avrelia

So, the adventure story begins.

I was planning to go to Moscow since my last trip there. It is understandable – I like the city, and I have family and friends there to visit. I didn’t plan to go Kiev, however, until the opportunity – as cheap tickets – presented itself. And then I just couldn’t let this opportunity to pass. I’ve always liked Kiev, being there for short visits at my grandparents’ place. But more than eight years passed since my last visit, and I haven’t seen my grandmother for two years, and I talked my dad into meeting me there and spending three days in Kiev together – so it was a very happy occurrence.

So for three days my father and I were walking our favorite places – not all of them! far from it, - checking out various eateries and coffee places, buying presents for me, Mom, and sister, spending time with Grandmother and uncle, taking pictures of everything and talking to people. My father likes talking to people – asking them strange or unexpected questions and cheerfully reacting on their puzzlements with something normal. I veered between doing that myself and feeling slightly embarrassed. Good communication training and fun.

The weather was incredibly nice – sunny, warm, and quiet; there were many busy or relaxed people on streets and the life in general seemed to going in the good direction in Kiev. I was looking for changes, and I found some – the city definitely looks better than 8 years ago, but what surprised my is how many things hasn’t changed since forever (well, 25 years that I can remember of). Same shops, same cacti in the windows, same chestnuts…

I like horse chestnuts – both the tree and the inedible fruit that cannot be used for anything but looks very cool. I used to pick them up at school, long ago – just because, and even now I can pick up couple of chestnuts on the street and carry them around in my pocket until they became dry and wrinkly. So: Kiev, chestnuts, and I go crazy from the overabundance. Horse chestnuts are the symbol of Kiev and one of its best decorations – especially in May, when they are blooming.

I did brought several chestnuts with me. Don’t tell anyone.

What else? Not much of the specifics – we listened to an archeologist telling his students about fun stuff they found at the excavation of one of the oldest and well-known churches in Kiev (destroyed in fire during the Tatars’ siege in XIII century). Fun stuff being dead people, of course.

We walked Andreevskiy spusk (the oldest street) and looked at the Bulgakov’s house there.

We got to Vladimirskaya Gorka (Vladimir Hill) and looked at Dniper river from the high bank near the monument to prince Vladimir – the guy who decided that Orthodox Christianity is the thing to have.

We ran here and there, and sat quietly somewhere else. We had a really great time.

And now the pictures – lots of random houses and people. Enjoy!