The sites we saw in Kiev awakened memories of stories learned many years ago. These memories are not altogether conguent with the people we see today and create quite a conflict for me. We met a people in  the flush of new found independence from their Soviet masters. Although this independence was gained in 1991, 22 years ago, there has not been time for all the habits of being soviets to have passed from the older generations who still play an active role in government.  Witness the imprisonment for Timoshenko for crimes related to keeping gas flowing from Russia for the winter while she was prime minister.  There are ethnic Russians who want to rejoin Mother Russia and and there are many Ukrainians who think the future tied to Russia is better than that tied to the West.  This tension is palpable when talking to people about local politics,  something we were encouraged to do when we found an English speaker.

As we walked through a square Tania pointed out a statue of a Cossak on horseback who was a defender of the state.  All I could see was a murderer of Jews.  We talked about how the Cossaks were feared by the ordinary people, and all I could think of was how much more so by the Jews.  We toured several Ukrainian Orthodox churches which have been rebuilt more glorious than before the Soviet takeover and destruction.  I saw houses where hatred of the other was condoned if not taught.  I suspect my paranoia is showing. But somehow this was not always a happy home for our ancestors.

In 1932-33 over a million Ukranians starved to death when the  collectivization of successful private farms resulted in two years of crop failures from attempting to follow a government plan and orders ignored good farming practice.  Thinking more about Chernobyle, which is yet another blood letting on Ukrainian soil imposed by the Soviets and full of secrets  which made the initial disaster even worse by hiding the nature and cause of the accident and denying its ramifications.  How much blood can a land absorb?  Why is this piece of land among the bloodiest? Why do I get shivers up my spine when I see a Cossak being honored as a warrior?

As we neared the end of our stay in Kiev, we got to visit a synagogue not far from our hotel.  I do not know its history. We walked in, 8 of us,  three Jews and 5 whose experience of Judaism was very limited. As we entered, the small congregation was nearing the end of afternoon service,  Ma’ariv and we listened as several men chanted Kadesh.  Carol lead the women to the balcony and I took the men onto the main floor.  They were short of yarmulkes, so I let the guests used the offered yarmukes and I merely kept my hat on,  indicating to the gabbai that as a Jew my head was covered and he merely nodded.  Carol and I used the time to explain the ritual and the nature of the worship they were witnessing.  It was enlightening for all.

And so we move on to Vilnius in Lithuania to find more blushed and horrors along with smiling people and a neat old town,  more in my next post.
I am posting as we pack to move on again.

Today was a relaxed late start with the bus leaving at 9:30. Breakfast didn’t start until 8. We had signed up for an optional “tour” of the Chernobyle Museum,  located in Kiev at an old firehouse 90 kilometers South of the reactor.  The second stop on the “tour” is Babi Yar followed by lunch. 

The guide at the museum spoke through Baiba as translator.  She walked us through the history of the disaster 27 years ago.  Just as a reminder,  the number 4 reactor at Chernobyle experienced an explosion that blew the roof off of the core and a subsequent fire.  This placed reactor number 3 which is adjacent in immediate risk. The cloud of radiation from the initial explosion blanketed northern Europe then spread South and eventually circled the earth 3 times dropping radioactive rain as it went.  We stood in a room with the equipment used by the “mitigators” as they sought to put out the fire and clean up the roof of number 3. This was not the actual equipment since all of that has been buried at the site. 

We learned once again about the horrifying aftermath of the radiation and the abandonment of towns and villages within a 30 kilometer radius.  The people displaced,  the lies to the world and their own people about the nature and severity of the accident. We also learned that the exclusion zone may need to be maintained for 3,500 years!  There is also a lot of information about Fukashima and the stairway is lined with fish pennants hung by Japanese to bring luck to their families.  They have a lot in common.

