Sunday showers

We seem to have missed writing about Sunday but we've been busy being tourists! I'm thankful that Lev and I are sharing the load of writing about the trip; also Lev is much more technologically adept than I am, so I count on him for things like dealing with problems. He also writes the photo captions in a much more entertaining way than I do!

In any case, it is Monday already. Yesterday was spent wandering around Kyiv in some pretty horrible weather. The morning was beautiful and sunny, but then the rain came and it got cold and miserable. We spent more time in cafes than one probably should, but it was a way to escape the weather.

Though it may seem like it, this is not the actual line for entry to the museum.

We visited a fascinating two room museum called the "Museum of One Street". It is located at the foot of Andriyivsky uzviz (Andrew's descent), which is the steep street that we climbed Friday, that contains hundreds of market stalls. The museum documents the history of many individuals who lived on the street over hundreds of years. The collection showcases the lives of soldiers, politicians, nationalists, poets, musicians, actors, a rabbi, an orientalist, dressmakers, etc through an amazing variety of personal items.

Guess which exhibit this one is.

The museum was split up by era and then by street address. There were special exhibits dedicated to the "Turbin family" house of Mikhail Bulgakov's The White Guard fame, and the academic and artistic history of the street.

The First and Second World Wars

Some colourful paintings of 1918 soldiers from all sides of the conflict.

It was a toss up whether there were more World War II artifacts in the museum or being sold by vendors on the street outside.

We also walked around the Maidan (where the Orange Revolution took place) and Khreshatyk street before the skies opened up on us. The rest of the day was stormy, so there aren't that many pictures for us to show. :(

After meeting family on Monday, it will be time for us to leave Kyiv for Zhytomyr and Krasnosilka. Along with leaving this fascinating city and our friends, we will also miss our very comfortable and clean accommodations at the Fairmont Grand Hotel.