More Kiev

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Kiev was in many ways like Moscow - vast boulevards, monumental buildings, great parks- but built on hills. And less kempt. Moscow is full of roller bootees and skate boarders as the pavements are wide and smooth, and flat! Not so in Kiev. The pavements need too much attention. there are few people biking. The underground trains were always crammed at any time of day, deep, deep down, entry by tiny plastic tokens, totally reliable but claustrophobic. The best bits of time there for us were a visit to the puppet theatre in the park overlooking the river and beers in the open air drinkery by the fountain at the Golden Gate.

The puppet theatre is amazing - a huge magical Castle built in the 90s specifically as a puppet theatre. The interior decorated with evocative murals and ceramics, containing a great puppet museum and in the basement an aquarium with gorgeous fish. We saw a show called 'Goosey-Lebedy' which translates as Goose-Swans, and was based on an old fairytale telling the story of a lititle boy who is abducted by evil goose-swans and taken off to the hut in the forest of a wicked witch, there to be boiled up for her tea. His sister Masha sets off on the quest to rescue him and on the way encounters various personages such as a stove, an apple tree, a stream, a hedgehog, for whom she does good deeds, interfering with her quest. In return as she flees home with her rescued brother , the personages help her to evade the evil geese that try to stop her. All very moral and charming...the kids joined in with gusto, enjoying it.

We also enjoyed Shevchenko Park who has amazingly inventive park benches, and the Bohdan and Varvary Museum. We went to the Chernobyl Museum which is deeply disturbing and unhappy.

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