A bus ride out of Donetsk gets you to Soledar, a small town famous for salt mining. Our tour kicked off with a ride down an elevator 300 meters or so (about 1000 feet) to a closed section of the mine. This was the first moment in my life where I realized I might be a bit claustrophobic.
The final cavern was 40 meters tall (131 feet) and housed a soccer field.
Four more photos of the fellas
New for Donetsk? A freshly built Donbass Arena for the Euro 2012 Football Championship.
It’s big.
Because of this huge event, the entire city is being transformed. Buildings being constructed, gardens planted, walls painted, signs installed… it’s quite impressive. They had a few weeks before the event still as we arrived, so everyone was bustling a little bit harder I’d imagine.
Not long for the Euro soon we’d be using Hryvnia to pay for things.
And thus the trip officially kicked off. More photos from our first real day of the tour…
First stop was technically Chicago, but only for a few hours.
There I met up with the first of 6 other travelmates, Todd.
He helped me sort out a baggage issue and we shared a brew.
Then we arrived in Munich some 8 hours later. Me? A little worse for the wear.
Passed fields of rapeseed and checked into our hotel and met up with traveler #3, Temo.
There was food.
Posters.
Horse Chestnut in bloom
A beer at the Hofbräuhaus, which was a lot more touristy than I remember.
Munich Frauenkirche
Münchner Stadtmuseum Eingang. (Type reminds me of the new Stedelijk identity)
And then jet lag got the best of us.
Time for bed, then an early flight to Donetsk in the morning.
Next stop? Germany.
When I walk to my car in the morning, there’s usually someone working in the repair shop across the way. If there’s sun left in the evening, they might be sitting around the alley in lawn chairs, shootin’ the breeze. From what I can tell they’ve got a few things going on over there: pride in their craft, and camaraderie.
Sketched out this fella after lunch because sometimes doing exactly what you’re not supposed to be doing is the right thing to do. Few digital things bring the reward of feeling ink hit paper. I would imagine drawing is very close to how trancendental meditation might feel.
I can assure you, this coffee was nothing near amazing as what you’d get from an AeroPress.
I am sorry if you own a second generation Ford Explorer and decide to change the spark plugs yourself. Ford engineers decided to tuck these contraptions of combustion all over the enginge bay of the vehicle. Some of ’em were only accessible if you took the wheels off.
(Unless of course you have a special tool and worked at a shop).
Me? I spent the morning vacuuming bits of breakfast foods and beard hair out of my car interior.
I’m calling it a Derby Pie, as does everyone else. But technically, a DERBY-PIE® is a registered trademark since 1968. I’m all for enterprising spirits, but at some point, the battle is lost and that word you made up is a genericized trademark. Like: aspirin, butterscotch, escalator, kerosene, yo-yo and zipper.
(Sidenote: If you buy one of these at the grocery they’re called a Kentucky Pie.)
Essentially, think of a pecan pie, then load it up with chocolate and pour bourbon sauce on top and add some whipped cream. It’s delicious and I thank my friend Heather for making it. Along with the grillout, mint juleps, company and weather, it made for an extra-fine Derby celebration.
Snapped these with the big boy (a Canon 5D Mark II) and I think they’re just fine without editing.
Brought out the full frame camera in hopes to catch a good glimpse of the Supermoon this evening, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Stopped by mom’s garden to pick up some flowers, say howdy, and scored some mint for juleps.
