Events

I can't remember exactly where this is—I think it's Kontraktova Square—but I remember it was beautiful. Note the chestnut trees in full bloom on the right. That's Kyiv in spring for you.

No one should visit Kyiv without seeing the Kievo-Percherska Lavra (Києво-Печерська лавра), the Monestery of the Caves, founded in 1015: We didn't go into the caves (and I couldn't have photographed them anyway), but we did explore the grounds. (For what it's worth, Lonely Planet recommends getting there early and going straight to the caves. Next time.) Complete view of the main entrance to the upper Lavra: Dormition Cathedral:

Tom Vanderbilt on Slate points out that U.S. rail travel was better in the Harding administration than it is today: [T]he most striking aspect of [1940s train timetables] is found in the tiny agate columns of arrivals and destinations. It is here that one sees the wheels of progress actually running backward. The...Montreal Limited, for example, circa 1942, would pull out of New York's Grand Central Station at 11:15 p.m., arriving at Montreal's (now defunct) Windsor Station at 8:25 a.m., a little more...

Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. And sometimes, it rains. And of course, Wrigley has its own TARP:

I had the good fortune to stay with friends in an apartment building constructed only in the last few years. Much of the housing stock in Kyiv reaches back to Soviet times, showing individuality only by varying levels of maintenance performed by each owner. Fortunately, many of these apartment buildings have given way to newer ones. They're still...how does one say?...ugly: In one of the oldest section of the city, Podil, the mix of pre-Soviet buildings and modern advertising looks a lot more like...

I found myself distracted today by 22°C sunny weather and a 3-hour client meeting. Moving on: more photos from Kyiv, of St. Michael's monastery (Михайлівський золотоверхий монастир): I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto. Incidentally, you have to be this tall to go on this ride: (Yes, it's cliché, but sometimes the classics are best.)

First shot from the mystery destination: This is the Мати-Батьківщина (Mat-Batkivshyna, or Mother Motherland), part of the Great Patriotic War memorial just southeast of the center of Kyiv, Ukraine. Lonely Planet asserts the nickname of this statue is "Tin Tits," but my host, who is native Ukrainian and has lived in Kyiv for years, believes LP made this up. Many more to follow.

After returning home yesterday evening, I'm now caught up on my email (including the 2,400 server status messages and 4,400 spams caught by my filter, my sleep, and Parker's walks. Now I'm going through the several hundred photos I took, so watch for those over the next few days. But where, in fact, did I go? Ah. That's still a mystery. But here's a clue: this photo, from last Thursday morning's approach to the first airport I saw that day, shows an eyeful—including the spot where thousands of trains...

On the morning of the penultimate day of my trip, I'm checking in with U.S. news only to discover...it's been kind of quite. I'm glad Chicago is getting Federal funding for road repair, and the Cubs have at least stayed above .500. But...were there any major news events? Maybe it's a normal week, and it only seems quiet because I'm 6,000 km away. That, then, seems like a good vacation.

That's part of the fun in traveling 8 time zones away. More on that later. Meanwhile, my poor jet-lagged brain now has to accept that Parker may not actually love me, though he does a really good job convincing me he does.