After being overwhelmed with the reminder s of nuclear disaster,  we went into a conference room and we were introduced to an operator from Chernobyle who was on the next shift after the explosion.  He and his team entered the devastated control room with radiation levels 1000 times higher than normal to supply water to cool what was left,  to recover the bodies of their mates, and to prevent further damage from a huge oil tank that was in danger of catching fire and a “balloon” of hydrogen similarly at risk.  The four members of the team that went to activate the emergency drain systems died within two weeks of radiation exposure.  Our man discovered a radiation suntan all over his body and stuffed classic radiation exposure symptoms.  This was confirmed by John from our party who is a retired nuclear medicine doctor.  I questioned, in disbelief,  whether he understood the risk he was facing and his comment was “we knew we were not making toys for kids”.  Baiba, our guide, confirmed that he had his degree from the most highly rated Soviet Institue of Nuclear Energy and is trained to be a constructor.  He left nuclear energy to become a journalist and retired from that to take up painting and spreading the memory of what happened and telling the stories that were forbidden until Ukrainian independence in 1991.  I don’t even know how to think about meeting such a man.

As we recovered from this  “learning and discovery”, as OAT calls such an experience, the bus took us to the site of another notorious slaughter, the killing grounds called Babi Yar.  Most of the territory had been built over by the Soviets. A Metro Station sits atop the actual killing field,  it is believed.  The Menorah Memorial sits atop a hill overlooking a ravine next to one that may have been the actual burial grounds.  A TV tower dominates the height and apartments adorn the grounds of the nearby concentration camp.  It is all very disturbing especially the memorials scattered hear and there with little connection to any actual history.  They have tried to blot it out,  but like Amalek, whom we are required to forget,  the requirement to forget enhances the memory.

Please, if the pictures do not appear, click on the links in the text to see them.  This process is a work in progress.  I’ll get it right one day.

I was so tired when I wrote last night I left out some interesting details. 

The Opera was sung in the original Italian and there were superscipts to help those who did not know the libretto,  in Ukrainian.  Not being Opera buffs, I had looked up the plot summary before going.  Good thing,  otherwise we might have been very lost.

We had no time for dinner as the curtain was at 7! We stopped at a mini mart across from the hotel and bought crackers and enough cheese to satisfy us.  We ate these on padded velvet benches in the cloak room before going to our seats.  The audience ranged in age from very young to some elderly with what seemed to be all ages in between.  Also the economic spread seemed quite broad as well judging by the variety of dress we saw.

One of the buildings we saw is Chimera House.  It is built on the side of a cliff with the back being 5 stories and the front only 3.  The roof line and facades are detailed with fantastical creatures out of cement.  It is really visible from a long way off and directly across the street from the Presidential Palace.

Just to set the record straight,  Days 1 & 2 were travel and arrival days not much touring, just a short walk to dinner.  So Day 3 is indeed the first real touring day.   We walked up and down Kiev’s hills for 6 hours in chill winds.  We walked by the Golden Gate of Kiev,  Sofia Church,  St Michaels and St Andrews Church at the top of St Andrews Decent, a 750 meter road with a 10% grade.  At the bottom was a lovely Ukrainian Lunch including hot borscht and other vegetarian delicacies.  Speaking of food the Premier Hotel breakfast is in a class with fine Israeli breakfasts.

During the day we learned that the opera Norma was playing at the Opera House 7 minutes walk from the hotel. We could no resist the temptation.  With one other member of our tour and our guide we walked to the box office where Baiba helped us purchase 3 tickets in a first level box for 500 local currency which I can neither spell nor pronounce. The exchange rate is about 8 to $1. So our incredible box cost a little more than $60. We were adjacent to the Presidents Box.  OMG.  Since we are all still jet lagged we did not expect to survive 3 hours of Opera,  but the performance had us spell bound and we walked out on a high.  It is an hour later as I write.

On the morning we go to the Chernobyle Museum and then may a call at Babi Yar. This will not be an easy day. 

Enough,  pictures when I am more mentally alert.

