4am wake up. Say some prayers. Pack the van. Check for art supplies, musical instruments, cameras, boots, and a set of clothes. Double check for passports
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Thus the journey begins- heading East towards Ukraine!
In the dark, the streets of Germany all look similar... buildings appear the same and fields stretch far on both sides. Slowly, the sky turns from black to orange and the sun begins to rise in front of us. beauty! Sweet conversation, soft music.. I take a bite of my turkey sandwich and hope that the bread in Ukraine better than that of the castle. 2 hours pass... Poland.. graffitied buildings, interesting statues...4 hours.... Stop to pee at a gas station.. carry on..7 hours......8... Stop at the Ukraine border. Border Patrol checks passports and peers into trunk. Where are the documents for the van? Did you steal this van? No. We don't speak Russian. Or Ukranian. 9 hours... still stuck at the border.. ten hours... pray. Let us pass please. Finally- into Ukraine!! The change is immediate. The land is desolate. Graveyards next to silver and bronze churches.. The villages seem deserted. Thank G-d, the GPS still works. 11 hours... potholes are everywhere! Ryan steers the van and we fly over deep holes in the road. How are our tires in tact? Are we going the right direction? Turn onto a sketchy road. Oh GPS... where are you leading us?! Broken and abandoned houses line the side of the road. More potholes. The sun begins to set over the fields and again, all is beautiful. Fields stretch for miles and it looks reminiscent of Route 66. The light softens the land and the abandoned houses and barely green fields looks picturesque. I can't take my eyes off the scenery. It gets more beautiful by the second. The sun sets. The road turns into the forest. We swerve around more potholes. The sky is dark and my eyelids are heavy.. I become accustomed to the swerving and doze off. My head bangs against the window as we fly over a pothole and I'm jerked into consciousness. Are we lost? Make some phone calls. Phone dies. Notice landmarks... 15 hours.. Could it be??! We're here!! We step out into the cold and Mimi welcomes us. She ushers us in and serves us a hot meal- potatoes, cabbage, sausage, muffins, tea. Food, glorious food! We eat, laugh, yawn, and TJay falls off his chair.. ahahh.. Grateful and exausted, I roll out my sleeping bag and shut my eyes. Sweet rest! Welcome to Ukraine.
.
Thus the journey begins- heading East towards Ukraine!
In the dark, the streets of Germany all look similar... buildings appear the same and fields stretch far on both sides. Slowly, the sky turns from black to orange and the sun begins to rise in front of us. beauty! Sweet conversation, soft music.. I take a bite of my turkey sandwich and hope that the bread in Ukraine better than that of the castle. 2 hours pass... Poland.. graffitied buildings, interesting statues...4 hours.... Stop to pee at a gas station.. carry on..7 hours......8... Stop at the Ukraine border. Border Patrol checks passports and peers into trunk. Where are the documents for the van? Did you steal this van? No. We don't speak Russian. Or Ukranian. 9 hours... still stuck at the border.. ten hours... pray. Let us pass please. Finally- into Ukraine!! The change is immediate. The land is desolate. Graveyards next to silver and bronze churches.. The villages seem deserted. Thank G-d, the GPS still works. 11 hours... potholes are everywhere! Ryan steers the van and we fly over deep holes in the road. How are our tires in tact? Are we going the right direction? Turn onto a sketchy road. Oh GPS... where are you leading us?! Broken and abandoned houses line the side of the road. More potholes. The sun begins to set over the fields and again, all is beautiful. Fields stretch for miles and it looks reminiscent of Route 66. The light softens the land and the abandoned houses and barely green fields looks picturesque. I can't take my eyes off the scenery. It gets more beautiful by the second. The sun sets. The road turns into the forest. We swerve around more potholes. The sky is dark and my eyelids are heavy.. I become accustomed to the swerving and doze off. My head bangs against the window as we fly over a pothole and I'm jerked into consciousness. Are we lost? Make some phone calls. Phone dies. Notice landmarks... 15 hours.. Could it be??! We're here!! We step out into the cold and Mimi welcomes us. She ushers us in and serves us a hot meal- potatoes, cabbage, sausage, muffins, tea. Food, glorious food! We eat, laugh, yawn, and TJay falls off his chair.. ahahh.. Grateful and exausted, I roll out my sleeping bag and shut my eyes. Sweet rest! Welcome to Ukraine.
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