apartment . . . they would probably welcome a male.      A faucet or door always needs fixed.

Yes, I am semi-retired. The more time I spend in Ukraine, the more I love the country and the people of Ukraine.   I have to return home to work and pay the bills.  LOL.   

I am still consulting for various government agencies and some Aerospace companies.  Unfortunately I still have a mortgage to pay.  I have been giving some thought to starting a business in both Ukriane and Russia manufacturing a product that would support me and a family.  For now it is in the thinking and discovery phase, but should I pursue it I could see myself moving to Ukraine sometime in the future.  There is also the possibility of splitting time between the US and Ukriane like my friend Bob in Kiev.  He spends about 1/2 time in Kiev and 1/2 time in Ariz and Colorado.

With a wife as brilliant as Larissa,  we could survive in either the US or Ukraine.  She has some personal business that needs to be resolved before we can do any long term planning.  Now that I am home, I need to take some time to sort everything out and rethink my long term goals.

I would have loved to stay longer, but 7 weeks was enough for this trip.  Also, the weather sucks in Kiev now and is starting to cool off in Crimea.

[Hammer2722]

Welcome back Doug!!! Glad to see you are back home safe. 

[calmissile]

Welcome back Doug!!! Glad to see you are back home safe. 

Thanks a lot.  It was a very rewarding vacation.  I hope to finish the TR today before I forget the details.  LOL

[Hammer2722]

You better!!! We'll unleash the hounds on ya if you don't!!! 

[Wayne]

Doug, I have to say that you went on a real adventure! Not many would have the guts to travel to all those places in Ukraine as you did. Thanks for all those photographs.
 
I have been to some of the same places, and will check out others where you have been. I spent most of one summer in Crimea and saw many interesting places, but there is still much to see.
 
We would be interested if you decide to live in Ukraine. It seems that you have found a good woman, and they are difficult to find, sometimes.
 
Thanks for your trip report, and good luck!

[ML]

Doug, once again you did a great job in reporting on your last few days in  Ukraine.

I think  your TR can serve as a model for others in the future.
And it was a  great  idea to go the Sans Response route.
Most TR are ruined by those who want to derail with negative remarks.

I did read one thing at the end of your last segment that I don't quite agree with:  "After reviewing my several trips to Ukraine, the one thing I would recommend to men from the US and Canada is to plan to take in the sites and museums rather than just making it a dating trip."

The men should keep focus on the primary reason for their trip.
For most (except for those on business trips), it is a woman hunting trip.
That should take precedence over everything else.
If the man can take in the sites and museums as part of dates, then fine and well.
But don't have any focus on the sites and museums sans a serious woman by your side.

It is a dating trip !!!

[calmissile]

Doug, once again you did a great job in reporting on your last few days in  Ukraine.

I think  your TR can serve as a model for others in the future.
And it was a  great  idea to go the Sans Response route.
Most TR are ruined by those who want to derail with negative remarks.

I did read one thing at the end of your last segment that I don't quite agree with:  "After reviewing my several trips to Ukraine, the one thing I would recommend to men from the US and Canada is to plan to take in the sites and museums rather than just making it a dating trip."

The men should keep focus on the primary reason for their trip.
For most (except for those on business trips), it is a woman hunting trip.
That should take precedence over everything else.
If the man can take in the sites and museums as part of dates, then fine and well.
But don't have any focus on the sites and museums sans a serious woman by your side.

It is a dating trip !!!

We will have to respectfully disagree on this.  I understand your point however if you do not connect with your future wife, you might want to enjoy the experience of discovering a land and culture that you may decide not to come back to.

The best of both worlds would be if the woman is like Larissa and incorporates the sight seeing into the time spent together.  I feel very lucky to have hooked up with her.  I spent about 2 months in Ukraine last year with Irina and never vistited a single historic site, nor learned nearly as much about the culture outside her little world.