For breakfast, Klara fried some sausage whose name I can't remember. Klara said it was made with veal; it looked a lot like Italian mortadella, (is mortadella made with veal???). Very tasty! After breakfast, I spent the morning mowing the grass in the yard. I wanted to get it done and out of the way before it got hot. Afterwards, I walked to the bazaar to pick up a few things for myself and Klara. The bazaar isn't very far, but it took a long time to get there, because along the way there are too many things to stop and photograph. I was surprised at how many flowers were still in bloom.
In addition to the flowers, there is also plenty of wild berries. I think the photos below are of mulberries, and elderberries.
At the bazaar, I overheard some people speaking English. I asked them if they were Americans, and found out that they were from Florida. They said that they were here for six weeks, as part of a church group. I think they were doing some sort of missionary work, but one of the things they were doing was holding English language seminars for Ukrainians. They told me that their only requirements for teaching English was a good command of the English language - no formal training needed, and no requirement for any fluency in Ukrainian. I think their target audience is assumed to already have some knowledge of English, and their seminar is just meant to improve upon it. I'm glad I ran into them, since I've thought about the possibility of living here and teaching English. I have their card, so I'll have to come to one of their seminars and learn more.
I found out that the reason they were at the bazaar was to find a can opener, but they weren't having any luck because they didn't know much Ukrainian, and the bazaar is huge. I was able to help them out, asking some vendors where to find a shop that sold items for the kitchen. Overall, all of the vendors at the bazaar were very friendly and helpful. I needed directions myself, to find a shop selling clothes hangers, and another selling shaving cream. Everyone was very patient with my broken Ukrainian, and I had no problem finding what I needed. No one tried to take advantage of my confusion with Ukrainian numbers, either. When I tried to give the vendor selling the shaving cream 55 hrivna (which is what I thought he said the price was), he would only take 50. The point I'm trying to make is that Americans shouldn't be afraid to travel to Zakarpattia........getting around, shopping, eating and drinking, none of it is as intimidating as you might think.
Back at Klara's, had light lunch of soup, fresh ORGANIC tomatoes and peppers. It' still early afternoon, and I'm sure I'll have more to add to this post before the day is over. If you're reading this, come back later. Please, also do me a favor, and pass the link to my blog to anyone you feel might be interested. One thing I want to accomplish is to promote and encourage American travel and tourism to Zakapattia.
Went into Uzhgorod to the bank, to convert dollars to hrivna. The exchange rate has fallen a little, from 14 hrivna to the dollar, to 12.5 hrivna to the dollar. But the exchange rate is still much more favorable to the American dollar than last year - 8 hrivna to the dollar.
There's always something to see in town. I stopped at a souvenir shop that had some nice blouses and dresses in national costume; wanted to get some prices for a friend. Was difficult to get decent photo's, because the shop was small.
Prices ranged from about $45 to $85.
Went to the Greek Catholic Cathedral. I would have loved to take photo's inside, it is incredibly beautiful; however, Confessions were being heard, and I thought it would be disrespectful.
From the Cathedral steps, you can see the "Mir" cafe on Kapitalna Street, a small coffee and pizza shop owned by my cousin, Anatole Sokolov.
And just around the corner, on Voloshyn Street, is Egan's Irish Pub, which he also owns. If you're ever in Uzhgorod, stop at the Mir or Egan's Pub. Anatole says he has the best pizza in Uzhgorod. There is a wide selection of beers on tap at Egan's; when I visited last year, Anatole had me try some "live" beer.
I was hoping Anatole and his wife Alla would be there, but the staff said they were in Slovakia. I didn't want to take any photo's of the inside without Anatole there, so I'll come back later.
As I said, there's always something to see. I saw the fattest, ugliest little dog in the world, but it was too quick for me to photo. I saw another really cute little Chow puppy; he wouldn't quite cooperate and let me get a good shot.
And there's lots of street musicians performing:
As I was heading to the minibus to ride home, and stopped and talked to some taxi drivers. I learned that taxi fare from Uzhgorod to Dravtsi was only $1.50, and from Uzhgorod to Makachevo (distance about 25 miles) only $20.
When I got back to Klara's, Ivan was already making his halushki. He made potato halushki, using grated potato and flour. I couldn't get any information about the proportions; Klara said something about you test it by putting a little in hot water, and adding more flour if needed. Then Klara stirred the halushki batter through a halushki sieve and into hot water to cook.
Instead of being served with cabbage, this was served with cheese and fried salo. The cheese was a white, home-made cheese they get from a woman in Dovhe Pole; I think it's the same type of cheese that we use in some perohi. BTW, Klara said that the halushki sieve like hers can't be found in Ukraine, but only Slovakia.
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