Tuesday: Kharkov Day 4

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Day four in Kharkov

(Last day here before returning to Kiev)

Weather: Another beautiful day! Weather network says 18 degrees with a relative humidity factor of 52%! (MISSING)It feels a lot warmer than that (and it's only 10:00)

Was up at 6:00 this morning. Watched the city wake up. Nice way to start the day, my last day in Kharkov.

Received an email last night from a fellow North American traveler, Brett from New York is currently in Poltava. He found and read through my blog, and wanted to say hi.
Hi Brett!! I will email you when I get home. I hope you're having a terrific time in Poltava. You didn't mention if this was your first time to Poltava or not though. If it is, I'm happy to hear that you are having a wonderful experience. If you're returning to Poltava, it's no wonder! LOL It is a beautiful city. Best wishes for a safe and happy trip!!

As I mentioned, it is 10:00. I'm up, wide awake (and without caffeine, imagine!!), and ready to head out the door. Hope everyone is having a terrific day today .. ok, well, most of the people reading this blog are in Canada, so, you're sound asleep considering it's 2:20am right now!! LOL
I'll probably already be back here with another update by the time you even get your butts outta bed! :o)

Met Masha at the Flower Park at approx 12:15. Inga then met us at Coffee Life.
First impressions: Her photos did not do her justice!!
I presented the gifts for the girls, and Inga's birthday present.
We talked (through Masha) for about two hours. Masha and Inga each had to get home to meet their children from school, and prepare dinner for them. We made arrangements to meet at Pushka for dinner at 18:00.

I attempted to look up the address of a flower shop near Pushka Restaurant. I managed to get very lost, did not find any flower shops, but did manage to get back to Pushka for 17:50. The girls showed up at about 18:05. Both ladies were dressed very classy, and looked terrific.

Dinner at Pushka: the internet reviews did not do this place justice. It is well worth the money. The atmosphere, the decor, the hospitality, and of course, the dishes were top notch!
Inga mentioned that girls loved their dolls, and were playing with them already when she left for dinner. She also said the housecoat fit her perfectly (good guess on size!!), and the colour was perfect. Conversation was easy, comfortable, and flowing throughout dinner.
Dinner for all of us came to 546 rph (approx 55 Euros, about $75US ) - for THREE people!! HIGHLY recommended for any visitors to the area. I will definitely be back to Kharkov, Inga, and Pushka again!
Inga and I hit it off amazingly. We exchanged email addresses, and have discussed a future visit in spring.

Inga had to get home to the girls at about 20:00. She bid farewell, Masha and I continued chatting for a while (all about Inga of course). Masha speaks very highly of Inga, and at first impression has indicated that she hopes that Inga and I have a future together.

My only thoughts of the entire night were "Wow". I have no other words that can describe the entire experience.
Most people in our lives never quite match our expectations of them, some meet the expectations, but rarely does anyone exceed our expectations to the level that Inga exceeded mine last night.

Off to the apartment to get things organized, packed up and ready for departure tomorrow morning at 6:00 for Kiev.
I am slightly regretting my decision now to cut Kharkov down by one day. Inga was also disappointed to find out that my plans had changed.
Looking back on Kharkov overall, I do think that my negative expectations, hesitations, and the negative things that I had heard about the city prior to arriving tainted my experience. Although Kharkov is a major city, very large, you do have to maintain caution and be aware of your surroundings. However, this is true for any big city in the world. I did not have any dealings with the Police (Militia) although their presence was known and very visible, they did not bother anyone that I witnessed.
My experience in Kharkov was positive, pleasant, and for the most part, comfortable. I will visit Kharkov again in the future (obviously in order to see Inga), however, I will look at alternative accommodations next time. The experience with the apartment definitely had major input into my earlier dismay of the city.

Bed: 21:00

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