I awoke spontaneously this morning at 6:00 after sleeping like an Orthodox monk in cell for eight uninterrupted hours. The world is good, I feel wonderful, and this Saturday morning approach my first venture into this special city with trembling anticipation. I am seated comfortably by one of the arched windows of the apartment overlooking the Lva Tolstovo Plaza, a three cornered intersection named for the novelist Leo Tolstoy, with its two Metro (or subway) entrances. I have the window open a crack partly to let in the pleasant sound of the traffic four stories below, and partly to let in a cool breeze. The cast iron steam radiators in this wonderfully old apartment building are emitting a nice heat, but the valves appear to have been painted shut seventy or eighty years ago. I read somewhere that Ukrainians never open the windows in the winter, but I enjoy the slightly wafting breeze carrying the sounds up to my ears in this lofty aerie.
I am amazed that the effects of jet lag have not yet struck me. I slept very well last night after intentionally remaining awake until the normal sleeping hours of the Kyivan world. I have also been drinking a lot of water and intend to go out this morning in a few minutes when the sun arises. May the solar and circadian rhythms of this new clime sink immediately into my system.
My plan today is to venture forth to explore. I go first to make a personal pilgrimage to Pecherska Lavra, the complex of hilltop monasteries and churches which is one of the holiest sites in all of Orthodoxy. The weather should be good for my pilgrimage, with highs in the 40s today and only a slight chance of rain. Tomorrow we expect snow, which will be most pleasant to see early tomorrow morning, descending upon the life-filled triangle of the Lva Tolstovo below me.
No comments:
Post a Comment