Friday 29th March
I found out I could definitely go (as I said above), realised I didn't have a bag big enough for a week's worth of packing, ran to the shop, bought one, packed.
I found out I could definitely go (as I said above), realised I didn't have a bag big enough for a week's worth of packing, ran to the shop, bought one, packed.
I was really nervous about the overnight train, as I didn't want anyone smelly/scary/loud sleeping near me. It also took me a while to work out how to get up to my top bunk. The people in my little section were alright though, and it gave me a chance to practice a bit of my Russian. Managed to get some sleep, despite the slightly weird man breathing very heavily as he slept.
Saturday 30th March
Arrived in Kiev just after 8am, felt gross as the train was really warm and sticky, saw how heavily the snow was falling and freaked out a little. I got the Metro to Khreshatik (the main road in Kiev), found a McDonalds and had a coffee, went to another McDonalds and had a cup of tea. Still felt pretty groggy despite having consumed a fair amount of caffeine.
Arrived in Kiev just after 8am, felt gross as the train was really warm and sticky, saw how heavily the snow was falling and freaked out a little. I got the Metro to Khreshatik (the main road in Kiev), found a McDonalds and had a coffee, went to another McDonalds and had a cup of tea. Still felt pretty groggy despite having consumed a fair amount of caffeine.
Found out I could drop my bags off at the apartment at 10am, and somehow I managed to quite easily find it, which was a shock considering how bad I am at directions and map reading. I had a couple of hours to kill before meeting Alex at the airport, and excitedly nipped to Topshop (yes, really). This excitement lead to chatting to the girls that worked there, impulse buying jeans and socks, and cheekily blagging some student discount.
Alex's flight got in at about half one, and we got a taxi to our place. Alex doesn't know any Russian and was looking quite lost and confused as I was chatting and laughing with the rather enthusiastic taxi driver, who asked if I was able to pay him '1 million pound sterling', umm no. Spent the rest of the day having a little wander, and ended it with pizza and beer (traditional Ukrainian cuisine, ofc).
Sunday 31st March
I forgot about the clocks changing, and woke up feeling far too confused for my own good. We went for a wander, and ended up at St Sofia's Cathedral, so we popped in for a look. It was very beautiful, but you aren't allowed to take pictures inside, boo :( We did get some from the outside and of the surrounding buildings though.
I forgot about the clocks changing, and woke up feeling far too confused for my own good. We went for a wander, and ended up at St Sofia's Cathedral, so we popped in for a look. It was very beautiful, but you aren't allowed to take pictures inside, boo :( We did get some from the outside and of the surrounding buildings though.
We walked back into town via a steep and icy street (I've forgotten the name of it), which it's fair to say wasn't my favourite. This street was, however, lined with souvenir stalls which are always fun to look at. I didn't buy anything, but Alex bought some fridge magnets - very exciting, eh?
Later on I excitedly dragged Alex to the SPB bar in Kiev, as I've had a fair few good times in the one in Petersburg. It's a very studenty place, with cheap beer and food, which is exactly what I want 99% of the time. I was very excited to discover that they had widened their range of fruit flavoured beers, which is basically cheap lager with a shot of syrup, and ended up with a nice luminous green pint. I also insisted that we ordered some of the nice breadstick things (forgotten their exact name), which seem to be a popular bar snack over here.
Monday 1st April
The day started with a search for a hedgehog. Yes, really. Said hedgehog is right up there on TripAdvisor's list of things to see in Kiev. The hedgehog was only a couple of minutes from our apartment, and didn't really seem like much of a tourist attraction, so I felt a little daft taking pictures. I'm not entirely sure why it's so highly up in the list of things to see, but I guess it was pretty cute.
On another TripAdvisor related note, sometimes the addresses they give for places aren't very accurate/correct. We found this out when searching for the micro-miniatures museum later on the Monday, and ended up walking up a really long street for no reason.
