DAMMIT

Whilst I was sleeping peacefully on the top bunk in the sleeper train to Kyiv, the war in Ukraine was taking a catastrophic humanitarian and environmental turn with the bombing of the Kakhovka dam. Both sides are blaming each other, the exact circumstances may never be known but one thing is sure it wouldn't have happened were it not for Russia's invasion. 

Hot spotting off Victoria's phone I was able to call Tom as the sleeper rolled into Kyiv railway station at 0630.

Tom -  "jump on the train to Zaparizhzhia, I'll meet you there, you have a ticket right?" 

No! 

I head into the ticket hall and ask for a ticket to Zaparizhzhia. 

Ticket office - "you just missed a train the next one isn't until 2100 this evening!" 

Advised to remove Sim cards before entering Ukraine I go in search of a UA sim, so bizarre how much we rely on our smartphones these days. No sooner than I'm online and my phone pings 

Tom - there's a train to Zap via Dnipro leaves at 0715 platform 9 ticket to follow GO

Ten minutes later I'm saying goodbye to Kyiv on the smartest hi-speed train imaginable. Not for the first time today I'm reflecting on how 'normal' life here seems. 

According to my tickets I have 15 minutes in Dnipro to find my connection to Zaparizhzhia, unfortunately even the latest hi-speed trains get delayed and we arrive with only 4 minutes for me to find the train. At this point I learnt some important lessons;  place names are often written in Cyrillic not English and few Ukrainians speak any English to help me - l wasn't prepared. Result I missed my connection and yes you guessed; it was the last one of the day!

OK next option the bus, with help from Google maps I find the station 800m away and head outside only to be confronted by the unfamiliar sound of an air raid alarm and heavily armed soldiers directing everyone back into the train station underpass. Train delays might be normal but air raids aren't, I can see myself missing another connection! I stay underground for 10 minutes but notice a lot of people still heading outside so I follow them and ignoring the soldiers head off in the direction of the bus station. 

This time I'm prepared and start looking for the bus going to ПОЛТАВА  ЗАПОРІЖЖЯ and with the help of a kind soldier with a smattering of English I join the crowded bus of civilian women and men in combats. 

Zaporizhzhia is only 60 miles from Dnipro and as we enter the city an hour later I receive a pin from Tom.

" meet us here you'll see our white vans and lots of smiling people eating pizza" .

Shit I need to get off the bus now,  but no the driver ignores my request until his official stop. Too far to walk I realise this is the moment to use my first 'Bolt' taxi. We drive via the 'beach' and to my amazement people are sunbathing and swimming in the river, another reminder that even in war life goes on and how important ìt is to maintain a degree of normality.