This was our last day in Kyiv and our mission was to get passports, find shoes, and souveniers. I did not even take the camera along for once-an indication that I was ready to go home I think. In the morning we found a mall about a mile away. It was modern, had a couple levels, and stores and prices like the US. After some searching, we found shoes in a sporting goods store for Tanya and Lienna! The walk home from there was much better for them. We headed back to McDonalds to have lunch and meet Dima who get our passports. This McDonalds will not be forgotten by Jon. It was a bad sign when he thought his McChicken tasted like the Filet O Fish. Before finishing his ice cream cone, he got sick. To top it off, the handle broke on the bathroom stall so he got locked in for a bit. Not a good feeling.
We still had our souvenier shirts and some Russian kids books we wanted to find. We knew where they were downtown but we had no idea how to get there. Our apartment was in a different part of the city than before. When Dima came with our passports, it turned out he was taking the subway downtown and would show us how to get there. This worked good since it would have been hard to get a taxi for a family of six. This was also a new experience for all of us. The subways only cost 50 grivnas per person - that is 10 cents. This subway started with a very long escalator ride going very deep down. We were told that Kyiv has some of the deepest in the world. Then like most subways I suppose, it was very crowded and a challenge to keep our group together. We came out at Independance Square which was good because it was familiar to us. We found the soccer shirts we were looking for and also gave the girls all some money to buy some souveniers.
While the girls were shopping, Jon was getting sick. He sat down and felt very weak and feverish. We got our shirts and decided to head home. This was not quick and it meant the subway again. On the standing room only subway, Jon was hanging on the bar and I thought he was going to pass out. Evidentally the lady below him on the seat thought so also and offered him her seat. It was nice of her but actually she could see the risk of sitting below him and could see his white face. God really protected us and gave Jon the strength to walk the last quarter mile to the apartment. He was having chills and wrapped up in the blanket in our hot apartment. That was the first time I saw him use a blanket in three weeks! Fortunately by evening he felt good enough to pack us up for the trip home in the morning.
Here are some pictures from our 8th floor apartment. There are rows of apartments like this in Odessa and Kiev. There is a little playground right below our window. Our apartment was remodeled inside with a newer bathroom and kitchen. The drawback was the old stairwells, tiny old elevator, and four deadbolt doors we went through to get in.
