Chernivtsi wasn’t too much farther north from the border and the driver and I were able to continue our conversation as we passed many of the towns that I was hoping to visit while I was here. Again, I could see some construction of new, very large homes, right in the middle of these small, aged huts. He pointed out the town of Voloca as we passed it on the road and let me know that Voloca was one of the wealthiest towns in this region. Something about the people there lead many into large businesses, some international, and they were bringing all that money back into the town and building themselves a good life in the middle of all this poverty around them in neighboring towns.
As we entered Chernivtsi, we made the first stop to drop off the girl who surrendered her front seat to me. I was the second stop at the Hotel Cheremosh. The driver, Petro, gave me his number and told me to call him when I was ready to return to Suceava and he would be happy to come get me. We pulled my bags out of the back of the cab and I was stunned to find out, he only wanted $30 leu for the ride (about $10 bucks). I gave him a $50 that I had just so he wouldn’t have to make change and to show my appreciation for all his help and looked forward to calling him at the end of the week. I waved as they pulled away and I toted my things into the lobby.
There were two nice looking ladies behind the counter in this huge, but abandoned lobby. I handed them my reservation notice as the women tried to figure out a way to communicate with me since neither spoke any English. Once again, my German saved me since one of the ladies did speak German. They got me registered, handed me my key and before I went upstairs, I told them I was meeting up with cousins and if I could leave a message for them. They found the room numbers where Karen Funk and Dave & Phyllis Onofreichuk were staying and gave me the phone numbers so I could call them from my room.
The elevator took me up to the 11th (top) floor and I discovered that there was somebody’s luggage already in the room that I was given. So I carted everything I had back down to the lobby to tell them. They moved me down the hallway three rooms, so I carted everything back up to the 11th floor to s similar room as before. These rooms were facing south and the noontime sun had just heated the place up something aweful. I opened the window, since there was no A/C, but there was no breeze out today either. I sat on the bed for just a bit wondering to myself if I was going to be able to tolerate this pungent aroma in the room. When I laid down and looked up to the ceiling, I could see where that must have been some pretty good water damage coming from the room. There was about a six foot section of ceiling and wall that were clearly warped and the smell was no doubt from the mold that must be permeating the walls. I debated whether to go back to the desk and bother them again or take the risk of breathing in all that mold for another six days. After my sinuses closed shut in about 10 minutes and I could feel my breathing changing, I got up, went back to the lobby once again and requested a third room.
They were so great about it though and I was able to request something that faced North to get me out of the direct sunlight and they told me all they had would be a double room. I told them that was no problem. I just wanted to be in a cool place, but mold free. So back to the 11th floor I went to gather my things and move them down to room #440. WHAT A DIFFERENCE. The room was much larger, had a small refrigerator inside and faced the front of the hotel in the shade. There was still no internet access I could reach, but it was comfortable. I unpacked a few things, set up my computer and laid down for a short nap.
When I woke up I thought to myself I should at least go outside, take some pictures or look around the place while there was still some daylight outside. I hadn’t heard from Karen so I figured they must have gone to Voloca or some place touring for the day. I ventured across the street from the hotel and discovered a very large open air market. The little stands of people selling all sorts of fruits, vegetables, meats and household products, as well as clothes, shoes and other things, reminded me of how the Chino Swap Meet was set up, but only squeezed in to a much smaller space. I saw lots of things I wanted to buy when it dawned on me that I hadn’t changed any of my currency into Ukrainian money. I found a small exchange stand outside the entrance to the market place, but they wouldn’t touch my Romanian lei. I spotted an ATM machine across the street though, so I pulled 200 Hryvna out and dove back into the marketplace to buy some snacks and drinks for the room.
I left a message at front desk for Karen and spent the rest of the evening just relaxing and trying to catch up on some of my journal writing before going to sleep for the night.
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