Ukrainian Flea Market

This weekend I dragged Logan out in the early morning light to check out some local flair - the flea market....what'd we find?

A big Soviet looking exterior....

Inside - even at 8 am - it was already madness.  And oddly, mostly men shopping.  For what?

Tons of old war stuff.....like medals

Postcards & old propganda posters....

A table full of ivory....

(is this stuff even legal anymore?!)

Random home furnishings....

And even more random art...a picture of President Yanukovish holding baby lambs?!  Seriously - this guy has a reputation for maintaining a totally corrupt, self-serving government...

And of course, morning beer!

(I showed this picture to our babysitter with surprise.  Her response?  "Of course!")

But what I was looking for was more barrels......

Last spring a friend took me & I got several.  One we use as a coffee table, a few littles ones hold a speaker & Nerf Laser guns...

While the barrel lady was a bit glass oriented this time,

We did score a few 'beer stein' like barrels for our upcoming Oktoberfest party!

So here's to random shopping experiences & the joy of festive decorations.  Prost!

Croatia Break

Half term break at school + my parents ending a tour of Turkey around the same time = a get together in Croatia.  What’d we find?

A cool, old walled city: thick fortress walls were fun to hike

.....weapons to appeal to the kids

...and a jail to appeal to the parents

(where's the padlock when you need it?!)

Highly walk-able Old Town: narrow stone streets and no cars = a paradise for 'active kids'

Fab Rocky Coast: we enjoyed the beach (swam in our clothes on multiple occasions) & hiking the rocky ledges

A fun kayaking trip gave us fantastic views of the city.

Everyone enjoyed the first hour or so.  The boys reminded us of the challenge of paddling and inequity of a sister who wasn’t doing so for the remaining two.

Strong Italian Influence: = loads of pizza joints.  While not the same caliber as Italy, any pizza seems to have magical calming powers over the kids 

(Q reports the pizza was his trip highlight)

X reported the gelato was his trip highlight...

We visited one place so often, we got free scoops by the end of the week!

Loads of outdoor seating: which especially improves restaurant dining with kids.  

One of the more relaxing meals was one where QX&Z spent half of dinner chasing a neighboring 1 ½ year old German boy around

Cruise ship tourist swarms – but easy to escape: by mid-morning the town is overrun by cruise ship day trippers.  While they can overwhelm the Old Town, it’s easy to escape...

A 15 minute ferry ride gets you to a nearby island (more beaches & rocky coast, peacocks to chase & a funny play / exercise area)

And even POTABLE TAP WATER!  We were told tap 'is drinkable as long as it isn’t raining'.  This may have caused pause a year ago – but now was interpreted as a green light to drink up.  

(Amazing what joy a bucket of ice can provide)

Best of all, hanging with Nana & Gramps and Sissy: We enjoyed chilling at cafes, patio happy hours, rounds of Hearts, LCR and a hilarious wacky souvenir scavenger hunt

 

Here's to the joy of October school breaks (an International school bonus) and to being those strange people in strange places

Sissy in Kyiv!

Sarah made it to Kiev!  

We spent the week showing her around and folding her into our day to day chaos that is 3 kids school, activities & playdates.  Some of the highlights:

Ropes course: A random park ~12km from our house.  

I don’t know where else even a 5 year old can be harnessed in and let loose on a course that grows to a good 20’ off the ground!  

Super fun - and the boys especially loved it...

But by the 3^rd section Sissy and I agreed we were happy to be reunited with the ground...

Botanic Garden: Loads of pretty colors this time of year.  

Sissy tried to pose by the colorful flowers, but the kids weren’t so into savoring the moment...

...but they DID find humor in the unusual plants on display

Come to Kyiv and you too can enjoy the plants! 

Symphony: We hadn’t been yet – and the fab part of Kiev’s cultural scene is the subsidized low prices.  ~$11 for front row seats.  

Good people watching – especially the parade of audience members bringing flowers up to the singers.. 

 (Ukrainians express their appreciation for artists by bringing bouquets of flowers and walking them onto stage after a performance they like.  Some songs gathered as much as a dozen bouquets.)

Resale shopping: Sissy and I use to spend hours at resale shops at home, we explored a Ukrainian chain & found a pretty similar environment

In reflection Sissy reported Kiev was “more like Mexico than expected” – more unfinished & rough around the edges. 

All in all, we had a fun week, enjoyed showing Sissy our lives in Kiev & were glad she braved the flight / time zones and endured the screaming and sibling warfare that comes with our current territory!

Here's to crossing time zones and celebrating siblings!