The Long and Winding Road...

Finally I managed to leave Austria. For Ukraine, my second home. At 10 p.m. I hit the road. Not that I got very far, though: after about an hour's drive there was a traffic jam close to Vienna airport. It felt like ages until I finally managed to get out of there. Midnight. At the border between Austria and Hungary. Long queue in front of the toll booth. Temperatures weren't particularly favourable, either.
After showing enough patience, I was allowed to pay 13 € and proceed. I was fairly pleased with my Hungarian skills. People actually understood at least basic things I said! So off I went to a fairly uneventful night of driving through Hungary with four tins of Red Bull to keep me awake. After a long night, I was driving towards the sunset when I realised I was running out of petrol. So, close to the Hungarian-Ukrainian border, I decided to put some in, just to make sure I make it to Ukraine.

It was probably around four when I reached the petrol station. A very nice and handsome young Hungarian man assisted me. Again, I was fairly proud since I managed to come up with the right number (in Hungarian!!!) when he asked me how much petrol I wanted. A few minutes later, I was back on Route 66 (yes, the road is really called 66) towards Ukraine. Very soon I would reach the border. The day was dawning and the flatlands of Hungary were covered in light fog. It was a spectacular sight – reddish and bluish pastel nuances in the sky, whitish-grey fog on the meadows and summery green of the trees and fields around me melting into one big, life-sized impressionist painting. Marvellous. At around 7 Ukrainian time, I finally reached the Hungarian-Ukrainian border. A police officer had a brief look at my car. So I drove on, not knowing that the customs guy also wanted to have a look at my car. I reached the Ukrainian border and the man issuing the small sheet of paper you get when crossing the Ukrainian border issued a small sheet of paper I get when I cross the
Ukrainian border. Ukraine was just lying ahead of me. I felt truly happy. I went on to customs. The man stopped me and told me in Ukrainian I had to go back. I was shocked but obeyed - what other choice did I have, anyway? He said there had been some problem with the Hungarian folks. When I got back to the Hungarian border, the highly unpleasant customs guy shouted at me in Hungarian. I answered, calmly and in German, that I was sorry but I really had no idea I had had to wait for him, which made him even angrier. He threatened me I would have to pay a fine and commanded me to come to the customs house. I obeyed. In the end, I only had to fill in the same Goddamn form like everyone else - apparently - and he let me pass. Not the kindest person I've ever met
but, hey, I was one step closer to finally getting to Ukraine after two and a half years!
Back at the Ukrainian border, the paper-issuing guy greeted me, grinning, in Ukrainian with a “hi again”. I smiled back, not knowing what to say. He was friendly though, asking me if I had had to pay the fine and I replied, “No. Thank God for that.” The customs guy asked me the same thing of course and again, I could reply that nothing had happened to me. So they had a look at my car and inspected the boxes and bags full of toys and clothes that I had brought for the women's refuge. I explained that they were full of clothes for a women's refuge and they had no problem whatsoever with that. So finally I managed to do what I had been hoping to do for two and a half years: I was back in my beloved Ukraine. I went through some villages until I reached a bus stop where a young soldier , probably in his early twenties, was trying to hitch a ride to the nearest city. So I gave him a lift to Mukachevo. It was very nice to have friendly company after being on the road for ten hours straight.

After I had left Mukachevo, I had another interesting moment: I was stopped by the police.
Leasson learned: if you pay for speeding, it can hardly ever cost 100 Hryven (18 Hryvia = 1 €). And, as an EU citizen, let them give you a ticket. Nothing will happen to you.
Total time travelling: 12 hours. Memories from the trip: priceless.

Needless to say when I finally got home and part of my family was already there to greet me, I was truly happy. Also, I met their repairman on the way up who, like most Ukrainian men, was so kind as to help me (in this case carry my bags).

After being served an insane amount of food, I had a shower and relaxed a little.
And woke up about 4 hours later.

Highly recommended: At hotel Dnistr, we enjoyed a marvellous view over the city, which is particularly nice in the evening.
When we returned in the evening, a tiny kitten was waiting at the doorstep, meowing. We tried to feed the poor little thing but it wouldn't touch anything while we were present. It did enjoy cuddles very much though. I'll keep having an eye on it if possible. Hope it doesn't come back because it has a place to live, though...