Hi from Kyve

[Phil757]

Happy V-day,  very cold here and snow. Glad I made the trip.  Picture from my flat in town center.  More later.

[ghost of moon goddess]

Hi! Welcome to Kyiv (Kiev)! 
I guess the apartment you rent is located on Pushkinskaya street 

[Hammer2722]

Great picture, looks like a pretty clear albiet cold Valentine's day. Have fun and I look forward to more photo's. Is this a first trip for you?

[Phil757]

Yes we are. It is a little warmer today but snow all day.  This is my second trip. I was here and in Kherson in the summer of 2007.

[Phil757]

We went for a walk at the city center, had sushi at the mall. Celebrated V-day with a bottle of champagne, Good time Great women.

[Phil757]

Out in the cold all day.  We got lost and had to take a taxi but it was cheap and the driver was nice. Got his number if we need him again.  Love the metro(underground).  Fast and safe.  Just wish I could read the signs. I have a good sense of direction and I thought I was right about going to a place today but my GF said it was the other way(I was right).  We got there by taxi.  Great city and very big.  Many beautiful ladies here. My GF is a knock and I keep telling her how beautiful she is but her reply is she is just usual (average).  I look into her eyes and I see trouble for me. Wow I get lost in her eyes.

[JohnDearGreen]

Hi! Welcome to Kyiv (Kiev)! 

Yes Phil, I have no problem with the Ukraine,  but try to spell Kyiv right.

[Phil757]

Thanks JDG.  I tried to go back and change it but was to late.
Having a time here.  My GF is takeing great care of me. This is not her city so things are new to her too.  I took some photos when we were out today.  We finilly found a market close to our flat. Pictures of are the street near the market.  The dome helps with light for all the shops underground. Many intersections here tunnels under them. We went down this one and there are many small shops under the square. Very well lit and nice shops. What a great city.

[mendeleyev]

Nice photos and quite the lovely lady.

I understand why you spelled Kyiv the way you did. Your ears are most often hearing the Russian version Киев (Keeve) as opposed to the official transliteration of Kyiv in the Ukrainian version of Київ which has a slightly different sound.

As far as "the" Ukraine, over a decade ago the parliament of Ukraine officially petitioned the rest of the world to honour their request to drop "the" because of negative connotations associated with being the borderland of/and territory of Russia. If you walk around Kyiv and look at Embassy after Embassy, you'll find that the world community has graciously complied.

 

(PS...to Russian speakers, yes I know what "Ukraine" means. It is simply no longer a territory of Russia.)

[Jack]

(PS...to Russian speakers, yes I know what "Ukraine" means. It is simply no longer a territory of Russia.)

Mendy, as you well know, Ukraine is Mother Russia.   


"The Land of Rus" and "The Rus men", as fathers and grandfathers from the areas we know today as Ukraine and southern Russia, passed down to there children in late 1200's, in the 1300's and 1400's.   

It was not until around 1548, during the time of the first Russian Czar, for the first time in recorded history did the world see the word Russia, ......  " Land of Rus" .

[mendeleyev]

Jack, if we go around calling Ukraine the birthplace of Russia we'll both be hanged! Almost everyone I deal with in Russia refers to Ukrainians as some sort of little brothers.   

Earlier today I made a post in the section about what makes Russia so interesting that touches on your subject. Perhaps you know about Boris and Gleb the first two passion-bearing saints of Russian Orthodox Christianity. They were brothers and the sons of Vladimir I (of Kiev). They were murdered by an elder half brother while returning to visit their father Vladimir, the ruler of the Kievan Rus. On behalf of his father's dynasty Boris ruled Rostov Veliky which is in the Golden Ring area outside Moscow and Gleb ruled Murom which is today in Russia's Vladimir Oblast along the Oka river. This was part of Vladimir's succession plan as he divided up his dynasty between his sons.

Last year Russian President Medvedev visited the Golden Ring in summer. The Medvedeva family holidays each New Year in the Vladimir area (1,000 years old in 2011!) but he took a series of photos in the summer. I posted one of his pictures today in the aforementioned thread of the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl which is not that far from where the brothers were murdered. Борисоглебский, the town of boris and gleb, along with towns like Vladimir and Suzdal and the entire Golden Ring area played a large role in shaping what we know as Russia today.

The breakup of Vladimir's holdings amongst his sons eventually contributed to there being a country called Russia, otherwise the centre of this part of the world might possibly still be based on entering those golden gates of Kyiv. 

