The last part of travel week was spent in Kiev, Ukraine. Unfortunately, Ukraine and I got off on the wrong foot, and I found it somewhat difficult to enjoy myself as much as I could have while there. It was hard to leave Georgia, and after having woken up late, I did not get to say the proper farewell that I had wanted. When we arrived in Kiev, it was rainy, gray, and chilly. It was difficult to find transport from the airport into the city center that did not involve a sketchy taxi, and since there was little direction or information available that Ely and I could see, we ended up taking a sketchy taxi with an equally sketchy driver. After having left us off at the wrong stop, I realized I had forgotten my hat in the backseat - but the taxi was already moving and my legs stood frozen in one place. By the time I did start running after the taxi, it was too late. Things fell apart for me after that, and tried as I might to pull myself together, I just could not. We spent the next hour trying to find the hostel. The metro system is very confusing in Kiev. You go underground and instead of encountering the metro, you encounter a myriad of shops and vendors, there are no signs directing you to the metro. Even when you do eventually find the metro, it is not very well marked in terms of color coordination or numbering. I do not mean to complain; in fact, I hate doing it. It is not entirely fair for me to judge the city based on two days spent there, with one of those days being thrown off and upset, so I am going to stop the negativity here. Anyway, I think being upset had more to do with not having communicated with friends of family in over a week than it had to do with Kiev.
I would like to mention, however, that I thought the tram and trolleybus system in Moscow and Saint Petersburg were and are archaic, but compared to Kiev, they are masterpieces of modern public transportation. In Kiev, it all looks like it could fall apart at any moment into pieces of scrap metal that could give you tetanus with a single prick of the skin.
The next morning, Saturday, I took to the streets of Kiev with camera in hand to try and clear my head, calm down, and enjoy myself. The weather was decent, cooler compared to Georgia but warmer than Saint Petersburg or Moscow, and partly sunny. Nothing about which to complain. After taking a metro close by to my hostel, I rode up one of the longest, if not the longest, escalators in the world. While riding up, a young woman was kind enough to give me a flower, which I carried with me for the rest of the day until all the petals fell off. It did not take too long to happen upon the massive park that runs along the Dnieper River nor to happen upon the large Orthodox monastery. Come to think of it, in Eastern Europe and Russia, you never really are too far away from a church as odd as that may sound coming out of the Communist era, but it is true. You hear about all the famous churches, both ones that survived and were destroyed and were revived, but you don't always stop to think about the smaller churches. There is a beautiful Russian Orthodox Church about two blocks away from where I go to school. Smolny Convent, where I go to school, was designed to be a monastery, but never ended up as such. However, I am getting distracted. The National Kiev-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Preserve that I "stumbled" upon in Kiev along my walk was not small and certainly is well-known. I ended up spending a couple hours there exploring, for the place was rather large and there were plenty of paths on which to walk. It was nice...I finally could feel myself calming down and enjoying my time, which is what I really needed after the hard time I had the previous day.
After wandering around the preserve for awhile, I finally made it to my intended destination: the Great Patriotic War Museum. There is a large portion of the museum that if open air, and it is really interesting how they set it up. As you are walking through the park, viewing tanks and various artillery, there is dramatic yet somber music playing in the background. Coupled with the growing cloudiness, it really put me in the mood. The museum is one of the largest in Ukraine, and the centerpiece is a 62-meter Motherland statue.
I would like to mention, however, that I thought the tram and trolleybus system in Moscow and Saint Petersburg were and are archaic, but compared to Kiev, they are masterpieces of modern public transportation. In Kiev, it all looks like it could fall apart at any moment into pieces of scrap metal that could give you tetanus with a single prick of the skin.
The next morning, Saturday, I took to the streets of Kiev with camera in hand to try and clear my head, calm down, and enjoy myself. The weather was decent, cooler compared to Georgia but warmer than Saint Petersburg or Moscow, and partly sunny. Nothing about which to complain. After taking a metro close by to my hostel, I rode up one of the longest, if not the longest, escalators in the world. While riding up, a young woman was kind enough to give me a flower, which I carried with me for the rest of the day until all the petals fell off. It did not take too long to happen upon the massive park that runs along the Dnieper River nor to happen upon the large Orthodox monastery. Come to think of it, in Eastern Europe and Russia, you never really are too far away from a church as odd as that may sound coming out of the Communist era, but it is true. You hear about all the famous churches, both ones that survived and were destroyed and were revived, but you don't always stop to think about the smaller churches. There is a beautiful Russian Orthodox Church about two blocks away from where I go to school. Smolny Convent, where I go to school, was designed to be a monastery, but never ended up as such. However, I am getting distracted. The National Kiev-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Preserve that I "stumbled" upon in Kiev along my walk was not small and certainly is well-known. I ended up spending a couple hours there exploring, for the place was rather large and there were plenty of paths on which to walk. It was nice...I finally could feel myself calming down and enjoying my time, which is what I really needed after the hard time I had the previous day.
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| Cathedral of the Dormition |
I thought that the museum was wonderfully organized and I really enjoyed taking my time and going through it.
That night, I had dinner at a nice Ukrainian restaurant with Ely, who, by the way, went to Chernobyl while I explored Kiev and had returned only that evening. The next day, we slept in a little bit, had coffee and hot chocolate at a coffee shop not far from the hostel, and then proceeded to the airport to catch our flight home to Saint Petersburg.
I must conclude by saying that I left Ukraine with a better impression than when I first arrived. I did enjoy myself and I found the places that I visited interesting. If and when I ever go back, let my experiences improve even more.
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