Kyiv is a very pretty city full of many green parks and beautiful, well-kept buildings. We stayed in the Taras Shevchenko University district and frequently sat in the park watching old men play chess under the trees. Alexander and I played Scrabble there last night.
Independence Square is the site of what most of the world was watching during the Orange Revolution. There were activities and protests going on while we were there. The Ukrainian government is basically a mess right now and a tent city was starting to grow.
St. Sofia and St. Michael Monastery Complexes and St. Andrew's Church are some of the exquisite sites we just came across as we walked all over the city. We also visited St. Andrew's Rise-- a tourist area in one of the city's oldest areas where I bought some authentic embroideries and a pretty lithograph.
The Kyiv-Perchery Monastery Caves is home to mummified monks. It's extremely lovely but very scary with its claustrophobic tunnels, candles and flammable head scarves. The complex contains many state museums--a necessary trade-off for the monks since the government is restoring and maintaining the place. The Museum of Historical Treasures of Ukraine is wonderful. It displays a valuable collection of Scythian gold jewelry. There is also a good museum of folk history.
Originally, we hoped to visit Chernobyl, scene of the world's worst civilian nuclear disaster. Instead of being science fiction's predicted wasteland, it has evolved for over twenty years into Europe's largest wildlife sanctuary, teeming with animals and birds, many of them rare, endangered and highly radioactive. Alexander thought that haunting imagery like herds of wild boar crashing through abandoned apartment houses might eventually work its way into his poetry. Alas, we waited too long. Either plan such a trip while in the States or give yourself at least 48 hours when you get to Kyiv.
I'm very glad Alexander insisted on coming here. It's much different than I expected. We had a pleasant stay and were able to decompress after the excitement of finding our new family. I'm also glad he insisted on coming back to the same guest house in Krakow. It was a good call. We're sleep deprived and frazzled. It was soothing to return to a familiar neighborhood and not have to make any new adjustments.
Kyiv Photos: top left: Austro-Hungarian architecture; top right: St. Andrew's Church; middle: Kyiv-Pechery Monastery's Refectory Church; bottom: facing Taras Shevchecnko University
posted by Sandy @ 8:46 AM
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