Made it there, made it back. Probably the least enjoyable trip I’ve had, overall, in quite some time. There wasn’t anything that was truly awful, but lots of little things just made for a less than enjoyable time.

We did see and pass through some checkpoints coming and going from Mariupol. Despite V’s warnings and expectations, there were no challenges on the trains and no one ever asked to see my passport. Struggled a bit with the language, of course, but got through without too much trouble.

How disappointing a trip was it? Well, V’s not planning a return trip (at this point) until at least 2018. We were Skyping all the time she was in Ukraine, and after just a couple weeks, she was ready to come back the US.

People are still nice and friendly (as long as you don’t get into politics, I imagine), but everyone just seemed a bit depressed. The struggles of a country at war, while in the midst of trying to remake itself, makes life difficult for people, and I think it just wears a person down.