A day in Kiev
Communal breakfast that involved a mountain of scrambled egg and local sausage. Oddly vodka doesn't seem to generate a hangover. Purity and simplicity of it I suppose. I probably made that up though.
I got the mini-bus into Kiev as directed - I had to wait for a specific numbered bus. I was supposed to get off at a specific Metro station but overshot by a long way. I realised I was going badly wrong when the number of passengers thinned out and we crossed the river. So I got off and crossed the road and got a bus back in the opoposite direction and found a Metro station and paid my 50 kopecks (5p) for a blue plastic Metro token with which I could travel any distance (stay on the Metro all day in fact, quite legally).
When you go through the ticket barrier, the machine takes your token and lets you through. So when you are passed that point, you have no ticket or any means of indicating that you've paid. Very civilized.
I was aiming for the monastic district so when I got out of the Metro I asked a woman where it was and she said I needed to get another mini-bus. Bugger, I wanted to walk. On the bus I asked more women if I was on the right bus. They said no I wasn't but they weren't sure so they engaged the rest of the bus in the discussion. Turns out that by the time they had decided I was in fact in the right place, I was there and had to get off.
I went ot the monastery and then onto the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. High up on a hill overlooking the city. The pinnacle of which is the giant aluminium status.
It was bitterly cold and blowing a gale.
The museum has various outdoor parts of it that are basically tank parks. Cost of entry to the parks is higher if you have a camera (visible). Took me ages to understand that yes, cameras were allowed, but it was more money. Still very cheap to get in though.
The museum was hugely impressive and beautifully put together. Hugely informative and well structured.
Popped into the Magelan again on the way back.
Sign on the door, in symbol form, says... no skating; photography; cycling... etc... and no guns.
Transliteration became crucial, especially on the Metro. I now had a transliteration guide and it's amazing how much you can read. A significant number of words are in 'English' once you transliterate. Or in 'German'. Potato transliterated is kartofeln.
Back via Independence Square. Think Orange Revolution.
Independence Square
I got the mini-bus into Kiev as directed - I had to wait for a specific numbered bus. I was supposed to get off at a specific Metro station but overshot by a long way. I realised I was going badly wrong when the number of passengers thinned out and we crossed the river. So I got off and crossed the road and got a bus back in the opoposite direction and found a Metro station and paid my 50 kopecks (5p) for a blue plastic Metro token with which I could travel any distance (stay on the Metro all day in fact, quite legally).
When you go through the ticket barrier, the machine takes your token and lets you through. So when you are passed that point, you have no ticket or any means of indicating that you've paid. Very civilized.
I was aiming for the monastic district so when I got out of the Metro I asked a woman where it was and she said I needed to get another mini-bus. Bugger, I wanted to walk. On the bus I asked more women if I was on the right bus. They said no I wasn't but they weren't sure so they engaged the rest of the bus in the discussion. Turns out that by the time they had decided I was in fact in the right place, I was there and had to get off.
I went ot the monastery and then onto the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. High up on a hill overlooking the city. The pinnacle of which is the giant aluminium status.
It was bitterly cold and blowing a gale.
The museum has various outdoor parts of it that are basically tank parks. Cost of entry to the parks is higher if you have a camera (visible). Took me ages to understand that yes, cameras were allowed, but it was more money. Still very cheap to get in though.
The museum was hugely impressive and beautifully put together. Hugely informative and well structured.
Popped into the Magelan again on the way back.
Sign on the door, in symbol form, says... no skating; photography; cycling... etc... and no guns.
Transliteration became crucial, especially on the Metro. I now had a transliteration guide and it's amazing how much you can read. A significant number of words are in 'English' once you transliterate. Or in 'German'. Potato transliterated is kartofeln.
Back via Independence Square. Think Orange Revolution.
Independence Square
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