one of my favorite places in Kyiv, it’s all about the city’s participation in the second world war. The place has a really good vibe and makes me think of my grandfather who was a scout during the second world war. I like to think of him as a spy, he was only 18 when the war broke out and when his father was conscripted he said he would go as well. His name is on a few mass graves stones, but he actually survived and saw the victory over the Nazism.
Mikhail Mikhailovich had a great sense of humor, he had a joke on every single occasion. They were so incredibly funny that I still share them sometimes and get an instant reaction. They are the best, so completely shameless.
I wish I could remember all of them, I wish I was better at recording all of them. Maybe someday I will put them together to at least save what’s left.
on the first of May I was wondering what celebrations are people looking forward to this month. back home we have a few that are very important culturally and socially. warm sunny days and best part of spring make it even better.
starting on the labor day this month also features victory day, may 9, and the end of school year, always on may 25. I used to love all the festivities and days off that are not happening in this part of the world. my sister was born in May so we had another reason to eat, drink and be merry.
At the end of May we always celebrate Kyiv day, it’s a big and beautiful festival with music and dance. If you are a visitor, you would have to see the Park of Glory and Andriivsky Slope. After that don’t forget to drop by Lavra and Podil where it’s always busy with people and events for every celebration.
I start forgetting all the places we have been so it’s time for me to go back and refresh all the memories and places to go, my number one is opera and ballet theater, number two is organ music cathedral, they are the most iconic for the ancient city of Kyiv. I miss it and will have to visit soon.
One of my favorite places is the arch of friendship at the end of maidan nezalezhnosti (independence square). The arch of friendship has been recently renamed, so things are changing faster than I know, I still love the place for its outstanding energy and undying memories of the glorious past.
On this picture you can see Trukhanov Island where all kinds of beaches can be found. They are not like seaside glamorous cool places, they are more like old fashioned riverside parks for recreational activities, sports and bar crawling. You can see the pedestrian bridge, this is where people bungee jump and do photo shoots. It’s another iconic place that shows what the city is all about. This arch is showing the city’s Soviet past, and even someone wants to erase the past, it doesn’t really go away.
History of Kyiv is long and glorious, it goes back to ancient times when three brothers and their only sister came to this land from Scandinavia and founded a city, they name came from one of the brothers Kyi. After that there was a series of changes including the advent of Christianity from Byzantium.
If you are a history buff there are articles and videos about the history of Kyivan Rus, I will share a few sources but it’s not easy to put 12 centuries of history in a document or two, in college we had a semester of Ukrainian History and still haven’t covered it fully.
Why I quit my job 