Ukraine Again: Something Old, Something New...

[I/O]

On internation flights and connections you are suppose to be allowed two.

Depends on your ticket.  You need to do your homework very carefully and get the luggage allowance stamped on the ticket (If you use paper ticket) or a verification of same attached to your E-Ticket entry in the system. 

It is NOT a given that ALL international tickets allow two pieces of luggage. Just another little thing to be aware of. The lower priced or discounted tickets are known in the industry as "Lima Class" and often only allow for 1 piece of luggage.  (Sure you can get 2 through at times) All economy tickets ARE NOT equal.

I/O

[Mir]

While on international flights to and from US you are allowed two bags I am not sure it it the same for domestic connections.
We in Europe are always restricted to the allowed wight (23K or so) and will pay extra regardless if it one bag or two.
I suppose your only way around it is to go to Kiev by some other means then air and take the flight from there, however for $40 savings it is certainly not worth it.

[Simoni]

While on international flights to and from US you are allowed two bags I am not sure it it the same for domestic connections.
We in Europe are always restricted to the allowed wight (23K or so) and will pay extra regardless if it one bag or two.
I suppose your only way around it is to go to Kiev by some other means then air and take the flight from there, however for $40 savings it is certainly not worth it.

Yes, it is in writing on the ticket, but try explaining that to the ticket agent in Dnepr!

And yes, I am used to the 23K limit in Europe, and even less on Ryan air.

There's no problem flying in; it's leaving that sometimes is a problem.

And yes, Marina was packed to the limit, bringing new clothes she purchased in Dnepr home with her 

[TigerPaws]

Simoni,
Try taking your lady to Paris, we needed to purchase extra bags for what she took home.  Woops! When I took my lady to Paris I did not think of that  Oh! Well the fashion show she gave me while trying on everything was worth the trouble and expense.

TigerPaws

[Simoni]

Simoni,
Try taking your lady to Paris, we needed to purchase extra bags for what she took home.  Woops! When I took my lady to Paris I did not think of that  Oh! Well the fashion show she gave me while trying on everything was worth the trouble and expense.

TigerPaws

Thanks for the warning, TP!  LOL

But glad your purchases had payoffs! 

[ecr844]

"TP,"

   At leats you both got some happiness and enjoyment from your purchases.    

[TigerPaws]

"TP,"   At leats you both got some happiness and enjoyment from your purchases.   

Yes for a while then she gave half to her sister who just happens to be the same size  Oh! Well what can you say, before we moved aboard SeaQuest OE she sent most of her wardrobe to her sister and relatives in Russia. 

TigerPaws

[Simoni]

HAMMER KILLER CAUGHT

Serial killer behind bars.

Details to follow...

[Simoni]

SAD CASE IN DNEPR

On the day we flew home, police caught the Hammer Killer of Dnepr.

But in reality, it was not one killer but three.

And the actually number of dead is 15 (not 20 as was reported) and counting as more bodies are being discovered.  They include a 13 year old girl and a retired couple.

Marina talked with a friend in Dnepr today for an hour and got the scoop.

Three teenagers went on the killing spree, equating it with a computer game. The kids were from very wealthy homes.  Their parents say it's not the kids fault and all, and promise to get them off.   And will pay big bucks to do it.

Sounds like Ukraine is becoming more like the USA every year...

[Simoni]

GETTING AROUND-- # 1 -- WALKING

Walking is the way to go in Dnepr.  You "feel" the city as you walk it.  And the people are SO interesting to watch and listen to.

We walked a couple of hours a day if you add it all up.  Great exercise, for your legs and your eyes 

WALKING-- choice # 1 to me for getting around in Dnepr.


pics:

walking the streets
walking to shop

[Simoni]

COFFEE, ANYONE?

One of the things I used to miss in the FSU was good coffee.

Personally, I like American coffee, and not the tiny bitter one gulp cups they typically server there.  Even instant Nestle coffee in my flat was better than the cafe coffee.

At home, I am addicted to Starbucks!  Even at $3.75 a cup!  And I usually have a Starbucks® latte.

But now in Dnepr, there are coffeeshops that exceed your typical Starbucks.   My favorite is called the Coffee Shop.  It has two areas, smoking and nonsmoking, and about 20 tables.  They have coffee from around the world.  The cost of my Latte?   Two bucks 

Here are some bad pics; sorry-- camera phone.

[Simoni]

DRINKING AND DRIVING IN UKRAINE

Last September, a few weeks after Marina arrived in the US, we stopped at a gas station to fuel and get drinks and snacks.

I grabbed a diet coke and peanuts and Marina took a beer and dried fish.  I said to her “you can’t drink that in the car!”  “Why not?,” she replied.

I explained to her about the open container law in most US states—no booze can be open in the car.  She just did not get it.  I explained that if I were drinking a beer and the cops came, I would just pass the beer to her and say it was hers.  To stop this, the no open container law was passed. 

She told me passengers CAN drink in cars in Ukraine...why not in America?

 I did not understand “why” she did not comprehend this…until…

[Simoni]

DRINKING AND DRIVING IN UKRAINE
 I did not understand “why” she did not comprehend this…until…

It all came together for me in Ukraine.

We were on a gondola in the Dnepr river.   We had brought wine and cheese and fruit.  The other couple had, too.

But I noticed the man was not drinking wine, but diet coke.  It seemed odd for an UA man not to drink!

