Day 11--May 23 --Monday: Train trip to Netyshin

It’s a 10-minute walk from Volodya’s house to the nearest market bazaar. We bought some fruit and bread to take on the train with us, and although the day was sunny and bright, the rain of the previous days forced us to watch our step on the unpaved street we used to get to the market. We negotiated mud puddles and carefully studied the various ruts in the road to determine which one was the most promising route to take us through the low section of the street that crossed a small depression that served as a channel for runoff water. (Above) House on the way to the market. You might say we tiptoed past the tulips, trying to stay out of the mud.












I decided to take a couple of pictures of one part of the market. We overheard one of the ladies remark that we are supposed to pay to take pictures in there, but we can't understand their language, can we?


Dima and Yuriy arranged for one of the men of the
Sykhiv church to take us to the train station. (Left) As we were traveling by day, it was possible to get one of the compartments to ourselves. On night journeys, couples traveling together get an upper and lower berth on one side of the compartment and someone else gets the other two, as it happened when we went from Kyiv to L’viv. Today we had tickets for the two lower berths, which meant that anyone one else coming in would have had to stay in the upper berths. Of course, given the distance we were traveling (about 4 to 5 hours) and the time of day (during the afternoon) our compartment would only be booked full at Kyiv at midnight for the all-night journey to Sumi in eastern Ukraine. Or so we thought.

We opened the door to our compartment, and a couple had already taken possession of our berths. They had bought the same two berths in the same compartment and same carriage. Dima and Yuriy had come on board to help us with the luggage, and they took charge of finding out what the problem was. They called the lady conductor for our carriage to resolve the issue. The other couple had indeed bought tickets for the same berths, but for the 24^th, thinking that was today’s date. They were allowed to stay on the train, but they had to move to another carriage.

The weather was very warm, and in the compartment with no way to open the window, it was too hot. For most of the trip, the sun shone in our side, so a lot of the time I stood in the corridor by a window that was open. Besides, that side was away from the sun.

We passed by villages and farmlands, and all along the way the right-of-way that had been cleared for the railway line was being used for gardening. People, young and old, were taking advantage of the weather to work the gardens. Here are some shots of the countryside. I took the picture of the train station because the name of the town, Brodi, is our oldest grandson's name (Brody).






We arrived at the station in Krivin on time, and Andriy was there to meet us. The town of Netyshin is about 6 km (4 miles) from the train station. Surprise! We’ll be staying at Andriy’s sister’s apartment. She’s in Kyiv for a few days. We left the suitcases there and walked about 5 minutes to Andriy’s apartment for dinner. It’s a beautiful summer night, but Andriy said today was the first day of good weather in a long while.

(Far left) Andriy with Abbie in Netyshin. (Left) Andriy at our house, as he helped us refinish the kitchen cabinets. Andriy is a doctor (ear, nose, throat specialist) who worked here in Madeira for over three years. He made about 1000 euros a month here, working as a bricklayer's helper. In Ukraine, he would have made about 50 euros a month as a doctor. Last Christmas he decided to return home to be with his family. The money he made here allowed them to buy an apartment and, with Larisa's income as a doctor, they are able to meet expenses. He is still waiting for a job opening.