Events of the Day:

Independence Day in the USA!

One of our favorite Holidays, but a regular workday in Ukraine!

Yulia learned afterwards that Americans in Kiev gather in one of the large stadiums here for a July 4th celebration. We, as well as our hosts, were disappointed we missed the celebration. Oleg & Yulia have made a note of the event for future reference in case US families are in Kiev next year.

This day was our shopping excursion and trek out to the more touristy areas of town. Yulia took us to the winding cobblestone street that meanders down the hill past a beautiful Orthodox Church (Andriivski or St. Andrew's). The street is lined with vendors and many take American Dollars or most any currency you happen to have in your pocket at the time - capitalism at its finest. The contrast of old & new was remarkable. Busloads of tourists with their digital cameras and street vendors handcrafting wood or stone into trinkets were side-by-side. The street was open to traffic and it was interesting to see the shining BMW's, SUV's and Chrysler's parked next to the Soviet-era Lada's. It was a good day and we bolstered the local economy.

After shopping we found a nice pizza shop at the bottom of the hill (Celentano's). While eating we learned they also delivered throughout the downtown area and kept their number for future reference (we ended up ordering delivery 3 or 4 times afterwards). The pizza was pretty good - thin crust, small in size, but a good prize and toppings priced separately (Americans should note that the cheese is also considered a "topping").

After lunch we traveled to the top of a hill near the bend in the Dnipro River to see the WW-II military memorial at the base of the large statue that can be seen for miles around Kiev. The statue and park were erected in the early 80's by the Soviet government as a tribute to WW-II heroes and the Motherland of Rus' (not Russia). Rus' was ancient Russia that comprised today's Russia, Ukraine & Belarus and had its capital in Kiev. The statue symbolizes Mother Russia or Baba Rus'. Today's slideshow photos were difficult to select due to the large number we took. Again, if anyone is interested, we have more that didn't make the page