1. Man on bike + man in business suit = funny looking man.

2. Interesting quote gleaned from a friend, “In America 100 years is old and in Europe 100 miles is far.”

3. After 8 countries we are left with only one universal word…..Pizza. Even Jesus got a name modification but not pizza, it is sacred.

4. Speaking of pizza, our new friend Igor from Kharkiv insisted we eat some “superb pizza” late last night after many drinks and a full meal. Here are the specs – thin crust (not crispy), tomato sauce, mozzarella + blue cheese, topped with diced sweet peppers (red & yellow), tomatoes, and broccolli (Chris removed). Kicker was to sweeten the deal with Tobasco. Superb!

5. It is likely that public transportation in Ukraine was great in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Sadly, that was the last time they invested in new buses or trams.

6. Ukraine easily has the cheapest booze and cigarettes encountered in our trip thus far. Cigarettes are less than a dollar a pack and on average a pint of beer in a nice restaurant is around two bucks.

7. Reasons why driving in Ukraine is crazy: (1) streets with pot holes that make the surface of the moon look flat; (2) trucks go 45mph on highways – cars go 65mph on highways – highways are two lanes – highways have pot holes – cars pass trucks in opposite lane or turning lanes or anywhere a car fits – cars are comfortable timing these transitions to within seconds of impact – lesson learned: dont play chicken with people from Ukraine; (3) Street signs appear to be invisible to Americans. Our friend who drove us around the last couple of days (Lucky us – Thanks Andrey) claims they are there but we can’t ever seem to see one??

8. Everyone outside of the US is extremely concerned with the possibility of US default – guess they don’t realize the level of partisanship in our political system.