[Eduard]

Almost everyone I deal with in Russia refers to Ukrainians as some sort of little brothers.   

   

[Jack]

Jack, if we go around calling Ukraine the birthplace of Russia we'll both be hanged! Almost everyone I deal with in Russia refers to Ukrainians as some sort of little brothers.   

Mendy I am in full agreement and know exactly what you are talking about. I have felt the Russian hostility when ever discussing Russian history with non-scholars.  I sense most Russians have some jealousy towards Ukraine, especially Russian women.  Most Russian women are very jealous of Ukraine women.

I love Russian history.  One cannot know Russian history without knowing Ukraine history.  We all know about the Kviv Rus Dynasty, estimated to be the 5th largest civilization in the world by the start of the 12th century.  The Kviv Rus Dynasty, what a strong and proud people.  Strong early Viking influence.    Moscoviy was a little fur trading village on the Moscow river some 500 years after Kiev was first settled.   After 10 weeks and four days of trying to enter the Golden Gates,  the only nation/tribe/outsiders in world history to conquer what today we know as Russia, the grandson of Ghangis Kahn and head of the roaming Mongul Tatars, destroyed the capitol of the Kviv Rus Dynasty in two days.    The Kviv Rus Dynsasty was no more.    But the "Land of Rus" lived in the hearts for centuries to the many who continued to live in the region.       

The "Land of Rus", later called   "Russia".

[whynotme]

Most Russian women are very jealous of Ukraine women.

Just curious of reasons for that   
I'll not comment ur reasonings about russian history (it will be unfair) 

[Phil757]

Pictures I took when we were out walking today.  Nice outside and it was warmer today about right at freezing.

[Vaughn]

Nice shots, Phil, and let me add my congrats to both of you.
 
Very often on RWD men will catch unwanted criticism, though some of it is based on sound advice. Nobody really knows the extent to which you and she have made plans, but I do encourage you to pay close attention to Gator's informative post on the Wedding Ring thread. The K-1 route could be your better option.
 
I always preach patience, multiple visits, meet the rest of the family, spend time in her own kitchen, etc. I'm not gonna ram any of that down your throat, but simply and sincerely wish you the best of everything. 

[Faux Pas]

Nice shots, Phil, and let me add my congrats to both of you.
 
Very often on RWD men will catch unwanted criticism, though some of it is based on sound advice. Nobody really knows the extent to which you and she have made plans, but I do encourage you to pay close attention to Gator's informative post on the Wedding Ring thread. The K-1 route could be your better option.
 
I always preach patience, multiple visits, meet the rest of the family, spend time in her own kitchen, etc. I'm not gonna ram any of that down your throat, but simply and sincerely wish you the best of everything.

I'll second this and emphasize the congrats! There are or have been many one week wonders. Some have stood the test of time and many have not. I've never believed in love at first sight but, many people do. I'll only advise caution and this;

1 - If you are the live and let live kinda guy, feeling really good about the lady you've met and feel inside she's sincere and you can make this marriage work. Go with it, give it 110% and don't blame anyone, her, you "if" it doesn't work out. Take your blinders off and reasonably expect failure or welcome success, going against the grain and the odds.

2 - If you're doing it out of desperation, because she's there, she's available and you don't know that such a lovely, wonderful woman will ever be available to you again, slow down, give it at least another visit to her hometown. Visit her family, meet the people in her life, check out her surroundings and what makes her the woman she is. Unless you're going to be dead in the next 6 months, it would be an investment in the relationship to do so. IMHO, one more visit under those circumstances would increase your odds of a successful marriage to a sincere woman exponentially.

None of the posters on these boards know (including myself)what your destiny is going to be. We only know what we have seen before. Prepare for the negativity.

Good Luck in any event

[Hammer2722]

I definitely agree with the others about meeting her in her home city and meeting her friends and family. Anything less than this is just not being too smart about moving forward in this relationship.

[Phil757]

Haven't posted in a couple of days.  We took the metro to Lavra Church and toured the grounds. We also took the tour of the caves.  From there it is a short walk to the war museums.One is under the giant statue overlooking the river.  If you are in Kyiv and have the time the two museums are worth the time to see. 
 You should be able to figure things out from the pictures.

[Phil757]

When I attached the other pictures I found this one I forgot about.  My wife had never had sushi before we met.  We ate twice in a fast food type sushi restaurant twice before we found this place.  It is right off the square about 400 meters from MacDonald to the left as you come out the door between two buildings.  I am not a sushi expert by any means but this was a great place although small.