Kiev, Ukraine

I apologise for my last entry, which was a bit too long. I have split Ukraine into two entries (Kiev and Odessa). I arrived in Kiev, Ukraine still a bit under the weather. In Kiev I stayed with an old family friend of my mother's named Shane Smith. I spent five days alternating between partying too hard and catching up on rest. Twice I went on complete benders, both times with random Ukrainians I met while at pubs!

I can't remember his name, but we we drank a lot of cocktails this night. True to form Baiky tries to steal my drink.

In summer Kiev is supposed to be gorgeous due to its lovely parks and blooming flowers, although it was pretty nice in the snow too. I went on a few tours through the city and found it quite Russan-like, with a large portion of the tours focused on the Stalinesque architecture and churches.

This is an ex-KGB building. Its design is cool and the reasoning behind it was only released recently. It is impossible for a sniper to shoot through any window unless they are directly in front of the building due to the arch shape of the building and the columns rising up beside each window. This means that the guards automatically know which direction any sniping shots have come from.

However, there was also many statues that commemorated the Cossacks who fought for the liberation of Ukraine. It turns out that Cossacks are Ukranian and not Russian.

One Cossack. They stand out due to there topknot, crazy mustaches, tartar clothing, and  being really scary.

I got the impression that everything in Kiev is based around the main street, I name which I cannot pronounce, but is called Khreshchatyk. It is nearly 1.5 km long and includes Maidan Square (Independence Square).

Two tourists unknowingly pose for my photo. The St Michael Statue can be seen in the background with gold wings.

 This square has heaps of sculptures, some of which commemorate Ukrainian culture and history (such as the sculpture of wheat that is about 30 metres high and the sculpture of St Michael) as well as weird artistic sculptures like those found in Canberra.

This would not be out of place in Canberra. Although this was not in the square it was on Khreshchatyk. There was also a sculpture of lampposts entwined like lovers on a bench, and some animals, much like the pigs in Canberra.

 The street also boasts a flower garden in the shape of a clock that I couldn't see because the flowers were yet to bloom and a globe monument that provided straight line distances to each capital city in the world.

 The globe and the capital cities. I have circled Canberra in black and zoomed in below.

Here is a close up, try and find Australia's capital. It took me ages, not because it is written in Cyrillic but because I was hunting around in the S section. I nearly complained to the tour guide that they left off Sydney until I remembered the city I lived in for the past twelve years.

I really wanted to go to Chernobyl, but unfortunately you can only go with tour groups and you need to give at least five working days notice so I missed out.

Kiev in winter.