Kiev and Chernobyl, Ukraine
Pictured Above: St. Sophia, Kyiv
So, I had a lot of hesitancy writing this post because of all the tragedy that has befallen on Ukraine since the start of 2022. However, I realized that it is this senseless destruction of people's lives, landmarks, and history that made it even more imperative to write about the beauty that I got to see and experience before the invasion. While I had gone on the trip a few years ago, the pandemic and other harsh realities had kept me from traveling and from feeling like updating my blog as much as I would have usually desired.
In December 2019 and January 2020, I had the fortune of visiting Ukraine. It was a rather unplanned trip, as I had joined someone who had already booked a trip there over Christmas and New Year to see the operas, so I did not need to pay for lodging or the shows. It was insanely cold to my native Los Angeles blood, where temperatures in the 50s (fahrenheit) is considered by Angelenos to be one step away from frostbite. Nevertheless, the cold, the winter, and the holidays, gave it a real Christmas feel.
KYIV
1. St. Sophia, Kyiv
The St. Sophia, pictured above, is one of the most well-known landmarks in Kiev. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is named after the 6th Century Hagia Sophia cathedral in Constantinople. This is a very old site, with its foundations laid in the 11th Century. INTERESTINGLY, Putin claims that he is taking back for Russia what belonged to it. However, Moscow was not founded until 1147. On the other hand, construction on the St. Sophia began in around 1011, more than a century before.
The bell tower of St. Sophia, pictured above, is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it is located just outside the St. Sophia. It was built at the turn of the 17th Century, then rebuilt in the mid 1700s, and then a fourth tier was added to it in the mid 1800s. It is designed in the Ukranian Baroque style.
When we went, the square in front of it was decorated for Christmas, with a tree nearly as tall as the bell tower.
2. St. Michael's Domed Monastery
St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery, pictured above, is located northeast of the St. Sophia, and along the Dnieper River. Originally built in the Middle Ages. The exterior was rebuilt in the Ukranian Baroque style in the 18th Century, while the interior remained in its original Byzantine style. While the original cathedral was demolished by the Soviets in the 1930s, it was reconstructed and reopened in 1999 following Ukranian independence in 1991. As of 2018, the monastery is also the headquarters of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
3. The Opera and Other Concerts
I had the joy of seeing four or five different shows during my two weeks in Kyiv, including opera, ballet, and Christmas concerts, and classical concerts. The music was outstanding.
4. Yummy Eats
We found a super cute cafe in Kyiv, called Literaturne Kafe Imbyr, located at Zhylianska St, 7, Kyiv, Ukraine, 02000. It had all the right feels for me - cozy ambiance, comfortable seating, surrounded by shelves and shelves of books, great food, and internet access.
While it is a vegetarian cafe, and I am not a vegetarian, I thought it had really tasty healthy foods.
Of course, what is vacation without a helping of fancy dessert? I can't remember what this was called, but I remember it was good.
I was craving Asian food and we were able to find a restaurant not too far away from our AirBnb. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the name of the place, although the food was decent.
There was a super cozy little wine bar next door to our AirBnb, tucked underneath some steps below ground level. It was perfect to drop by at the end of the long day, to warm up with a night cap before heading to bed.
Pictured above: A drink at the Mur Mur, Kyiv.
We went to a food hall, pictured above, several times during our trip because of the different options available, and the delicious food there. Some of the things we sampled are pictured below.
5. The Weather
I mentioned this in passing at the introduction, but I feel it needs to be said again that I was an absolute icicle. I have rarely ever been as cold as I was in Kyiv, although I suppose New York City in January ranks up there. I literally had to Uber everywhere, even for two blocks, to escape the chill.
I was perpetually hidden under a puffy jacket that was on layered on top of another puffy jacket. I was a nesting doll of jackets. I constantly had my face covered by a scarf since that helped prevent the bitter sting of the chill wind, and as if foreboding the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic that was only a few months around the corner. Thankfully, I returned home in January 2020, about two months before the lockdown. We were all so blissfully unaware then of everything that would happen.
CHERNOBYL
We decided to take a day trip out to Chernobyl to witness the impact of the fallout of the biggest nuclear disaster in history. While I can see that many people would not want to spend their vacation doing this, I felt it was one of the highlights of my trip because it opened my eyes to the very real alternative reality that greater Europe and the rest of the planet had escaped, although some people's lives were affected beyond comprehension.
In fact, if you have not seen it, please do yourself a favor and watch HBO's miniseries, Chernobyl. It is an outstanding and informative series that will give you something to think about and haunt your dreams because it is based on facts.
We joined a group to visit Chernobyl, which I think is the only way you can get access as it is a military controlled zone. Naturally, they are super careful about keeping unauthorized people outside of the area, and very cautious about not allowing anyone to remove items from inside the danger zone since it may be contaminated.
We were given handheld geiger counters to use to measure the radioactivity which we could hold against objects or areas, as well as dosimeters to hang around our necks to get overall exposure readings throughout the day.
Our trip started off at the abandoned cities outside of Pripyat. The decrepit buildings have been long abandoned and stripped of valuables in the intervening years.
Next, we made our way to Pripyat, the abandoned town closest to Chernobyl. It was supposed to be a bustling development but the reactor meltdown stopped that in its tracks. Being there was absolutely haunting.
In fact, an amusement park had just opened up in Pripyat, but was never really enjoyed. Some of the highest readings on our geiger counters come from the metal parts, including the seats for the ferris wheel, pictured above.
More on Chernobyl to come soon. Stay tuned.
