Photos of Kyiv here

[Photo Guy]

I'll post a bunch here, as I tweak them in Photoshop. Here's a view of some buildings, showing a disparate diversity of architectural styles.  

[Photo Guy]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I think I'm near the bottom of the hill, by the old Podil neighborhood (lower town), looking up the hill at Andriyivskyy Uzviz(street) Spelling that word is not easy. I do not have many shots of sexy women, because, well, I was walking with 'L' and Natalie. It would have been crass. One of my favorite restaurants was off to the left. There's a video poker machine as you go in there.
Here we have two fantastic musicians. I saw and heard them playing in other locations in the city later in the week. The violinist was world class. I am not exaggerating.

[Photo Guy]

I took this in the nice part of town. Most of my visit took place on Kyiv's right bank, up on the hill, by Kreschatyk street and Independence Square and down by Podil and the waterfront park areas.
In contrast, on the way from Borispol to Kyiv, I passed huge Soviet style apartment buildings, covering many acres, maybe five to ten stories tall. They looked grim, unlike these new buildings, built for the upper class.

[Shadow]

Independence square at night...view from my apartment

[Shadow]

Standard Soviet style partment block. omeone I know lived there.

[Shadow]

Pechersk Lavra...try walking down there in stiletto heels

[Shadow]

Ukraine's Liberty statue

[Shadow]

Monument for WWII

[Shadow]

Trinity church

[Shadow]

Painting of the Archangel Michael inside the Trinity church. If you go there look closely at this picture...he follows you with his eyes !

[Elen]

They looked grim, unlike these new buildings, built for the upper class.

Soviets ones were for free unlike these new building for 1000 $ and more for 1m2 ( average month salary is less than 300$ per month) So which is better?:?

[Photo Guy]

Free and ugly, or expensive and beautiful? Well, having the choice is nice. How about something in between. I have a moderately priced condo that is beautiful with a community pool. No, it is not in Kyiv. It's in Scottsdale. Free food and free housing are nice, but who wants to depend on the government? Elena, freedom and independence are in our blood, like a collective spirit is in yours. Independent power has always been encouraged here, while a collective sacrifice has been encouraged in Russia.

If the economy is weak, a free apartment is better. If the economy is strong, there will be more of an opportunity for ownership of nicer apartments. Couples will be able to make love in their own space.

[Photo Guy]

Pechersk Lavra...try walking down there in stiletto heels

No, I'll pass on that idea. Shadow, I did not realize you are a woman. I forgot. I guess women are more 'shadowy'.  
Post a photo of you trying to walk down the cobblestones in spike heels please.

[Shadow]

[user=134]Photo Guy[/user] wrote:

Pechersk Lavra...try walking down there in stiletto heels

No, I'll pass on that idea. Shadow, I did not realize you are a woman. I forgot. I guess women are more 'shadowy'.
Post a photo of you trying to walk down the cobblestones in spike heels please.

I am not a woman Photo Guy, so I am sorry I will not try to make this picture for you. But I would pay to seel anyone trying though....and so would the woman that accompanied me there

[Photo Guy]

During my visit, we rode the funicular railroad a few times.  It connects  the lower Podil area by the river to the upper town and Mykhaylivska Square - much easier than walking up the steep hill.

[Photo Guy]

Oops. Sorry Shadow.
Here's an interior view of the funicular.

[Photo Guy]

Looking at the lower terminal. Beautiful.

[Rvrwind]

I'm impressed Photo Guy, someone who actually knows the correct spelling for Kyiv, its not Keiv as most people are prone to spelling it, Kudos!!

Nice pics too!!!

RVR

Canadian Cowboy

[Jack]

what about Odesa, Mikolaiv, Herson, Zapporizzja, Karkiv, Dnipropetrovs'k, Rostov-na-Donu?

Between the "correct" Russian, Ukraine and American spellings you will see many cities spelled differently but the people who are writing the city in the way they right it are probably writing it in the manner in which they think it correct.

Kiev, Kyiv, Kiiv. Depending on where you live, your alphabet, their could be more than one correct spelling of a city.

[Jack]

Kiev train station at night

[jb]

Quite right, Jack
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/europe/ua.htm
Kiev[/b] seems to be the most common transliteration of the name, but a lot will depend on who is doing the transliterating.  I have never seen Kyiv[/b] used in an official document. My guess is that it's not the correct transliteration of the Cyrillic name of the city.

[Photo Guy]

I've heard three pronunciations:

kee-iv   (transliteration would be Kyiv, I believe)
keev   (sounds like one syllable to me)
kee-ev (American)

Which is it?

BTW, the US Embassy there lists its mailing address as 'Kyiv'.

[Rvrwind]

We got a notice from the Kyiv administration & were asked to change it in all our future newspaper articles. This was last year. The word came down from them & the Ukrainian Government on two errors they were quite happy to point out to us.

it is not ' the Ukraine' it is 'Ukraine' - something to do with them being an atonmous state & no longer part of the USSR they felt 'the Ukraine' was degrading & not recognizing them as a separate state.

The other was Kyiv not Keiv & that was how they wanted it spelled in the future.

www.kyiv.com

I realize people spell it the way it sounds or what they are used to, but in my work I have to tow the official line, you might say.

RVR

Canadian Cowboy

 

[Jack]

Richard, I agree when officials tell you how they want their city spelt, that's the way you do it.

 

[Photo Guy]

I think the new moderator should go back and correct all of the past misspellings of Kyiv. It should only take a few days.