'It's in the frozen-foods section'

An American couple Selma knows visited Kharkiv many years ago and became friends with a local resident named Elena Solonskaya. Selma got Elena's contact information and has been in touch with her. Elena teaches English at a military college in Kharkiv and serves as a translator. Her children have attended university in the U.S.

Today, we met Elena, had some tea and then went to an outdoor market (RIH-nak) -- far different from the Kroger-like grocery mall we visited a week ago.

The market wasn't far -- we hopped on a trolley and rode it for four stops, just past the JIA offices. The market was similar to what Lorenza and I have seen in Latin America -- and to the souks I shopped at in Morocco. Well, except that everything was in the frozen-foods section: The vendors were set up outside, undeterred by the swirling snow, biting wind and 20-degree (F) temperature.

Selma and I bought fruit, potatoes and a popular dish that is a cross between sauerkraut and cole slaw -- a sort of pickled cabbage. The only meat we saw was fish -- some of them behind a butcher-type counter (they were dead) and others foundering in a vat of water (they were alive, but not long for this world). We passed on the fish, but Elena asked where we could get some meat, and a vendor directed us to another part of the market -- mercifully, indoors!

It was an auditorium-type building where many more vendors had set up. Some were selling fruits and vegetables (I was glad we rewarded the outdoor stalwarts with our money), but others were selling things you couldn't buy in the outdoor area: yogurt, cheese, beef, chicken ...

I didn't take any pictures in the market; it seemed intrusive, and my hands were cold. I may do that some other time -- Selma and I plan to go back.

I did take a picture of a monument across from the rinak: It commemorates Aug. 23, 1943, when the Red Army finally liberated Kharkiv from the Nazis. Kharkiv suffered terribly during World War II. Here's a blurb from Wikipedia:

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During World War II Kharkiv was the site of several military engagements. The city was captured by Nazi Germany and its military allies, recaptured by the Red Army, captured again twice by the Nazis and then finally liberated on August 23, 1943. Seventy percent of the city was destroyed and tens of thousands of the inhabitants were killed. It is mentioned that Kharkiv was the most populated city in the Soviet Union occupied by Nazis, since in the years preceding World War II Kiev was the smaller of the two by population.