After the boat ride and dinner, we went home with the couple.  The man quickly consumed a six pack!

What was going on?

I asked Marina, and she told me it was because the man had to drive us home.

That's when I "got it."

In Ukraine, there is zero tolerance for drinking and driving.  Zero.

If the cops stop you, you cannot have any trace of booze in your breath.  It's NOT like the US, where your level has to be below a given point.

From that night on, I noticed that the driver never drank during dinner.  And I understood why.

[Simoni]

Marina tells me they have jokes about this in Ukraine.  I'll share a couple now.

Don't read if you are easily offended...

A sexy blond in a red BMW was racing down the freeway.

A cop named Sergey pulled her over.

He asked for her documents.  She flirted with him, but he insisted she show them. 

She looked and looked in her glovebox.

The officer's cell phone buzzed.

"Hello?" said Sergey.

Another cop, his best friend Kola, said "I heard on the radio that you pulled over that red BMW license xxx-444."

"Yes, I have her now" said Sergey.  "But she is SO dumb.  She can't even locate her documents!  Typical blond!"

"Not as dumb as you are, buddy," said Kola.  "Do what I say, and this will be the best day of your life!"

"What?" said Kola.

"Just do what I say!" said Sergey.

"Take off your pants," the voice in the phone said...

"What!!!?" Kola answered.

"Just drop your pants, Kola!"

Kola obeyed, and his pants fell to the road.

The blond smiled and said, "Oh, this test I know.  I already did it. An hour ago another cop stopped me and gave me the same Breathalyzer test!  I'll do it again and use your equipment, now. But mama mia, yours is much bigger!

[Simoni]

More Breathalyzer humor...

A man and wife and baby boy are driving down a highway in Ukraine.  The man is on his 5th beer.

Suddenly, he hears a siren and sees cop's lights flashing behind him.  He speaks urgently to his wife and she takes action as he pulls over....

The cop says "smells like you have been drinking."

"No, not at all, officer," says the man.

"Let's see what the Breathalyzer says," replies the cops.

The results are sky high.

"Impossible!" says the man.  "Your machine is not working right."

"Try it on my wife."   The cop does, and the levels are high again.

"So, you wife is drinking, too," said the officer.

"Impossible, says the man.  "Try it on our baby."

They do, and the results are high again.

The cop looks at his Breathalyzer, shrugs his shoulder, and walks away.

The wife says to her husband "This was the perfect day for little Vil to start drinking!"   

[ScottinCrimea]

There is definitely a zero tolerance policy in Ukraine with drinking and driving.  My FIL, who enjoys a good drink with the best of them, will be an absolute teetotaler when he has to drive. Even the faintest trace of alcohol on your breath if you get pulled over leads to loss of your license and your car.  It probably wouldn't be a bad policy for the US to follow.  I remember one time in the LA area I was returning home from the hospital around 3am after delivering a baby.  Every car was swerving.  I actually feared for my life.

[Simoni]

JAPANESE FOOD

Japanese food is very popular in Dnepr. Much more so than Chinese.

Here is a pic of the Euro Mall and the Taki Maki Japanese restruant...

[ScottinCrimea]

I can't get my wife to even consider trying sushi, which I love.  It's not an issue of uncooked fish, it's the fact that it is prepared by hand and then not cooked afterward.  Even if they wear gloves, it's no matter to her.  Just one of those differences I have to live with.

[Simoni]

I can't get my wife to even consider trying sushi, which I love.  It's not an issue of uncooked fish, it's the fact that it is prepared by hand and then not cooked afterward.  Even if they wear gloves, it's no matter to her.  Just one of those differences I have to live with.

Marina loves sushi TOO much....she would eat it every meal.  At the Japanese restruant, she gets sushi, and i get some great shrimp and scallops...cooked    LOL

[TigerPaws]

I can't get my wife to even consider trying sushi, which I love.  It's not an issue of uncooked fish, it's the fact that it is prepared by hand and then not cooked afterward.  Even if they wear gloves, it's no matter to her.  Just one of those differences I have to live with.

Sushi?
Back home we call that BAIT!

[steerman]

There is just something about that last picture that really makes me want some Japanese  . I didn't even know that I liked Japanese

[ScottinCrimea]

He was talking about fishing bait, not jail bait. 

[Simoni]

Girl?  What girl?  I was talking about Japanese food :-) LOL

[Simoni]

DODGE!

I'm back in the USA; will finish this TR after I download some pics from my camera to my computer...

But for now....

NEWS FLASH!

Remember my telling you how crazy the drivers are in Ukraine?  How it's dangerous to cross the street?

Marina's gf just wrote to say that a foreign man was visiting his gf in Dnepr.   They were in the banking district.  As they crossed the street, a car veered around another car and struck the man!  He was seriously injured; his girlfriend dialed 03 (UA equivalent to the American 911) for medical emergency.  (02 for fire)

But the ambulance took forty minutes to arrive.  The man laid in the street for the entire time.  People were afraid to move him.

The man survived.  But medical treatment at the hospital was very poor.

Marina tells me to warn all visitors to be very careful in crossing streets in Ukraine.  It's not the USA.   Consider the street to be filled with large slowly speeding bullets.  Wait for them to go by.  Don't try to dodge them; unlike bullets, they can change course.

[Simoni]

By the way, the man was not American....but European...nuff said?

I'll pick up the trip report again now, and finish it soon....

Coming next-- a geography quiz~ !!!