Birches and Babushkas

The best part of bus riding in Ukraine for me was the gorgeous countryside - fields of sunflowers, corn and wheat; snow-covered birch forests; beautiful villages in the Carpathian mountains; cattle traffic jams. Also, this is a great place to witness the tremendous strength of Ukrainian babas (grandmas). No one is helping them, their fingers are thick and calloused from hard work, and they are transporting heavy sacks of potatoes and onions to the bazaar or to their grandchildren. They're usually widowed, and up before dawn. There are no kneeling buses to help them roll their carts onboard, there's no special seating for them, and they may end up standing like everyone else. It's humbling.