Saturday – Sightseeing in Kyiv

Andrew, who would be our guide, and Victor, our driver, picked up the Matthews and then us. They were going to show us the sights of Kyiv. The first sight we saw was McDonalds. I guess Andrew figured a group of pasty Americans would need to fuel up at some place familiar before exploring the new.
We toured so many places: thousand year old churches with walls covered in murals and mosaics, a museum of miniature exhibits viewed only through magnifying glasses, an outdoor military museum with the relics of Soviet armies past (tanks, artillery, MIG fighters, rocket launchers, helicopters, etc.) Graham, of course, was in his element.
At one point in the afternoon, the guys graciously allowed the ladies to shop at an underground mall while they drank beer at an underground bar. The sacrifices guys will make for women….
Finally, after numerous tours and stops for shopping, we arrived back at our apartment. Victor then took Joyce and Dan back to their apartment. We made our way up the elevator to the 10th floor. You have not experienced elevators until you have ridden in a Soviet era model. The doors slam shut when they close, bouncing the car. It groans, it creaks, it bumps, and finally it will clunk to a rest on what you hope is your floor. It’s like a game of elevator roulette when you ride. Will the door open on our floor, will it open 2 floors below or above, or will it hurtle at break neck speed, out of control, back to the ground floor? We decided that every time it opens on the floor we actually choose, we will buy a lottery ticket. We don’t expect to win much money.
Enough digression about elevators. We were arriving back at the apartment about 10:00pm after a day of sightseeing. We took the elevator up to our floor, unlocked the door, and flicked on the light. Then tried to flick it on again, then again, then one more time for good measure. We had no power. We went through checking the various lights, the fridge, etc. No power. Joe went back down to the ground floor, bravely risking all in the elevator once again. There, he asked the building manager (or at least the little old lady who seemed to live at the front door) in his best Russian “Nyet light?” She proceeded to rattle off an impressive Russian monologue which lasted at least 3 minutes. At the end, Joe could only respond with the single Russian phrase he knows, which roughly translates to “I don’t understand.” She then led him outside and pointed to the building across the way which also seemed lightless. Joe saw the light (as it were) at that point. The power was out in a few buildings. As Joe rode back up in the elevator he had nicknamed Christine, he speculated on why the elevator would be working in a building without power, and for that matter, why the little old lady at the front desk was comfortably bathed in light. He could only imagine that it was a holdover from the Soviet days when electricity was randomly cut off to keep the populace in fear of the power of the state. A few minutes after Joe came back up, the power was restored and we happily made our way to our corners to journal our thoughts of the day.
Lessons learned today:
Ukrainian women wear 4 inch heels on cobblestone streets. Visitors to Ukraine would be better off with comfortable walking shoes because you will walk.
Hang out in Independence Square on Saturday afternoon. They have pony rides for the kids and thousands of Kyivians joining you.
Be careful on the sidewalks. Because there is little room on the street, cars use the sidewalks for parking.
Pedestrians take their life in their hands crossing the street. Just like New York City, the pedestrian does not have the right of way; he is merely a target for a driver collecting points.
Public toilets tend to be a hole in the ground and a “bring your own paper” affair.
Borscht is a tasty dish.
And the most important lesson: BRING A FLASHLIGHT.