Stardate: Oct 29, 2007 Crowds, Picnics and German Manors in Drizzling Rain

On Sunday, Oct, 7, 2007,we awoke early for an 8:30am departure for a German manor house and a Botanical Gardens located between here and Poltava. We piled into Roman’s SUV which seats 7 (Maddy made 8) and drove for about 1 hour and 15 minutes into the country. We passed villages with small square brick houses and little vegetable gardens, stray animals of all varieties: cows, geese, chickens, cats, dogs, and goats. I can’t say that the villages were quaint or picturesque, because they were built as strong, heavy buildings for communal farms or cooperatives by the Soviets. More than anything they seemed to be as well maintained as possible, but without any decoration. Folks are clearly focusing on survival and not beauty.

We arrived at the German manor house which was guarded by a gaggle of white and gray geese. The manor house was not in good shape, but we’d been told it had been restored? Hm. Well, we found out that only a couple parts of it, including the front of the house had been renovated. The once-serene grounds were crumbling ruins. The original owner had made a micro-climate that was helpful for individuals suffering from TB, because his wife had it. There was a lake with a bridge over it, and a garden house with an orchard. The grounds also included a 600 year old oak tree, a huge rock from the Crimea called the “Loyalty Rock,” a pheasant house, and other little cottages used for differing purposes.

The Loyalty Rock was brought back from the Crimea when one of the owners heard that his wife had cheated on him. The rock was a special place for them in the Crimea. When she saw it, she supposedly burst into tears because she knew that he had discovered. I thought that sounded a bit strange, so I asked what happened next, and the guide said, “Nothing.” What? Nothing? So, I asked many more questions to learn nothing more. I decided that there were two possibilities for the interpretation of the loyalty rock: 1) he was saying to her that I know, but I will love you in spite of your error, or 2) for her, it said that your faith is not as strong as this rock. Not sure which interpretation is correct, or if there is another possibility.

We continued walking in the woods, which were cool but it was damp and drizzling, and we stopped at some mildly interesting sites until Maddy couldn’t move another step. She was muddy all over her new gray cords, and her red boots were hard to discern under the layers of dark brown muck. I volunteered to take her back to the car, so that Patrick and the others could continue the tour and go into the mansion.

The inside of the mansion was ornate. It has amazing frescos. There was a game room that Pat would like to have at home. It was very dark inside and after "renovation" still needs a lot of work.

At 2pm after we left the mansion, we went to a little picnic table that was just off the side of the road. We had a really necessary, varied, and delicious lunch. There were cheese wraps with bell peppers, ham, sausage, cold, boiled potatoes, hot tea, juice, and fruit. It was like heaven.

After lunch, folks drifted discreetly into the woods to take a pee. It was kind of funny, 1) because they all carry TP all the time anyway since public toilets (even at school) are not equipped with TP and 2) because it was super natural for them all to just go take a wiz. There is an old Ukrainian saying that goes, “If you ask a Ukrainian where the bathroom is, they will answer, it is everywhere.” Maddy saw folks drifting into the woods and started to follow them. I was waiting for some folks to return prior to my turn since the woods were teaming with some 10 of us and I didn’t think I’d find a spot or worse that I would find someone else’s occupied spot! I tried to call her back, but she kept going. And surprise! She shocked the hell out of a 20-something year old boy taking a pee against a tree! J Oh well. All the adults got a big kick out of it. She later accompanied me to the woods and was very helpful in holding TP; I never realized this perk before.

The weather started clearing up at this point, and we made our way to a Botanical Garden a ways away. We went through several more villages. On the way, we stopped at what had been another mansion. What remained of it was only the stables, but man, they must have been incredible once. The buildings were really big for barns and even had cornices on the columns inside.

While we were there, we stopped at a cute Eastern Orthodox chapel. It had the typical onion dome, but had a pointed, curve shape to the building that made it interesting. The building was also carved in placed. We happened to luck out when we arrived, because they were performing a baptism that we all stood witness to. One of the videos on youtube is of this baptism. By the time, we arrived at the Botanical Gardens, Maddy was asleep on me, so I stayed behind with her so that she would have a full nap.

The Botanical Gardens according to Pat was just a walk in the woods. There were no plants. There was a little island in a pond with a steep half circle bridge connecting it to the mainland. On the island, the main attraction was a cool chair carved out of a stump. But the sun was coming out so the walk was nice.

On the way back, we stopped again for another lunch! These guys had planned a feast for 2 meals without letting us lift a finger. Pat and I felt a little like we were imposing or mooching, but everyone just seemed happy to host us. We were really grateful to have such hospitality. For our 2^nd lunch (and yes, we are actually losing weight), we had hot baked potatoes with generous slices of bacon inserted into the middle; spicy-hot, dill pickles; wraps with a beef brisket-like jerky and bell peppers; marinated mushrooms; carrot salad; and a cabbage, cold slaw. Hot tea was served at the conclusion of lunch again. Each meal was also accompanied by pepper vodka, which the men all and some women took shots of. With each shot, there were toasts to love and women, health and international friendship. Pat was considered the greatest when he was the only one still capable of drinking a shot on the third toast- to love and women! He earned a hearty “Hoorah!” from everyone. They also got a kick out of Maddy’s ability to toast with the rest of the adults! That concluded our excursion and we drove home well-fed, comforted and mellowed.