Day 12

Eager to leave the so-called peace of the Ukrainian countryside we set out early to make Kiev asap. A swift call to a contact in the Kiev Rotary Club provided us with an invite to their weekly meeting and (after negotiating Kiev rush-hour and finally finding a parking space) we were welcomed with open arms. After being plied with much food and offered all sorts of support and advice and were then guided to our nights accommodation. This turned out to be a room in a fully functioning children’s hospital, run by one of the Rotary Club. We were met and welcomed at the hospital by a friendly young doctor called Igor who helped us settle in and provided us with tea and biscuits and in return we gave him the chance to practice his English. During the course of this discourse he very matter of factly told us he was getting married on Saturday and so could not join us for a drink the next day. After cold showers all round (due to lack of any hot water) we hit the hay.