Finally…some time (and getting over a cold) to start posting about my trip to Ukraine that I’ve been gushing about to everyone. Even though I’ve been back in the US for a week and a half, buried in work, and sick as hell…this trip is still finding ways to redefine me.

(ps – this is part two of the series. The beginning can be found here at My Life Changing Trip to Ukraine.

So here we are…ready to embark on my journey. One quick note – I feel I’ve done a good bit of traveling in my life. Extensive travel all over the United States, a couple stints to Canada and Mexico, a good number of trips around the Caribbean, but I have never been to Europe. Thus, this was a new travel adventure for me. Some of my “oh that was neat” comments may seem rather boring to experienced world travelers but I think it’s neat to look at things with a fresh set of eyes (like my first time in the Caribbean when I commented on how amazingly clear the water was and my then-girlfriend said “wow, I’ve been here so much that I kinda forgot about that. Thanks for pointing it out to me again. Yeah…wow…that’s neat”.

Time for travel!

My day starts off on a Sunday in Atlanta. Had a friend take me to the airport by noon. This in itself was a new adventure as the Atlanta Airport just added an International Terminal and this was my first chance to check it out. It’s completely separated from the rest of the airport, you even take a different highway to get to it. It was also MUCH less crowded than the amazingly busy domestic set of terminals of the airport. I’m already digging this trip…right on.

My international terminal fun didn’t last too long however as once I went through all the security measures I ended up taking the tram back to the domestic area and would be flying out of there. Well pooh! I had a little more time than I had expected to wait so I figured spending an hour or two in the Delta Sky Club would be a great use of my time (ie, free wine, free snacks, wifi, etc). I did some good last-minute emails while downing some vino and then made my way to the gate (in case you’re wondering, yes, I did get a slight buzz before my flight…oops!). Made my way to the gate and hopped on a VERY crowded airplane. Oh my…crazy crowded!

The flight was ok. Longest flight I’ve ever been on (I think it was about 8-9 hours as I flew to Amsterdam). My knees were NOT happy with me by the time I landed in Amsterdam at 6am local time. Kinda weird getting to my airport at 12pm and landing from my flight at 6am. Zoiks! It was crazy foggy when I landed so I couldn’t see much of the surrounding landscape. Bummer. Guess I’ll have to take a trip over there and stay for a bit.

Ah yes, the Amsterdam airport. I kinda dug it! Definitely different than the dozens of other airports I’ve been to. My first order of business was to check to see if the ATM card that I brought for the bank account I planned on using overseas actually worked. I was freaking out a little bit on the plane because I wasn’t sure if I set the PIN on it or not. Egads…what would I do in Ukraine for a week if I had no money? Ummm…yeah. A bit scary there so I searched for some ATMs and finally got
to give it a test. Whew! I was able to withdraw some local currency…hurray! Now that I had some cash, might as well buy some magnets from the airport (I buy magnets at every airport I fly into…I know, I’m weird). What was interesting and very new to me was the fact I had to show my boarding pass while purchasing my magnets. Huh…odd.

Now that I was able to snag money, next order of business was to see where my next gate was and see if there were crazy security lines. I still had two hours ’til my flight so everything was empty. This being the case I figured I’d snag some food and chill for a bit. Lucky me, there was an Irish pub in the airport and I was able to down a few pints of stout with my eggs while waiting for my flight.

Sauntering my way to the gate I saw many more people in line. This whole thing about having security at each individual gate was definitely a new thing for me. Made my way through and then sat in what seemed very similar to a smoking room at a mall or airport…a small glass-enclosed room where we all start sitting around. At this point it was becoming a little more apparent to me that “hey, I’m doing to Ukraine” as I noticed many people with Eastern European features. Finally it was time to board the plane and I was one step closer to landing in Ukraine to explore a land that had intrigued for many years and to finally meet a very dear friend of mine in person. (what’s that? Is there a side story here? Perhaps.)

Once on the plane I tried to sleep as much as possible as I realized it was already 9am local time and even though I slept as much as possible on the first leg of the trip, we all know sleeping on the plane isn’t the most sound of sleeps.

Finally…we were approaching Kiev. Flying over Ukraine and taking in as many sights as I could, I couldn’t really say I was seeing anything particularly new or wild. However, as we landed and were taxiing around I was becoming aware that I was in a new land. Seeing all the signs in the Cyrillic alphabet was one of the first “you’re in a new place now boy!” along with distinctly eastern bloc buildings was bringing it all home to me. I stared out the airplane’s window with childlike wonderment as we made our way to…to…not to a gate. We just stopped on the tarmac and a bunch of buses showed up for us to cram into and make our way to the airport terminal. Once again…I’m a stranger in a strange land. Trying to take cues around me to see what the local customs are, this clearly American guy walking to the bus and getting situated as we made our way to the terminal.

First stop…Passport Control! Luckily that was fairly obvious what to do so I stood in line with my passport out. I was already a little disappointed with myself for having not learned more Russian before my trip. In my opinion, if I’m traveling to another country I should at least be able to fumble my way through things and have the most basic of questions in that language. Sadly I’ve been swamped with work and hadn’t been able to prepare to my own standards. However, I stood in line and was able to discern the difference between citizens and non-citizens and I stood in the non-citizen line (which was oddly the longest line) until a guard told me to go to another window. I of course did as I was told but was already wondering “am I in the right line?” Alas, luckily there were no issues and I made my way through.

Next up…bathroom! Oh good googly did I have to pee. Luckily the bathrooms were right near baggage claim so I ran in there real quick and then waited for my bag. Might as well check in on Foursquare while I’m at it…

My overstuffed bag (had to bring some gifts over for my people!) finally made it’s way around and I was able to snag it and walk toward the exit. Hm, interesting, another x-ray machine to run my bag through. Fine…I can do that. Finally made my way through the double doors to leave the secured area and alas…a sea of people that I could barely make my way through with this giant bag over my shoulder. Looking around for a familiar face (with me being tired as hell by now) and I finally see my Ukrainian friend. Hurray! A quick hug and then to get out of the crowd was the next plan. And then finding local currency for the taxi ride.

And that my friends was my journey…
What happens next? You know I’ll tell you soon enough!

Parting notes: Since my return I’ve basically wanted to go back to Ukraine each and every day. It still makes me take pause and think about things. I smile when I think about my trip, my experience, my friends. Just this morning I was getting dressed for work and got all mushy when I thought “aw, the last time I wore these shoes and pants I was in Ukraine”. Very fond memories.

Since my return I’ve already signed up for more ways to learn Russian, ordered my stickers to put on my keyboard for the Cyrillic alphabet, and continued my search for an authentic Turkish coffee pot (Larisa’s sisters spoiled me with good coffee on a daily basis and I must now have some).