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I left work as usual on thursday and drove the Hamburg airport. After a beer in the lounge and a short hop to Frankfurt I was on board the flight to Kiev. Shortly before arrivial the purser approached and informed me that my luggage did not make it. After immigration I went straight to Lost&Found. I did not receive on-spot compensation nor an amenity kit. As I rented an apartment for the time in Kiev I won't get a toothbrush, shampoo etc with the room. My friend who picked me up found us a 24/7 supermarket in downtown close the the Arena nightclub. So, first impression of Kiev: nice highway into town (well, it's supposed to be the best in the country), clean downtown streets and an interesting town to begin with.



After some sleep in my huge apartment I headed to the nearby Independence Square while my friend was still stuck in traffic.



I used the time and walked towards the St. Michael's Cathedral.



The weather was sunny and at 20 degrees just perfect to stroll around. I've only seen the cathedral from the outside but the russian orthodox style and bright colors left an impression. Soon later my friend arrived and we started our tour. First was the Andrew's Descent, a cobblestone road leading down towards the river Dniepr. Lined with lots of small shops selling everything from cheesy soviet-style souvenirs to painted pictures.



I did not have breakfast so we decided to stop at a local restaurant chain (Puzata Khata - belly hut) and have a few local treats. It ended up being quite tasty and I had the chance to try Kvas (a drink made from bread) for the first time.
Eventually we took a cab to Pe?erska Lavra which unfortunately was party closed for renovations.



We continued on foot towards the 'Mother' Motherland Statue and the attached museums. The open air war museum was interesting as it featured one of those mobile nuclear rocket launchers that were the centerpieces of various russian military parades.



We shelled out some serious cash (around 4Euro per person) to be taken on a personal tour into the statue. At roughly 37 meters height the view was okay but nothing near what it would have been from the top of the statue. Old russian music playing playing in the background of another WWII display added to the atmosphere. We headed to yet another restaurant - this time an upscale place with white table linen and waitresses dressed in traditional cloths.



We hailed a cab to the nearest subway station. At this point I was happy to have a native friend who successfully negotiated the price for every trip.



Escalators down into the subway stations are known to be long. Although not really that long in our case it was still worth snapping a picture. We alighted near the Hydropark on island in the Dniepr river. The entertainment park looked like it wasn't updated for the last ten or twenty years.

We returned shortly after arrival and walked through a rich district of town towards the parliament buildings. Next stop was an underground shisha bar were we got some well-deserved rest.



In the evening we met some of my friends friends who certainly had a different drinking speed. Instead of going to an openair festival we went to the Arena nightclub. The club was crowded and expensive thus we went PaTiPa close to the Independence Square.
At around 2:30 we called it a night - I was supposed to leave for Chernobyl at 8:45.