After the very unsuccessful search for the museum, we decided to go and look at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, where the Euro 2012 final was held. We couldn't see much of the stadium, but it was pretty impressive from the outside. Alex also paid a trip to the Dinamo Kiev shop to buy his brother a shirt. I turned into a proud (read: nerdy) Forest fan, when I found a section about them in a book about the Champions League in the shop.
Tuesday 2nd April
Tried to find Sculpture Alley, but it was far too well hidden! After a couple of hours of looking for it, which included a walk around a nice park, and a trip on the 'Funicular', we gave up and went for fajitas at Tequila House. Once again, we really excelled when it came to trying out traditional Ukrainian cuisine. The food was pretty good though when you consider that we were eating Mexican in Eastern Europe. It was even a bit spicy, which is pretty rare out here.
Wednesday 3rd April
We finally found Sculpture Alley thanks to a combination of more internet searches, and Alex's improved knowledge of the Cyrillic alphabet, which allowed him to be in charge of directions. It is extremely tucked away, and probably impossible to find without prior research, but even in the melting snow it looked pretty impressive. I particularly liked how it was possible to sit or stand inside some of the sculptures, which provided me with a great opportunity to pretend to be a rabbit.
We then went to Pinchyuk, which is a modern art gallery. It's free to get in, and something I'd really recommend to anyone visiting Kiev. We saw works by the Chapman Brothers and Damien Hurst, and also went in a very odd room, which made us both feel like we were in an episode of Black Mirror.
After another brief trip to SPB for more fruity beers I decided to cook at home to save a bit of money, and we watched the first season of Girls, which is so damn good! I urge you to watch it if you haven't already.
Thursday 4th April (Alex's Birthday!!)
We spent the morning opening birthday cards and having creme eggs and milka for breakfast (chocolate for breakfast is perfectly acceptable on birthdays), and then went and finally found the micro-miniatures museum. It was so amazing to see something so tiny, yet so intricate - I was amazed by all of the pieces we saw. It only took about 20 minutes to get around, but it only cost about £1, including entry to the monastry grounds in which the museum is situated.
The evening was spent in TGI Fridays and the Irish Bar near our flat, pigging out on ribs, burgers, cocktails and beers. It was nice to celebrate with Alex, as I'll be spending my birthday here at the end of my month without my nearest and dearest. Alex brought my birthday presents from him and my parents over with him, and I got some absolutely top gifts, so I guess without meaning to steal his birthday, we kind of celebrated our birthdays together.
Friday 5th April
Our final full day in Kiev involved a trip to the Chernobyl museum in the morning. It was interesting, but we didn't get an audio guide, and none of the exhibits were explained very much in either Russian or English, which meant you kind of just ended up walking round looking at stuff, and not finding out that much about it. I'd still say it's worth going though, as we all know how much of a tragic event it was, and as with most museums in Kiev, entry was extremely cheap.
In the afternoon we went and bought vodka and other gifts for Alex to take home, before stopping for some tea. We then went home, packed and watched a film. It was nice to wind down after a fairly busy week exploring the city.
Saturday 6th April
Went to Borispol, and got all sad, and had to keep being reminded that it's only just over 2 months until I'll be coming home for good, and there won't be any more sad goodbyes. God, I sound so emo, but being really far away from home is pretty sad at times.
After killing several hours in Kiev doing barely anything I went and got my train back. I woke up this morning in Odessa unable to hear out of one ear, which has meant today has involved a trip to the chemist for some ear drops in the hope that soon I'll have my full hearing back. I had a really great week, and would do it all over again tomorrow if I could, but I'm here to hopefully get better at Russian (one can only dream).
Later on I excitedly dragged Alex to the SPB bar in Kiev, as I've had a fair few good times in the one in Petersburg. It's a very studenty place, with cheap beer and food, which is exactly what I want 99% of the time. I was very excited to discover that they had widened their range of fruit flavoured beers, which is basically cheap lager with a shot of syrup, and ended up with a nice luminous green pint. I also insisted that we ordered some of the nice breadstick things (forgotten their exact name), which seem to be a popular bar snack over here.
