Kyiv, Ukraine

Arrived at Kiev station in the morning to our first "not in Kansas any more" moment. Outside the ststion seemed chaotic, dirty and very foreign. Lots of people hawking taxis, all Cyrillic script and incomprehensible cashpoints. I was plaesed to have brought an emergency stash of Euros and Dollars and managed to change some very easily. I am ashamed to say that my firsti nstinct was to head to McDonalds for what I guessed must be guarenteed WiFi, and sure enough a cup of coffee and three packets of fries bought us a table, internet connectionand a space to formulate a plan. We sat outside where Lila was upset by the shocking state of the pigeons, all raggedy and dirty, but she did her best to see that they left our table well fed.
I had read that Uber was the way to go in Kiev and had installed the app. in Warsaw before left. This was my first experience with the system and itworked very well, getting us across town to our hostel for the equivalent of a couple of euros. Our hostel was cosy, welcoming and very pleasing to Lila, decorated as it was in green and pink with paintings of scenes fromthe ballet. We were just up the road from Independance Square/ The Maiden and in amongst the residences of Presidential Security so, as you might imagine, the ambiance was rather different to the station. After giving the kids a quick rundown of recent history we headed down to the famous square. For those of you who don't know the history of The Euromaiden/Independance Square in the 21st century I'm not going to tell you here. LOOK IT UP!
Up to date with your European history now? Good.
We strolled down to the square, a hundred metres from the hostel and wandered about. There was a demonstration calling for the release of Oleg Sentsov, a Ukranian film maker imprisoned by the Russians in Crimea on terrorism charges. A large crowd had gathered and standing at the back were a few of Ukraine's famous citizen's militia. Whether they were there in support or to monitor the demonstration was unclear, but it was certainly a reminder that history is far from over.
Underneath the square is a large and thoroughly modern shopping mall which provided Lila with much amusement. This, alongside the massive hoardings advertising banks and McDonalds which surround Independance Square contrasted starkly with the rundown look of much of the rest of Kiev. Probably the citizens of the Ukraine have made the right choice with their European alliance but it has clearly not been a panacea.
We returned to the hostel and went out again to the square in the evening. Clearly no expense had been spared to make this area look like the centre of a modern European city, and it was indeed very impressive. There is a series of fountains, lit up and choreographed to music alongside the illuminated statues of Berehenia and the Archangel Michael. Air guitaring to Bohemian Rhapsody in the centre of the symbol of Eastern Europe's struggle for democracy must rank on any student of the post-modern's bucket list.Read more