We have made it to London and I’m writing during our 2 1/2 hour layover before getting our flight to Kiev.  Hard to believe we are actually underway after nine months of thinking about it.

We had a delightful stay in Covesville with Malena,  Dan and the boys.  There was lots of activity and I am happy to report that the record is intact.  I helped enlarge the Guinea fowl house.  Fortunately the weather was cool but not cold so we set a new record.  For new readers once we built a chicken house in 13 degree F weather.  As we left, a work crew was waiting for us to get out of the way so they could tear off the back porch of the house in preparation for building a very nice addition.  We stored the coach in Woolen Mills Self Storage and Dan drove us to Bethesda so we could vist with cousin Bob and Jane Levey. 

We visited in their apartment on Wisconsin Ave and then walked across the street to Persimmon for dinner.  As we walked back to our hotel with them we bumped into their daughter Emily on the street.  This called for extending the visit a bit and we settled into the hotel lobby for a chat.  Sweet.

The next morning,  Oct 2 brought home the impact of the idiotic government shutdown, none of the galleries we had planned on seeing were open.  Fortunately we were “forced” to go to the Phillips Collection and what a collection.  We enjoyed 2 hours plus there and then found lunch at Kramers Books! Fun and we didn’t buy any books,  too much weight.

Flying on British Airways in Business Class resulted in a flight I hardly noticed.  Between the seats that let you lay flat and our new noise canceling headphones it was quiet, comfortable and reasonably private.  We are enjoying the lounge amenities too.

Next post will be from Kiev and I hope to include some photos too.

First and foremost; Carol is healing rapidly and appears to be fine.  The good news is that because she could not make the choir rehearsals she couldn’t sing in the High Holiday Choir and sat with me.  I like that even though I know she really likes to sing.  Also people who sit near us like that because being in the congregation does not stop her from singing, it is a joy for me to hear her and others say so too.

I was going to say that we had no commitments today, but that would be wrong.  We met for breakfast with the Chair of the Department of Neurology at URMC (University of Rochester Medical Center) Robert Holloway, MD. He is the new chair and wanted to talk to us about the future of the Nathalie and Emanuel Goldberg Lecture which is going into its 29th year in a couple of weeks. We are very encouraged that this will continue and be expanded to at least three lectures a year going forward.  My parents created this lectureship. . .

Not sure where that sentence was headed, one more distraction in a week of distractions and shopping. Kol Nidre is four hours off.  Food has been prepared for taking to Break Fast at Bulins’ tomorrow when we can resume eating.  Most of the “stuff” we know we need to buy for travel is sitting in the den waiting for transport to the coach.  Dan called to ask about our eta in Charlottesville, thinking he had forgotten or lost the message. I told him we were getting closer to knowing when we are leaving and we will tell them when we arrive when we have figured it out.  We have a firm last hour to arrive which is Sunday at 3 when we are needed to watch the boys while Malena and Dan have a “date.”  We will make it.

I spent over two hours today doing battle with Amazon and NYTimes.com.  At some point in the last 24 hours they changed the method for getting the NYTimes on the Fire.  Problem, they didn’t tell anyone, not even their support people.  I suffered through on hold and transfers to the wrong party followed by an online chat that locked up as we got to the final instructions.  Finally got a L3 tech who actually was able to walk me through the steps to get it done.  It needed four log ons using different User IDs and passwords.  In this day and age that is just insane.  I guess Amazon and NYTimes.com do not have a great relationship. Neither is particularly user friendly in how they connect. End of rant!

I’ll just post this now and start over some time next week.

Carol is recovering nicely. Her bruises are fading and her eye is no longer red and she feels more energetic than she has. We are having friends over for cocktails and then out to dinner Friday and Saturday as well as breakfast out Saturday. We have set Sunday as a”down day” for r & r. Have to fit in everyone we can before we leave.  We are waiting to see if the ophthalmologist can proceed with cataract surgery on her left eye on Tuesday.