The day started with a search for a hedgehog. Yes, really. Said hedgehog is right up there on TripAdvisor's list of things to see in Kiev. The hedgehog was only a couple of minutes from our apartment, and didn't really seem like much of a tourist attraction, so I felt a little daft taking pictures. I'm not entirely sure why it's so highly up in the list of things to see, but I guess it was pretty cute.
After the very unsuccessful search for the museum, we decided to go and look at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, where the Euro 2012 final was held. We couldn't see much of the stadium, but it was pretty impressive from the outside. Alex also paid a trip to the Dinamo Kiev shop to buy his brother a shirt. I turned into a proud (read: nerdy) Forest fan, when I found a section about them in a book about the Champions League in the shop.
Tuesday 2nd April
Tried to find Sculpture Alley, but it was far too well hidden! After a couple of hours of looking for it, which included a walk around a nice park, and a trip on the 'Funicular', we gave up and went for fajitas at Tequila House. Once again, we really excelled when it came to trying out traditional Ukrainian cuisine. The food was pretty good though when you consider that we were eating Mexican in Eastern Europe. It was even a bit spicy, which is pretty rare out here.
 |
| I'm not entirely sure what Alex was shocked about? |
We finally found Sculpture Alley thanks to a combination of more internet searches, and Alex's improved knowledge of the Cyrillic alphabet, which allowed him to be in charge of directions. It is extremely tucked away, and probably impossible to find without prior research, but even in the melting snow it looked pretty impressive. I particularly liked how it was possible to sit or stand inside some of the sculptures, which provided me with a great opportunity to pretend to be a rabbit.
We then went to Pinchyuk, which is a modern art gallery. It's free to get in, and something I'd really recommend to anyone visiting Kiev. We saw works by the Chapman Brothers and Damien Hurst, and also went in a very odd room, which made us both feel like we were in an episode of Black Mirror.
After another brief trip to SPB for more fruity beers I decided to cook at home to save a bit of money, and we watched the first season of Girls, which is so damn good! I urge you to watch it if you haven't already.
Thursday 4th April (Alex's Birthday!!)
We spent the morning opening birthday cards and having creme eggs and milka for breakfast (chocolate for breakfast is perfectly acceptable on birthdays), and then went and finally found the micro-miniatures museum. It was so amazing to see something so tiny, yet so intricate - I was amazed by all of the pieces we saw. It only took about 20 minutes to get around, but it only cost about £1, including entry to the monastry grounds in which the museum is situated.
Friday 5th April
Our final full day in Kiev involved a trip to the Chernobyl museum in the morning. It was interesting, but we didn't get an audio guide, and none of the exhibits were explained very much in either Russian or English, which meant you kind of just ended up walking round looking at stuff, and not finding out that much about it. I'd still say it's worth going though, as we all know how much of a tragic event it was, and as with most museums in Kiev, entry was extremely cheap.
In the afternoon we went and bought vodka and other gifts for Alex to take home, before stopping for some tea. We then went home, packed and watched a film. It was nice to wind down after a fairly busy week exploring the city.
Saturday 6th April
Went to Borispol, and got all sad, and had to keep being reminded that it's only just over 2 months until I'll be coming home for good, and there won't be any more sad goodbyes. God, I sound so emo, but being really far away from home is pretty sad at times.
After killing several hours in Kiev doing barely anything I went and got my train back. I woke up this morning in Odessa unable to hear out of one ear, which has meant today has involved a trip to the chemist for some ear drops in the hope that soon I'll have my full hearing back. I had a really great week, and would do it all over again tomorrow if I could, but I'm here to hopefully get better at Russian (one can only dream).
Really good to read about Kiev - Alex hasn't been quite so good at telling us what you did, but it does sound as if you had a really good time.
ReplyDeleteWe have sampled the Ukranian vodka and it went down very well!
Did he show off his expert knowledge of the cyrillic alphabet? He was very inquisitive! Glad you like the vodka, just say if you need any more :)
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