My wife got an invitation to a wedding in Ukraine. Her colleague was about to tie the knot in Kiev – or Kyiv (Київ) in Ukrainian – and she kindly invited also her co-workers. I've travelled very little in Eastern Europe, and I had absolutely no idea how an Ukrainian wedding would be, so I wanted to seize the opportunity and tag along (I hadn't even met the bridal couple before). I did feel a bit like an intruder though, and it didn't help that I probably took more photos than the average guest. The wedding couple was young and beautiful and the venue was idyllic. The problem is that I may have ruined some actual wedding photos with my "plumber's crack". Sorry! A lesson learned.
Kyiv is an interesting mishmash of modern new buildings, beautifully renovated old houses, and ramshackled monstrosities of the Soviet era.
I knew in advance where Kyiv is on the map (the first time I looked it up was probably in 1986), and I do have a fair idea about the past and present of Ukraine. Regardless, Kyiv was quite different from what I expected. The city was much bigger and the contrast between the very rich and the very poor much starker than I had imagined. You could see German luxury cars in similar abundance as on the "Goldcoast" of Switzerland. To my delight, there were still some original Soviet classics on the streets as well, put in good use by the local proletariat.
Ukraine was targeted by a cyberattack a couple of days before our travel. The ransomware plaguing the nation was dubbed as "NotPetya" and it brought down many services, including banks and ATMs. We were fortunate that the attack started before we got there, so we were able to prepare enough cash (many places were unable to accept cards). Fortunately the costs of eating and getting around in Kyiv are fairly low, so we didn't need a huge pile of hryvnia. I was particularly impressed about the cost of pre-paid SIM-cards, for ≈5 euros you get 10GB of data in a 4G network. Sweet! I understand that transmitting electromagnetic radiation through the pristine Alpine air of Switzerland must be extremely expensive compared to lowly common air they breath elsewhere, but still, how can it cost ten times as much in here? Seriously?
We stayed in a picturesque lovely little hotel, built in the delightful traditional style (of communism). Premier Hotel Rus was originally constructed for the 1980's Olympic Games, and according to the Internet it used to host e.g. Finland's, Switzerland's and USA's embassies.
We usually take the local mass transit when we travel somewhere, but in Kyiv we used Uber. It was my first experience with them and I was positively surprised. Language barrier doesn't matter with Uber because the driver knows immediately where you are going, and you won't get ripped off because the payment is decided by the app. Very convenient for a tourist. The cars and drivers were all in decent condition, and one guy in particular was very talkative. We had a long insightful discussion, he was speaking Ukrainian (or Russian) and I was talking English (maybe I should've tried Finnish) and neither one of us understood a word. All the drivers knew one phrase in English though: a heavily accented "Have a nice day!", which they used regardless of the actual time of the day (or night).
As a worrywart I was concerned about the ongoing armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine. Despite the ceasefire there are still casualties on both sides practically on daily basis. The war in Donbass isn't particularly visible in Kyiv; you see posters around the city and men wearing the uniform but that's it. While we enjoyed a beautiful hot summer day walking around the city, a church that we passed by was hosting a funeral. A soldier had fallen earlier that week in an exchange of fire – a man much younger than I am – and his family and friends were giving him their final farewells. The older I become the more tired I get with all this insanity, and the funeral acted as a good reminder. That young man will never get to grow old and enjoy his mid-life crisis like I am.
We are able to measure gravitational waves emitted by distant black holes, and detect something as elusive as the Higgs boson, yet we still resolve disputes using a method that is literally thousands of years old. A different nationality, religion or political view is a carte blanche for doing unimaginable things to your fellow man. Grow up, humankind! Sad!
Baseina Street in the city centre. S-class Daimlers seem to be the "People's Car" here.
Khreshchatyk Street is the main street of Kyiv.
National Sports Complex "Olympiyskiy" hosted the Euro 2012 final.
I have a soft spot in my heart for Soviet architecture.
Busy bee at Kiev Fortress.
I was surprised that EU flags can be seen in many places around the city. It is fascinating how the same flag can represent so many conflicting things depending who and where in Europe you are.
This guy, Michael, also hangs around at Maidan Nezalezhnosti.
Maidan Nezalezhnosti was the main venue of the 2014 revolution.
