Day 5 - Ukraine

November 25 -

My last day and I had to finish up everything on my list, or live with regrets. I couldn't leave Kiev without visiting Babi Yar, sight of the genocide of thousands of Jewish citizens of Ukraine, and others. I had first learned of this atrocity in high school and had become obsessed with the story of Dina Pronicheva, a woman who barely survived the massacre. The Soviet monument to make amends is in the wrong spot. The Jewish monument is in the correct place, right near the ravines where the bodies were unceremoniously dumped. There are various other monuments to the dead too, including one erected for the children who perished here.

My visit was solemn, walking the various paths that ultimately end at the deep ravines once containing the bodies of innocents. Otherwise, aside from the area, it's a huge park and nothing much is going on in the neighborhood. In fact, since it's outside the city center, in a suburb, the area is downright Soviet in architecture.

I took the Metro to the Arsenalna stop and transferred over to a marshrutka to get to Kiev Pechersk Lavra, which is also known colloquially as the "caves monastery". I honestly don't think a visit to Kiev is complete without visiting the caves. Entrance was through the Trinity Gate, and I visited the various churches in both the upper and lower lavras. Women must have their heads covered to enter, so there is no shortage of scarf sellers outside the gates.

To get into the caves, you pay the entrance fee by purchasing a candle to light the way. The descent into the caves are dark, narrow, and extremely claustrophobic. To be honest, although I dealt well with the catacombs in Paris, these caves freaked me out. The amount of glass topped coffins containing saints with their mummified remains sticking out from under the heavy brocade they were covered in, was bone chilling. I found myself afraid to be alone in the many alcoves that contained these open coffins. Also, the religious fervency was shocking for me coming from such a low key Protestant background. I also had to be careful my scarf didn't set on fire from all the candles being waved around by others. I was sad to have missed out on visiting Rodina Mat, but I could see her from the Lavra. It was getting too dark at this point.

I had a quick bite to eat at a café next to the Arsenalna metro. Checking my watch, I could see that I wasn't going to make it to the Chernobyl museum. This disappointed me, but hey, I had been to the actual site so didn't harp on the missed opportunity. Still, it would've been nice to see more perspective about this tragedy.

I was sad to leave Kiev, which was definitely a city I took for granted in terms of actual sightseeing opportunities. I thought I'd only need a few days but was surprised that I didn't even scratch the surface.

Day 4 - Ukraine

November 24 -

I took the metro to the area around the Mariyinsky Palace. Arsenalna metro is one of the deepest subways in the world. Taking photos is a no-no here, so imagine how tense I became when I got caught taking one and was duly reprimanded by a metro worker. Thankfully, it's the Ukraine, not Russia, or else I'd be bribing the police to get me out of this jam. Mariyinsky Palace was beautiful (lovely shade of blue), but as luck would have it, under reconstruction. Still, I could see much of it through the fence and I snapped tons of photos.

Checking out the Mariyinsky park and all the stray dogs, it was sunny out this morning, the weather was nice. There was a tiny religious village set up in the park and I couldn't make heads or tails what it was all about. I do know there was an Orthodox cross erected directly in front of the Parliament building, which sits next to the palace. I'm sure there was an explanation, but at that moment, it was all completely lost on me.

Back to the hostel for breakfast. Omlettes again. Now I discovered why they were so delicious. Oil. The omlettes were cooked in about an inch of vegetable oil. Explains why I was sick the entire trip. Almost everything I consumed was cooked in tons of oil. Out again, and my day continued with a stop at the Golden Gate. Since I had walked this route the previous night, I felt like a pro now. St. Sophia Cathedral was gorgeous and the climb to the top of the Bell Tower rewarded me with the most magnificent views of St. Michael's just down the road. It was so beautiful outside and I got some fantastic photos. I walked over to St. Michael's and then headed to Andrew's Descent.

Other than St. Andrew's church, which the area is named for, the Andriyivskyy Descent wasn't exactly the most thrilling aspect of the neighborhood. From what I had read, I initially gathered that it would be some funky, cool place to hangout. To tell you the truth, it was all just meh. The real challenge were the people running the souvenir stalls. Of course, they speak perfect English. And the hard sell was tiring. Since this is the only area where you can get the best selection of cheap souvenirs, I had to deal with it. I did walk away with some gorgeous, and super cheap, colorful easter eggs (Pysanka). I ate at a traditional Ukrainian restaurant and headed down the hill to check out the neighborhood of Podil. Podil was the more funky area and where I saw more locals, cafes, nightclubs, and loads of kiosks selling almost everything one could think of. Kievans buy everything kiosks.

Having walked for eons that day, I headed back to the hostel and asked the manager to write out my train instructions in Russian. Apparently, the written request I came armed with wasn't sufficient enough when I originally tried to buy tickets to Lviv. The manager explained that nothing was wrong with them, just that the ticket booth women were too "stupid" (her words!) and needed only the basic of information. Thankfully, this new train ticket request worked because I had my tickets in just a few minutes, including, I think, a slight smile from the woman working the booth.

Day 3 - Ukraine

November 23 -

This was my "get out and explore the city" day. I find these are needed to get my bearings and to check out the architecture, which in Kiev, is unbelievably gorgeous. The city reminded me so much of St. Petersburg, Russia. I felt at times I had gone back to my most favorite city. Central Kiev was easy to navigate. Again, knowing Cyrillic and a bit of Russian made it a breeze. I walked west and then south of the hostel, passing by the brightly painted red building of Kiev University. In 1901, Tsar Nicholas II ordered the building to be painted red so that students protesting against conscription would be reminded of the embarrassment (and blush red) at their actions. I made my way down and around, so to speak.

The last statue of Lenin was covered over, getting a makeover. The Ukrainian Communist Party was there collecting funds for the refurbishing. Besarabsky Market was chock full of fresh meat and produce, plus tons of caviar. I'm sure I was ripped off buying the most juicy, delicious, melt in your mouth, blackberries, but I can deal with that. The House with Chimaeras was wicked cool. The overcast sky made the house more Gothic in appearance. Now hungry, I was at a loss for food and wasn't feeling the national cuisine. Admittedly, I ended up eating at T.G.I. Friday's twice during my entire stay. After going back to rest and chat with my fellow hostel mates, I headed back out to see if there were any night shots of the Mariyinsky Palace. Unfortunately, no. But I made the same route I would do the next morning and it was nice to get some night shots of the cathedrals and of the city.

I went grocery shopping (surprise!) and bought a bag full of goodies. A bottle of premium vodka, a bottle of water, yogurt drink, box of chocolates, and a huge bag of Kasha came to a total of just under $10. I also noticed the immense drinking that goes on in this city, especially amongst teenagers. Alcohol is really cheap here, with one entire wall in the supermarket devoted to malt liquor. Most of the people in line that time of night were young people purchasing cans of the stuff. With the Ukraine breaking from it's Soviet past and ready to prosper, I worry for those developing drinking problems today who may end up missing out tomorrow.