Kiev, part 1

Honestly, the train trip to Kiev was the worst we've ever had. Even with that rough start, the rest of the trip was good, though. We left Zaporozhya later than we have before, and so everyone was already way past bedtime and just couldn't seem to settle down. Plus, the usual heat, which makes it hard to sleep anyway. Miserable. However, we survived and arrived bright and early for an absolutely beautiful morning in Kiev. We had lots of time to kill before we could go to the apartment we had reserved, so we went to Independence Square.

More of Independence Square

Jaan was full of energy, and he ran around posing for photos. The rest of us just enjoyed the morning a little more quietly. We eventually stopped at a coffee shop (!) for a light lunch. Then we made our way over to the apartment.

Outside the apartment

This series of photos was really funny, because the girls were so out of sorts while we were waiting to get into the apartment. I chose the one that looks the most normal.

Bogdan's sleeping arrangments

His favorite part of Kiev: watching cars!

Sunday we didn't even go to a church. We just rested and went for short walks. Our appointments at the embassy were for Monday morning....

Raia's and Asya's pictures of Monday

No cameras allowed at the embassy, of course. I'll rely on the girls' drawings to show Monday. The time at the embassy was uneventful, but it took pretty much all morning. Note the American flag in Raia's picture. That represents the morning. The American flag in her picture is surrounded by red flags; that's the next event in our day. We decided to walk around in the center. When we came up out of the Metro, we saw more police than I had ever seen before in one place. That's when we remembered what the date was: November 7th! The anniversary of the October Revolution. The communists were having a meeting on the square (and there were more police than communists!). We walked through there, discussed it up one side and down the other, and then had a very nice lunch at a pizza restaurant.

Asya's picture is of a hand covered in blood. After lunch, after more walking around, we started back toward the apartment. At some point Asya calmly told me that there was something red all over her hand. Yes, "something red." Dripping off her fingers, staining her coat, running down on to the ground.... Somehow she had gotten a tiny cut on her thumb, and it was bleeding all over. There was a pharmacy right there, so Will took her in, got wipes and bandaids, and cleaned her up. No big deal, really, but it made a big impression on her, of course.

Jaan actually drew pictures, too. That's a real rarity for him. His drawing was of a Metro train, with great detail. He surprised himself that he could draw something and enjoy it.

The next day we went to Pecherskaya Lavra (Caves Monastery), and that's the one place we did take lots of photos. Coming soon...