Kyiv: моє улюблене місто в світі.

I just got back from Kyiv last night. I love that place. (For those of you who can't read Ukrainian, the title should read "Kyiv: my favorite city in the world.") Instead of writing a long, boring account of what I did, I will do a list. With pictures. Because I can take pictures. And even post them.

1. I love my little city, but arranging travel to and from Rezekne is a bit of a pain. (I usually have to take a train or bus to Riga and then go from Riga to wherever.)

2. Rezekne is quiet at 6 am. 

  
3. Kyiv is worth the bother of travel. 

   

4. The workshop sessions were useful.

5. Talking to the other ETAs about our similar situations was even more useful.

6. Puzata Hata rocks my socks off. Cheap, easy Ukrainian food for the win.

7. Our sessions lasted until about 4pm, which didn't leave much time for sightseeing, but David and Beth are champs at fitting in a lot of sights in a short amount of time.

8. After the ETAs left, I headed to Independence Square and the apartment I rented with my lovely friends: Matt and Laura!

9. This greeted us upon entrance into said apartment. Hmmmm

10. I've seen Kyiv a few times before, but it's great seeing the city again with people who have never seen her.

11. We had a moment to chill with Bulgakov. 

12. Laura shares my love of folk culture, so we made the trek out to the folk architecture museum. 

13. We posed with some pysanky.

14. I'm pretty sure that pre-modern Ukrainian villages had giant pysanky dotting their landscape.

15. Honestly, the folk architecture museum is best seen on a warm, summer Saturday.

16. Saint Sophia's still makes me incredibly happy. There is something about this church that is just peaceful, even with copious amounts of tourists.

17. I'm not really religious anymore, but places like Saint Sophia's and Saint Michael's makes me realize that humans are astounding creatures and the ability to believe in something as nebulous as a deity can inspire some amazing things. (And some pretty horrible things, but I don't dwell on that while chilling with Sophia and Michael.)

18. Peaceful, no?  Despite the chill, there is something to be said about experiencing Kyiv outside of the normal tourist season.

19. Lastly, I recommend taking a gander at my friend Matt's blogs. He is in Kharkiv (the second biggest city in Ukraine) with his lovely wife Laura for the year. He's much better at taking photos of stuff and I know he got some some good shots of Kyiv. Marvel with a Mango and Use My Camera

This blog post is brought to you by Regina Spektor's Apres Moi.