Down by the Riverside

We are so happy to be living in Europe again. The lifestyle is quite different than the US. People walk everywhere, and the food is so fresh and good! I haven't been to a gym in weeks and I feel very fit... we feel like we may be losing weight even though we are eating a ton! I will say more about the food in a later post, don't worry Carol (have already been collecting pictures). But today I want to announce that we have an apartment!

We looked at no less than 20 places with about 6 different agents with our kind contacts at the university and embassy acting as translators. The place we ended up getting was the one I mentioned earlier that mysteriously went up in price by $300! Well, the owner called back (as I predicted) a few days later and said that we could have the place for less and he would provide for the cable-internet connection and a satellite dish (400 channels). Also, he would have blinds installed. We signed the contract yesterday and paid the agent 50% of a month's rent - that's customary around here.

So last night we dumped out our suitcases and filled all shelves and cabinets organizing our stuff. We are still lacking in hangers, some kitchen supplies, a broom, and a drying rack (remember, there are no dryers here), among other odds and ends. We'll have to buy that stuff on our own, but maybe the owners will buy it back from us at the end of the contract. It would be a good way for them to have the place fully-equipped for the next tenant.

Our building is a 6 1/2 minute walk to the university, it's on the Dnipro River (which completely freezes over in the winter!), it's "pre-revolution" construction so we suppose it was built around 1910-1915?? It is very cool! Our flat is directly above a fancy resaturant with valet parking people milling around our building entrance. Although the street is quite busy, when our windows are closed it's hard to hear the traffic. Kyiv (the Ukrainian spelling) is really a big city (around 3 million), but our area is very neighborhood-like and only two metro stops to the center. Our one-bedroom apartment has a European-style shower, a boiler (hot water heater in case central heating goes out), centralized heating (which comes on throughout the city on Oct. 15), a nice new bed, a couch, TV, and a little dining area in the kitchen (which also has a fridge, microwave, and small washing machine). We'll have to dig up a bookshelf and a desk to make it complete.

I think I forgot to mention that we also have a balcony from which you can see the neighborhood buildings in one direction and a beautiful little chapel on the river in the other. More news to come!