Kiev Trip (Part 1) -- Day 750

There is quite a lot to write about, so I will break this up into two or three posts. We'll see how it comes along.

I finally learned how to install our car seat because we had to use it in the taxi to the airport. These things are engineered in a way to maximize frustration and stress and this was no exception. One of my good friends had a car seat that he just couldn't figure out, so he ended up just trashing it and buying another one. Well, that is neither here not there...back to our trip. Though I do really dislike car seats.

Anyhow...Anna thinks riding in a car seat is a special event, so even the taxi cab ride to the airport was a fun start to vacation. On the way there, Anna -- still into boats -- was trolling for boat pictures in the magazines in the car. She located a Business Week, and after flipping through a few pages says, "This magazine is for kids a little bit bigger." Yep, a bit of an understatement, but you can still look for boat pictures in it.

The flight wasn't too bad going there. Anna still can't go to sleep on her own when she is not in her bed, so Daddy usually has to do a bear-hug hold when she is at her most tired. This is also the time when she most enthusiastically trying to set off on her own and walk about the airplane. Anna really dislikes this hug hold but it sets her up for going to sleep as she only then realizes she MUST go to sleep. The problem is that this hold creates a series of screams and shrills that can last anywhere from 5-30 minutes. Fellow air travelers also love this.

Once we arrived in Kiev and were driving in from the airport, Anna decided to give us the play-by-play of her birth. Ok, I need to set this up a bit. Anna likes to look at pictures on our laptop computer at home, so I will often open up a folder of pictures and put it on slideshow. Anna will just sit there at the table and watch and re-live all the times gone by. Well, there is also a folder of pictures when Kerry was pregnant in France, and we have told Anna that Mommy was big because Anna is in her tummy. Also, in that batch of photos are pictures of Frances on our balcony.

Anyhow, Anna has used these (pre-Anna) photos to make up the story of her birth, and here it is. According to Anna, she was under Mommy's shirt naked and was growing in France, then one day she climbed out of her shirt and emerged on the porch that Frances walks on. Here are two photos of Anna's revised birth story to help you visualize it.

It really is nice to look at pictures of Anna with her. She has gotten so used to it that one day I when I was at a coffee shop she looks at a person working on a laptop and she says, "That man is looking at Anna pictures." To Anna the only utility of a computer is looking at pictures of her. It's all about her isn't it?

Once in Kiev, I quickly realized that it was not the most stroller friendly place in the world. Though the city is polishing up well, especially since my last visit in '93, it only takes pushing a stroller around to realize every bump, hill, hole, and step. My first day I pushed Anna with a load of accessories (sun screen, water, stuffed animals, travel guides etc.) up a cobblestone street that had about a 30% grade for about a half mile. My legs were literally wobbling, and I had to pick her up for about 15 series of steps. It was also one of the hottest days of the year. If I have learned anything it is that Kiev is on a series of steep hills.

Finally, after near muscle failure I stopped and bought some water, but as it so happened they had a lego play table at the outdoor restaurant. We sat there for about two hours playing legos, then I went back down the hill to our apartment. So the first day after our arrival consisted of walking up a hill, getting tired, and then going down the hill.

I don't think I have any pictures of the street (Andriyivsky Uzviz), but here is one courtesy Google Image. You can see the road leading up to the church at the top of the hill. It is a really beautiful place, and there is a street fair along the road during the weekends selling all sorts of soviet kitsch, crafts, clothes, and art.

Well, I will end my post here. The next post will talk about more of what we did during our stay in Kiev. Anna (and Daddy) had a full schedule. Mommy worked, but also had some quality 'hill' time on the weekends and after work.