Some R&R, and L&L

The first L stands for Lorenza (Marcin), my partner and best friend, who visited me this week so we could enjoy some fabulous [insert second L'ing here]. Lo flew from Richmond to New York to Kiev's Borispol airport, arriving on the morning of April 5. I met her at the airport, and then we took a taxi into Kiev.

We stayed for four days at the Kozatsky Hotel, in the center of the city -- where all the government buildings are. The Kozatsky faces the Maidan, or Independence Square, a plaza that was the scene of Ukraine's 2004 "Orange Revolution": That's when hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians descended on the Maidan to demand that the government throw out the results of a rigged election and hold a fair election (which was won by the current president, Viktor Yushchenko).

I was nervous about staying at the Koz because there's been a lot of political turmoil in Ukraine: The Parliament (called the Verkhovna Rada) has taken away a lot of the president's power, so Yushchenko has retaliated by dissolving the Verkhovna Rada and calling for parliamentary elections in May. I've seen on TV and the Web and in the newspapers stories about demonstrators converging on the Maidan for Orange Revolution Part II, and I was wondering whether the congestion of people would prevent us from getting to the hotel.

Adding to my worries were e-mails like this from the U.S. Embassy in Kiev:

In light of press reports of possible demonstrations in central Kyiv, the Embassy would like to remind Americans to be aware of their security and to avoid large public gatherings and demonstrations. Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence. You are therefore urged to avoid the areas of demonstrations if possible, and to exercise caution if within the vicinity of any demonstrations, as well as assess their impact on traffic and transportation. Americans witnessing violent or unusual activities should leave the area and then report any potentially illegal activities to the police or to the Embassy.

But those concerns turned out to be totally unfounded. Yes, there were demonstrations -- and people camped out on the Maidan -- but things were calm and peaceful. As Lorenza said, this demonstration wouldn't have even registered on Latin America's protest meter.

So to everybody who e-mail me and asked about my safety, let me assure you: I'm fine.

Lorenza and I took a lot of long walks around Kiev. I've posted pictures in my Picasa Web Album. Here are some samples -- first from the Great Patriotic War Museum ...



... which also featured dueling "peace tanks":



Kiev's funicular -- a cable car that joins the "upper city" with Podil, the Dnepr flood plain turned residential neighborhood. In the Podil, Lorenza and I visited the National Chernobyl Museum:



This car with the CCCP plates (Сою́з Сове́тских Социалисти́ческих Респу́блик, or Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) is part of a theme restaurant that (to me) had a Dukes of Hazzard feel. Lenin would be spinning in his grave.