We waited eight weeks for an led clearance light for Gee Whiz that our local dealer had ordered. Got tired of waiting and called Tiffin parts department.  The part arrived two days later under warranty even though the coach is 3 months past warranty. Thank you Tiffin Motor Homes.

I would rather not refer to the next couple of weeks as waiting as we get ready for the High Holy Days and our departure for Charlottesville in preparation for our overseas travel. The anticipation level is rising, but we still have so many people we want to see and things we want to do that we don’t want the time to fly by.

This post is also a practice post. Took my laptop into Microworx to have the hard drive replaced,  under warranty.  I am writing this on my tablet as I plan to do all my posts from overseas.  I do not plan to take the laptop. So also waiting for my laptop to be returned repaired.

Two weeks ago Carol took a tumble while walking on the sidewalk. There was a lot of blood and some swelling of the cheek . X ray showed broken bone and CT scan showed a lot more damage . Carol spent hours to learn if restorative surgery was necessary and if it would interfere with having her second cataract surgery before we leave on the extravaganza. The surgery was scheduled for Thursday and it wasn’t until midday Wednesday that she had all the information she needed.

I’m writing this in the preop area while we wait for the Anesthesiologist and surgeon to come in for the preoperative talk . l’m writing this using the pen on my tablet for the first time. it reads my handwriting better than most people.  I won’t post this until I have had a chance to write about the outcome.

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several hours later: Surgery took an hour less than projected because it went better than expected.  By 8:45 she was out of recovery and in her room for the night.  I spent some time with her and left her to sleep off the drugs from surgery.

I doubt I’ll post about this again.

Where has July gone? We passed Yechiel’s birthday, the 28th yesterday (for those who just joined that’s our eldest son) as he was flying in to join us with his wife.  His son Tal has been with us since Tuesday.  The schedule is complicated, needless to say we are very busy.  There is a wedding, a Bat Mitzvah and many other plans that will keep us running until time to head out.

I didn’t have enough to occupy myself.  While staying in Virginia our younger son, Dan, showed me some courses he was taking on Coursera.org.  I loaded up the site and went to see what Brown (my alma mater) was offering.  They had just listed three courses as an experiment and one was titled “Archaeology’s Dirty Little Secrets” which in this day of acronyms has become ADLS.  I couldn’t resist.  My mother was an avid reader of Biblical Archaeology and had gone to a dig in Israel.  My sister worked for an archaeologist (anthropologist?) at Boston University after graduation.  I had brought home sherds and pots as an aspiring archaeologist at age 7ish when the local utility was trenching through our neighborhood to replace gas line (this was 1949 or so) and unearthed endless treasures from the former landfill under our street.

I delved into this 8 week course in early June and have been immersed in it ever since.  The faculty, lead by Professor Susan Alcott have been phenomenal.  They have brought presentations from A to Z or from Abydos in Egypt to El Zotz in Guatemala with stops in Montserrat and Petra.  We have been challenged with ethical questions and logistical issues.  I have had to write or create weekly.  For one assignment the option I selected was to create a video of a presentation which you can view at this link the video runs 5 minutes.  For the last class we were asked to be creative.  Since the best thing I do is write, I prepared an essay on the subject “Who Owns the Past” the title of the last session.  I’ll paste in in at the end.

I have not felt so engrossed in study in many years, if ever.  it has been a wonderful experience to stretch the brain in companionship with 35,000 wonderful students.  Yes that’s right 35,000.  I have become friendly with several on the classroom forums and expect we will continue to communicate on Facebook going forward.  I have managed to share email with several.  There is a group of women in their 80’s who are very active and there is a 9 year old girl who has much to say and a wonderful mind.  All in all it is an exciting community and I plan to participate in other classes, although I may be spoiled by the wonderful experience given by my alma mater.

Here is my last essay for the class:

To my classmates, say hi to Paxil!