Missing in Action!!! Next was THE UKRAINE

Sorry all who follow my blog....I have been missing in action.

My next trip after Lithuania was Ukraine in October, wanted to get in and out before winter. Obviously a smart move given this Natural Gas Embargo from Russia. Can I just say WOW...that was some trip into the past! The lack of everything is just unbelievable. I have pictures I want to post, but haven't done it yet.

The Roads: Insane!! Rough, unmarked, no speed limits....flew into Austria then to Kharkov and had a car from Kharkov to Trostyonets (where our confections plant is). The mix of past and current is a bit crazy too. I saw a man leading his cow talking on a cell phone. The trucks are Soviet Union Era. There still are horse and carts on the road. The roads were so bumpy that I my brains were a bit sloshy when we got to our destination.

The homes: Our hotel was very nice, very new and on a guarded compound. Not for our physical safety but to keep our 'stuff' safe. Our rooms were very big and empty!! Had a desk, a nice bed and a TV....and a lot of empty space....the rooms were bigger than typical western high end hotels. But out my side of the hotel I saw huge McMansions being built....very much like what we have in the states but not stone or brick....plaster/smooth stucco. But everywhere else the homes were small and in decay and behind gated walls along the highway. There was an attempt to keep them painted in very bright colors, blues, greens, yellows. Or they were high rise apartment building again in horrible decay. Saw a woman moving her heard of goats along the road and all the women that live in the country wear what you would expect as typical ....babushka on the head, longer skirt, sensible shoes, over sized cardigan sweaters and aprons. In many ways it was a very cool trip to go to the past.

My colleagues: well, the down side was when I got to the meeting to do my presentation, the IS folks made all kinds of changes on my computer but still couldn't get me on the Kraft Intranet.....but then just left....didn't put anything back and my computer was hosed for days. When i got back to Munich the site IT helped a lot to get me back on the network. But it took someone from India to take over my computer over the Internet and work to reload and make changes to allow me to use my iPass again...so I could log on from off-site. The huge upside, was getting to meet all the great folks....I will post pictures later with some information about each of them.

The food: AWESOME....we were in a hotel that was modeled after Kazakhstan....I will tell you, I love Kazakhstan food. The spices and flavoring was just terrific. I did have Borscht and they pickle just about all their vegetables. It was all very good. My Hungarian friend, Imola, loves her Vodka. Every trip we need to sip on an icy shot of vodka. I just need to say I am not a fan of vodka. She usually gets to finish my too!! She knows her vodka too. Her grandfather used to make his own, but from fruit (plums?) instead of potatoes.

I will post pictures soon.