Kiev - Day II

On Sunday morning we visited the Pechersk Lavra – one of the oldest (11^th century) and most important monasteries in Ukraine.

We decided to hire a guide given the size of the monastery and our time constraint (Emilie had an afternoon flight). She provided a lot of interesting insight (on both the monastery itself as well as Ukrainian life in general) and efficiently navigated us to all the main sights, including the Cathedral of the Dormition, the Great Lavra Belltower and the Gate Church of the Trinity.

 

According to the guide, the original bell from the belltower offers good luck – hence why the masses were lined up to touch it…

The most memorable part of the visit was the caverns, which the original priests of the monastery dug into the hills. They evolved into a sizable underground network over the centuries and are open to both pilgrims and tourists. The main attraction -- mummified remains of important figures "buried" over the years.

It was eerie to see the mummified bodies – unlike “traditional” mummies, they aren’t wrapped in cloth but are instead covered in blankets and you can occasionally see a hand or two. Apparently the constant temperature and humidity of the caverns make them an ideal place for mummification).

The caverns were definitely not for those who are claustrophobic, as there was barely enough room for even a single-file line (not to mention the mere inches between those in front of and behind you). Add in the lit candle that each person carried, and you had a fire hazard to say the least.

After we finished the monastery visit the guide showed us the Motherland Statue, which is nearby. The statue was massive, though it's hard to tell from the picture below as it was taken from a distance.

We then grabbed a cab and headed back to the hotel so Emilie could leave for the airport. “Grabbed a cab” is actually a bit of an understatement, as this required a thorough negotiation (by the guide, of course) with multiple taxi drivers in order to get a "fair" rate. Apparently taxi drivers in Kiev are a bit unstructured in their pricing and the cost rises significantly for tourists who don’t know better (like us…).

***

After Emilie left,/ I spent the balance of the afternoon walking around the city. For the most part I passed by a number of the same sights that we had seen on Saturday, but did manage to find an interesting new one – the “House with Chimaeras.” The building was designed by Vladislav Gorodetsky (the “Gaudi of Kiev”) and has ornate decorations of various animals / creatures on the exterior.

By this point I hit the wall and headed to the hotel where I’m staying for the balance of my time in Kiev. It’s actually about half-way down Andrew’s Descent and for a couple of moments I wasn’t quite sure that the cab would actually make it down the cobblestone road without killing its (already compromised) suspension.

I decided to buy a couple of gifts from the vendors on the street and wasn’t exactly sure how to manage the bargaining process (it’s hard enough when you speak the same language). Something tells me that the vendors got the best of me, but it was hard to lose too much sleep over it given how cheap everything was.