http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ukraine/Kyiv/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Europe , Ukraine , Kyiv en-us Mon, 04 Jan 2010 06:02:53 +0000 Mon, 04 Jan 2010 06:02:53 +0000 Kiev the capital of UkraineFor our summer vacation this year we went to Ukraine. We started our tour of the country in Kiev the capital and the largest city of Ukraine.In the centre of Kiev is Maidan Nezalezhnosti or Freedom Square. This square is a natural focus point of activity in Kiev. People come here to for partying for shopping or just to sit in the sun and eat an icecream. During week http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ukraine/Kyiv/blog-420694.html There is much to enjoy about early mornings in Kyiv the cool air and peaceful blue tint in the sky or whimsical snow in winter the purposeful stomp of expensive shoes on the street as its businesspeople make their way to work the unflustered rhythms of the metro before it becomes crowded the melodious whirr of the coffee machine in the kitchen in my office churning out triple espressos to b http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ukraine/Kyiv/Zoloti-Vorota/blog-409520.html May 31 We arrived in Moscow Friday morning stiff from the long transAtlantic flight. After clearing customs with relative ease we claimed our belongings and plunged into the heart of Moscow by train. Drab Soviet highrise apartments began to punctuate the forested landscape miles outside of the city center. In Moscow we scarcely had time to catch our breath before heading to the ticket offi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ukraine/Kyiv/blog-404224.html Pok pok pok pok pok pok pok the sounds drifting through the chestnut trees outside my new building from games of tennis on the clay courts nearby are a soft Saturday morning wakeup call. The new neighbourhood is a refined one sometimes a red squirrel appears in the tree opposite our balcony or a husband and wife step into the courtyard below and help their toddler to practice wa http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ukraine/Kyiv/Maidan-Nezalezhnosti/blog-397395.html In March I moved with Ana to Kyiv's Arsenal'na district between Maidan Nezalezhnosti Independence Square and the right bank of the river Dnieper. It is one of the city's most attractive areas scattered with lush sweetsmelling chestnut trees and punctuated by dozens of landmarks.It is home to the KievoPecherska Lavra The Kyiv Cave Monastery completed in 1015 a guardian of Eastern Orthodo http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ukraine/Kyiv/Livoberezhna/blog-397391.html The following day Tracy and Zachary took us on the Metro to downtown Kyiv and tours of interesting sites. We saw the Golden Gate gate in the city walls dating back to the Middle Ages St. Sophiarsquos Cathedral Museum St. Michaelrsquos Cathedral and Museum plus Independence Square. It was a delightful day far less ldquoheavyrdquo than Jonrsquos ldquoDark Dayrdquo tour. St. So http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ukraine/Kyiv/blog-384691.html We started the day by sleeping until 830 I guess it was the 1 AM wakeup call in Jerusalem the day before that made us such lazy bones. The girls leave for school at 8 so we missed them entirely this morning. We did however have time for some breakfast before Jon loaded us up in his car and took us touring. First visit was the cemetery. Itrsquos huge Irsquod say itrsquos about 1.5 to 2 http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ukraine/Kyiv/blog-384687.html The smell in the corridor is a familiar mixture of boiled cabbage and cheap cigarettes. A brown carpet in the bedroom is fixed to one of the walls instead of the floor. In the bathroom half of the bathtub sits under a chimney and the lock on the toilet door is on the outside. The kitchen is decorated in eight shades of beige a flat so infuriatingly fragile could only be Ukrainian.I was staying w http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ukraine/Kyiv/Lybidska/blog-363094.html The best answer to why I haven't written anything since August is I've just been too busy when the law firm where I was working finalised a merger I found myself doing three jobs translating editing and proofreading for two companies. I worked late most nights before going straight home to bed. It was a stressful autumn but there were good moments sipping hot chocolate with Ana on Saturd http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ukraine/Kyiv/blog-338892.html