We stayed at the Aurora Hotel . . .
. . . in a business suite
which had a pretty little enclosed patio where we studied together. We ate lovely food.
which tasted every bit as good as it looked. We enjoyed being in the company of both other mission couples and President and Sister Fry. Elder and Sister Aagard sat across the table from us; Elder and Sister Burr to our left with President and Sister Fry to the right of the Aagard's.
Elder and Sister Burr were our host couple in Kharkov. They live out of the center of town in an area called Холодная Гора, (Cold Mountain), where they have a small house with a lawn to mow, apricot and apple trees and a vegetable garden. They were wonderful tour guides, pointing out beautiful, thought-provoking, sobering and culturally enlightening sites.
We found the old buildings fascinating.
We had breakfast at McDonald's.
We watched pre-schoolers dance while their teacher accompanied them on the accordian.
We traveled on автобус, метро, такси, and маршрутка, from one side of the city to another, exploring the open markets, open air and covered пыноки, (pronounced reeniks) as well as visiting an actual shopping mall.
The largest art пынок in Kharkov pops up in the middle of a beautiful city park at 9 am every morning throughout the summer, then disappears with the sun, only to appear again the next morning. Here one can find paintings, statuary, leather, pottery, weaving, handwork, crafts and cultural artifacts.
Barbashova is an immense пынок (or flea market) that every elder MUST visit before leaving Ukraine, if only to shop at the "tie stall" where hundreds of men's ties are available in every style and color imaginable for a fraction of what they would cost in the states.
The Assistants to the President served as our tour guides another day when we went with Sister Fry both shopping and touring. The largest Cathedral in Kharkov, the Annunciation Cathedral is affectionately called the "candy-striped Cathedral" by English speakers.
There were other sights much more sobering.
Do we hear about the more sobering sights in the next blog?
ReplyDeleteLooks like you've had a mini vacation in Kharkov. Very cultural images.
ReplyDeleteYour mission was a main topic of conversation at placement, we had eight missionaries.
So, have you swapped misson presidents yet? We're getting a new one here- a known rugby coach from Utah.
Love you,
Still awaiting more updates,
Michael
I too was wondering about the sobering sights. I know Ukraine has had a rough histoy, being right in the middle of things during major conflicts. I read a bit about the Pale of Settlement and the Holodomor. I think learning and teaching Family History there would be quite perspective changing.
ReplyDeleteI thank my Father in Heaven that he has sent his Missionaries to teach of his plan and of his love to his sons and daughters in Ukraine who have gone through so much. I am glad he sent you two.
The food. The sights. The wonder of lovely people living across the globe... doing things differently yet the same. Your blog makes me so hungry for it my teeth hurt.
ReplyDeleteKharkov looks beautiful! the food looks fabulous, the buildings look intriguing, the sights look educational, and the art look quite breathtaking, but I would have to say my absolute favorite picture would have to be the picture with Dad reading scriptures and Mom laying her head on his shoulder!
ReplyDelete