"The Peace Around the Globe" statue at Maidan Nezalezhnosti. Yeah right.
This building was occupied by the protesters and turned into their headquarters during the Euromaidan in 2014. According to Wikipedia the police burned it 18./19.2. 2014 and many people died in the fire.
St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery has one of the most beautiful churches I've ever seen.
I learned only afterwards that this monastery served as a safe haven, hospital and morgue during the Euromaidan protests.
The bell ringer of the monastery rang the bells on December 11th 2013 as the protesters were making their last stand against the police. It was the first time the bells rang since the Mongols invaded Kyiv in 1240.
Volga GAZ-24-10 Luxury Sedan. The strive towards social egalitarianism was so 20th century and these beautiful marvels of Soviet engineering are becoming increasingly rare.
нет! Nyet! I never buy souvenirs but this one would have been nice on the liquor cabinet door. As I don't have the iron will of a true Hero of Socialist Labour, an occasional reminder might help.
Cossacks are the original hipsters with their facial hair and cool haircuts and alternative lifestyle.
Modern art along the Peizazhna alley
Borscht soup - my old nemesis. Borscht soup was a regular visitor on my school's lunch menu as a representative of "world cuisine" when I was a child. Another "world classic" I still remember was rice, peas and lumps of dry chicken: "Italian risotto". I hated it all. The main function of food in Finland is to be nutritious and healthy. If it also happens to have a pleasurable taste, it counts as a rare but exceptional bonus. Anyway, this genuine borscht soup was delicious! I might even consider burying the hatchet.
Nalysnyky (налисники) served with apple jam. So yummy! Exactly the same thing as Finnish lettu/lätty/ohukainen/räiskäle.
Little pony looked just as tired as I was after a long day in blistering heat.
Pobeda (победа) - victory! I don't speak any Russian or Ukrainian, and I can't read Cyrillic alphabet, but I know this word because of a legendary "Manserock" band by the same name.
Mother Motherland - or Brezhnev's Daughter - is a 102m tall and 560 tons heavy steel monster looming over the city, and a prime example why all art should be created under socialist totalitarianism. You just cannot have good stuff like this otherwise.
Kiev Monastery of the Caves in the back, "Crossing of the Dnieper" monument in the front.
Monastery of the Caves or Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.
"National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War" is a catchy short new name for a museum formerly known as the "Museum of the Great Patriotic War". The Great Patriotic War, of course, started in 1941 and definitely not in 1939 because no one remembers that one little incident in the North.
Eternal Flame - Вічний Вогонь - is not that eternal. The flame burns eternally only on biggest national holidays because it uses too much gas.
Size doesn't matter, like this perky little T-37 amphibious tank tries to prove...
...except that in armoured warfare size does matter. This is T-34 Soviet medium tank and one of the reasons why Soviet Union prevailed against Nazis in WW2. It was so good that Finnish army used captured and refined T-34s (nicknamed "sotka", a sort of a duck) against the Red Army.
MiG-17 entered service in 1952. Its Chinese variant J-5 is still in active use by North Korea.
Mariyinsky Palace is the official residence of the President of Ukraine.
As a curious person I did a Google image search for "Ukrainian pussies". This picture was definitely NOT a part of the result. Do not try at work! Naughty naughty people, where are all the fellow real kitten lovers!?
We took the bus to the wedding from the main square, so I got another picture of the monument. There were very few tourists in the city, so we were able to enjoy the sights without maddening crowds. Another top reason to visit Ukraine!
All set and ready to go. It rained a little during the ceremony, which in Ukrainian tradition is said to bring good luck.
The groom was serving drinks to the guests. I'm more of a "beer and whisky" guy but I couldn't say "нет!" to this one.
I really enjoyed the food. So many different delicious dishes!
The wedding venue was lovely.
I was blown away by The MAX BAND. These cool kids all look like models, and they could play some nice music too. However, I was even more blown away by the dancing talent of the Ukrainians. Everyone regardless of age or gender is a natural dance floor super star. Amazing! I stood out like a clown in a funeral since my only dance move is "nodding my head, at times also according to the rhythm".
I should've tried this on the dance floor: hiding.
The wedding was such a great experience and I am very grateful that we were invited.
That's it. Bye bye Kyiv!