The home and land of the Anna's clan. This is where Anna's family lives. We've already met Sergei, Anna's father, as he helped us find our way from Kiev to here, and upon arrival we met Anna's aunt, Alla, and her cousin Pavlic. They were kind enough to pick us up from the train station at 6am when we arrived and drop us off to Sergei's apartment in town.  Dnepropetrovsk is a large city actually, but feels like a bit of a town. It's very green and downtown isn't tall and imposing like it is in most cities. The central square is surrounded by shopping malls and is anchored by a 2 story marry-go-round. The city gets it's name from the Dnepr River, which is quite wide and runs almost 3000kms throughout the Ukraine and divides the city pretty much in half.

We found our way to Sergei's place and spent a day or so there getting organized. It is being renovated so it was a little chaotic. Almost everyone in Ukraine either lives in an apartment or in the countryside in a home. There's no in between. The majority are in apartments in town. The apartment buildings were all built between the 40's and 70's, so no new glass skyscrapers are to be found anywhere. The people living there however, do update their apartments from time to time, so from the outside the buildings will look old, but on the inside some of them are brand new with the latest finishing. Truly you can't judge a book by it's cover.

I mentioned that the city has the Dnepr River divide it. What I didn't mention was the flurry of activity that takes place along the river. There are several kilometers of boardwalks along the river that are host to many restaurants, small shops, street vendors and performers. When we were there we saw a street fitness festival getting under way. They brought some a couple of people in from New York and held this street festival to promote local fitness without the need for special equipment. Some of the people just walking were performing amazing feats of strength I didn't know were possible! Backwards pull ups on the bars and such. There's a reason a lot of Olympic gymnasts and coaches are Ukrainian & Russian.

We actually took a river cruise down the Dnepr river one day. It was arranged by one of Tatiana's/Anna's friends. We all went as a large group on a boat with a full compliment of food, drinks, and good spirits. We were able to see the city from the river itself and get a good look at many of the sites. Along the way we passed a number of bridges, took pictures, and stopped for a swim. The best part was on the way back. One thing I've seen is that Ukrainians can turn almost any waterfront into a beach. Where the boat was docking was a tiny beach full of people sun bathing & swimming. There were a lot of kids in the water who saw us coming in from the river. They all swam out to the boat like we were the main attraction and started to climb into the boat! It was like World War Z, but with laughing children.

After a couple of days we headed out into the countryside. Here we are visiting Anna's grandparents on their farm, known locally as "Datchya". I've heard much about the Datchya in Calgary and how all the kids in the family spend their summers here. Now after 5 years, I'm finally going to meet the rest of the family and see the famed Datchya. We travelled for an hour or so to get here by bus. Once we arrived we were warmly greeted by Anna's grand parents (whom we call Baba & Dada), Alla and her husband Archie (from England), and their 2 dogs, Bex and Santa (named after the soap opera "Santa Barbara"). The Datchya is a small farm that has been in the family for over 25 years and was built by Dada. He built the house himself in many stages from the ground up. As the family grew, so did the house. In addition to the house there is the land. Here they grow almost all the food they need. They have greenhouses full of their special tomatoes that people come far and wide to have, grapes, apricots, strawberries, gooseberries, currants, cucumbers and potatoes. In addition they have a chicken coupe with about 8 hens all laying eggs daily. In the past when they were younger they used to have pigs  on the property for meat, but now they buy meat from the store. Dada loves fishing so he goes daily to the river to catch some fish. When he's successful we're eating fish that day. Mmmmmm fresh fish. The day I arrived was the day after they just sold their harvest of strawberries. They taste just like candy out of the ground, so they had no problem selling their 200kgs in the market. There is no indoor plumbing, the home is heated by boiler, and water comes from both a well and the river. The shower is gravity fed with a tank on the roof, the washroom is outside, and In Russian/Ukrainian fashion, they also have a sauna. This is real country living, which is something I've never experienced before in my life, but the family here all grew up with it.

My first impression was how beautiful everything is. Fruits and veggies are growing everywhere and the home was built with love and care. They are on the corner of their street next to a large field where we can watch the sunsets at night. The food tastes amazing and the family is as warm and welcoming as you can imagine. No pressure either. Do what you want when you want. The only negative are the insects. There are a lot of bugs here on the farm, which is to be expected with such a lively operation. It doesn't take long to get used to them, but some days are worse than others. That's when the bug spray comes out.

The hospitality here has been amazing. Everyone as been exceptionally nice and welcoming to us, and I can easily say I've been completely full for a week straight! I don't know what it means to be hungry anymore, and it's scaring me a little bit. When here we eat only traditional Ukrainian cuisine. Ukrainian food is very rich food that fills you up quick. Hearty "young" potatoes which are only grown here; tomato & cucumber salad; small pirogues called "pelmeni" (I know I’m not spelling that right) with sour cream; borscht; egg salad; rye bread; and much much more. Breakfast are very thin pancakes with sour cream and coffee. Dinner is always had with either vodka, beer, or cognac. The reason is because dinners are always a good time to toast and celebrate, which is a regular occurrence here. I can't confirm whether or not it's because I'm a guest or not, but I think it's safe to say that toasting at dinner is much more common than the odd birthday or stat holiday. The toasts are very serious, but very jovial all at the same time. You never put your drink down until you drank from it. Never touch it until the toast is finished, and everyone takes turns toasting. Usually you toast love, family, a special occasion, guests, health, happiness, home, your blessings, etc. We've toasted the Datchya, future, the grandparents Baba & Dada, and more. This hospitality isn't limited to the Datchya. Our second day here, Sergei's girlfriend sent us a care package that could've fed 5 people when she heard we had no food in the house. We had a change of plans this one time and were in need of a place to stay that night, so on short notice we called a family friend and within 2 hours Anna, myself, and Tatiana (Anna's mother) were all being accommodated in their apartment downtown. We were picked up, taken to the grocery store, and fed a royal dinner with some of the best food I can remember having. Naturally we were celebrated and toasted repeatedly, and invited back for more. Ukrainian hospitality is so unconditionally generous. They are eager and happy to help and always celebrate new friends and family. I was told outright that I'm family now, which was a big moment for me and I instantly felt right at home. There is very little English being spoken ever, except to translate for me, but I don't feel out of place at all. That's a true compliment.

This blog is much more personal than most because of the very nature of our visit here. We're here visiting family and meeting new people that will be part of our lives for years to come. The families here all have deep roots in this city. Most of the time spent here is with the family and not touring around the sites, which is fine with me.

Once Ali had written this post, he had to jet off back to the homeland due to complications in life. I (Anna) continued the rest of the trip. Once Ali left, it was my birthday and we gathered pretty much almost all of my family and celebrated in a true Ukrainian style. Up next is the sea trip to Sevastopol!