Going Back to Kiev....advice on things to see?

[rjd400]

Hello again everyone....been a while 

I'm going back to Kiev in a few weeks.  When I was there last year it was only for 4 days, and I was meeting a girl, so the little time I had there was getting to know her, her family, etc.

Over the last year, I've been studying Russian pretty seriously, and even though the relationship didn't work out, I intend to continue to study.  So, I'm going back to do an "immersion" week of study.  I have a tutor for 5 of the 8 days I'm there.  We'll spend 6-8 hours a day, 2 or 3 in formal class type stuff, and the rest doing sight seeing, local attractions, etc.  Hopefully getting to see the cool things I missed last time and try to use some Russian in a "real world" setting.

So, what I'm looking for are things to do, on my own, in the days/hours I'm solo.  I'm staying in the same apartment I was on Kreschatik street, since I am at least vaguely familiar with the locale.  But I don't really know all the places here and there that might be worth checking out.  Of course the tutor and I will be doing the standard tourist stuff, but I'm talking more about the day to day things to do/see.

My Russian isn't so great.  I mean я немнога говорю по русски  but obviously not anywhere near fluent, so I'm looking to not be overly adventurous.

Any tips or suggestions welcome.

Thanks

Bob

ps- I'm not looking to check out dating agencies, etc.  I'm still stinging a bit from the last relationship so really I'm just looking for everyday "stuff to do" when I'm on my own.  Thanks again.

[ML]

Here is a good source of tourist info.


http://www.inyourpocket.com/ukraine/kyiv

[Boethius]

I would see, in this order:
 
1. Kievo-Pecherksa Lavra.  Visit the catacombs.  As this is a working monastary, dress appropriately.  You can take the bus from Khreshchatyk.
 
2.  St. Sophia Cathedral.  You can walk there from Khreshchatyk.
 
3.  St. Andrew's Church.  Again, you can walk there from Khreshchatyk.  You can also walk around Podil, which is an interesting area.  I know they received funding for restorations, so you may want to check if the Church is open to the public.
 
4.  Golden Gates.  A little anticlimactic, but historically interesting.
 
5.  Pirogovo Architectural Museum - I don't know if you'll have time for this, but this gives you a snapshot of the architectural styles in various regions of Ukraine. 
 
6.  Great Patriotic War Museum - Again, you can take a bus from Khreshchatyk.
 
7.  National Art Museum.
 
Check what is playing at the Opera House.  You will see high level ballet/opera/symphony, and get a chance to see the inside of a beautiful theatre.
 
Also, if it is warm, check out the botanical gardens.  Autumn is a great time to walk through them. 

[Muzh]

I would see, in this order:
 
1. Kievo-Pecherksa Lavra.  Visit the catacombs.  As this is a working monastary, dress appropriately.  You can take the bus from Khreshchatyk.
 
2.  St. Sophia Cathedral.  You can walk there from Khreshchatyk.
 
3.  St. Andrew's Church.  Again, you can walk there from Khreshchatyk.  You can also walk around Podil, which is an interesting area.  I know they received funding for restorations, so you may want to check if the Church is open to the public.
 
4.  Golden Gates.  A little anticlimactic, but historically interesting.
 
5.  Pirogovo Architectural Museum - I don't know if you'll have time for this, but this gives you a snapshot of the architectural styles in various regions of Ukraine. 
 
6.  Great Patriotic War Museum - Again, you can take a bus from Khreshchatyk.
 
7.  National Art Museum.
 
Check what is playing at the Opera House.  You will see high level ballet/opera/symphony, and get a chance to see the inside of a beautiful theatre.
 
Also, if it is warm, check out the botanical gardens.  Autumn is a great time to walk through them.

If I remember correctly, you can walk from St. Sophia to the War Museum.
 
Hey Bob, wait until you stand in front of the stainless steel lady.

[Boethius]

No, perhaps you're thinking of Lavra?

[ML]

If I remember correctly, you can walk from St. Sophia to the War Museum.

Well of course you can walk any distance if you are in good shape; but I think you are confusing your locations here.  St. Sophia is slightly northwest of Khreshatic while the War Museum is quite some distance to the southeast near the river.

[ML]

I would see, in this order:
 
1. Kievo-Pecherksa Lavra.  Visit the catacombs.  As this is a working monastary, dress appropriately.  You can take the bus from Khreshchatyk.
 
2.  St. Sophia Cathedral.  You can walk there from Khreshchatyk.
 
3.  St. Andrew's Church.  Again, you can walk there from Khreshchatyk.  You can also walk around Podil, which is an interesting area.  I know they received funding for restorations, so you may want to check if the Church is open to the public.
 
4.  Golden Gates.  A little anticlimactic, but historically interesting.
 
5.  Pirogovo Architectural Museum - I don't know if you'll have time for this, but this gives you a snapshot of the architectural styles in various regions of Ukraine. 
 
6.  Great Patriotic War Museum - Again, you can take a bus from Khreshchatyk.
 
7.  National Art Museum.
 
Check what is playing at the Opera House.  You will see high level ballet/opera/symphony, and get a chance to see the inside of a beautiful theatre.
 
Also, if it is warm, check out the botanical gardens.  Autumn is a great time to walk through them.

Good list.  However, I found the National Art Museum to be quite a disappointment.  Anyone have an explanation for the paucity of works there?  Were to best pieces shipped off to Moscow and St Petersburg . . . or what?

Actually, more interesting art can be found at the two small museums just south of the park across from Shevchenko University.

[Muzh]

Well of course you can walk any distance if you are in good shape; but I think you are confusing your locations here.  St. Sophia is slightly northwest of Khreshatic while the War Museum is quite some distance to the southeast near the river.

My good friend, I remember looking at St. Sophia from the war museum and the distance was not that far.

[ML]

My good friend, I remember looking at St. Sophia from the war museum and the distance was not that far.

Are you thinking the 'steel lady' is St. Sophia?

[Muzh]

Are you thinking the 'steel lady' is St. Sophia?

Nyet. The Steel Lady as the Motherland. Looking due west was the churches complex not to far.

[ML]

Nyet. The Steel Lady as the Motherland. Looking due west was the churches complex not to far.

OK, then you are confusing St Sophia Cathedral with the churches at the Lavra as Boe noted above.

St Sophia is  up by the relatively new Hyatt Regency northwest of Khreshatic.

Here is a map:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=map+of+Kyiv+ukraine&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x40d4cf4ee15a4505:0x764931d2170146fe,Kiev,+Kyiv+city,+Ukraine&gl=us&ei=3gSXTuStBIXb0QGrgvXdBA&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CB8Q8gEwAA

[Muzh]

My bad.

[Jack]

St. Sophia

St. Michael's

St. Michael's as seen from standing in front of St. Sophia on a cloudy day.

St. Andrewsky

Looking down street of St. Andrewsky

Iron Lady

Iron Lady and Monastery as seen from bridge crossing Dnipper

[Anotherkiwi]

For something really different, I would add the Water Museum on top of the hill above Dinamo Stadium - a fascinating look at the journey from rain and river to the sea, and all about how it's treated and distributed in Kyiv.
 
For a trip with a difference, use the funicular to get down to Podil.  I would also recommend a river cruise - the one I took was an hour and a half (?), from the wharf at Podil near McDonald's (easy landmark for Americans!) south past Pechersk-Lavra and the Motherland statue and back again.  You can also take a tram (number 5, from memory) from the same place south along the riverbank until near the Motherland statue.  If you're reasonably fit you can walk from the terminus all the way around the block and up the hill to the statue and the War Museum (you don't have to rush - it took me about 45 minutes).