Yesterday we got pulled over by a traffic cop who was standing in the center median of a highway. He carries a black and white latitudally striped baton about 20 inches long. If you are chosen, he points the baton at you while you obliviously drive 90 kph in a 50 kph speed trap. Next to the baton man is the radar man, holding a device made in the USA, Jim was told, while undergoing interrogation in the station while I waited in the car. It cost us 250 UAH on the spot. Every sent we had. The next ATM was a 2 hour drive. Thats how we round up here in Berdyansk Ukraine. Little seaside city. Spent the morning at the market, so fun! The stalls and vendors and smells and colors are like a magnet.
Our hotel is our second in The Ukraine. There is nothing in the room that can be removed. No lamps, pictures, rugs, etc. You sign an agreement to follow the “rules” and get into an elevator that barely fits us and 2 duffle bags. We haven’t been in an elevator yet that stops flush with the floor. They creak and wobble and bounce and its always a little surprising when the doors open and you have actually arrived intact. Odessa was amazing but a whirlwind. We arrived in dark, of course, and had our first hotel experience. We thought the Bentley in the parking lot meant it was 5 star. Not. It likely belongs to the mafioso that owns the place!
Cisenau Moldova was beautiful and much more European than the parts of Romania we saw. Our hotel was gorgeous when we saw it the following morning, another 11 pm arrival.
Today its off to mother Russia…
