A weekend in Kyiv
Visited in September 2017
Ukraine, the second largest European country by area, was on my bucket list for a long time and I have finally booked a trip to Kyiv (aka Kiev) in September 2017. That trip was also my first together with Mike. We haven’t traveled together before, but Mike did some crazy travels through West Africa in recent years. He can tell you stories that sound too surreal to be true but they really happened.
The start of the trip was marked by chaos, as we almost missed the flight from Zurich to Kyiv. Fortunately, we arrived in Ukraine’s capital two hours later. It takes about 40-45 minutes from Borispol International Airport to the city center by car and we arranged a pick up by the guy who owned the apartment we had booked.
In terms of accommodation, Kyiv is similar to other Eastern European cities or the Balkans: there are way more apartments available than hotels. We had an apartment only a two minutes walk from Majdan Nezalezhnosti, also known as Majdan Square. This was a good decision, since the location is very central and some sights are withing walking distance. Another option would have been the Podil quarter, the nightlife district.
So, what was the plan for our Ukraine trip? Sightseeing and nightlife. We started with the latter.
First night in Kyiv – as good as it gets
After the check in we got our first impression of Kyiv by passing through Majdan square, the country’s most famous square. This square is famous for the political protests that happened there in recent years. The Orange Revolution for example or the violent Euromaidan movement, which resulted in the removal of president Viktor Yanukovytch from office. Shortly after that Russia invaded the Crimea… Therefore, this square is a historic one for the recent history of Ukraine. It’s a huge square, actually a nice one surrounded by some ugly communist buildings. But it’s definitely a nice place to spend some time.
Mike and I had excellent Borscht, Olivier Salad (Russian salad) and other delicacies from the Ukrainian/Russian cuisine for dinner in a restaurant called Spotykach. It was the first time we realized how cheap Kyiv is. We both had two starters, one main course, dessert, non-alcoholic beverages and booze. In the end, we paid around 20 Euro per person, and it was one of the top rated restaurants on TripAdvisor.
Kyiv’s nightlife takes place in different areas of the city. Ukraine’s capital got the reputation of being a second Berlin when it comes to clubbing, because the amount of techno underground clubs has increased in recent years. Our night ended in Closer, one of the most famous underground clubs in Ukraine. It was excellent. Admission was a bit high for Ukrainian standards, but the crowd was good and the drinks cheap. The night ended when Mike got molested by a homeless, mentally disturbed man in front of our apartment. However, it was harmless in the end. Kyiv is generally a pretty safe city and walking around at night is not a problem in the center.
One remarkable thing was that all the girls we spoke to asked “what are you guys doing here?” as their second or third question. I’m not quite sure if I interpreted this question correctly, but I assume they were checking if we were sex tourists. Ukraine is one of the European countries that draws the most sex tourists. The country is poor and many women are looking for “sponsors” from Western Europe. Some people even seem to make a business out of that, as we have seen the signs in the following picture countless times.
Sightseeing in Kyiv: cathedrals and a gigantic monument
The next day was the only full day we had to explore the Ukrainian capital. Kyiv is a beautiful city with old charm and you cannot see many skyscrapers in the center. Most of the streets in the center aren’t asphalted but with cobblestones, which makes traffic much noisier. Speaking of traffic, the Ukrainians drive like maniacs and we almost had an accident in an Uber. Another Uber driver we had speeded with 100km/h through the center. It was madness. It wasn’t too surprising that we became witness to a multiple collision one day later.
With 3 million people living in the city, Kyiv is the seventh largest European city by population. Kyiv is even more populous than Paris, Rome or Barcelona. This means that you need some time to see the whole city. Time that we did not have. We visited the main sights but couldn’t see everything the city has to offer. Therefore, I absolutely have to come back soon. Kyiv’s attractions are mainly pompous Orthodox Christian cathedrals; however, there are also some real nice spots along the Dnjepr river and in the city center.
In my opinion, the best sights are Rodina Mat, St. Sophia Cathedral and the Monastery of the Caves. In that order. St. Sophia Cathedral is very central and not far from Majdan square. Rodina Mat and the Monastery of the Caves are almost next to each other. A taxi from Majdan square to these sights doesn’t take longer than 5 minutes. We walked from Majdan square and it took a bit more than half an hour. Rodina Mat stands 62m tall and is part of the Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II. It’s in the middle of a park and you can also see an exhibition of tanks and weapons in front of it. It was pretty impressive.
Kyiv: the cheapest capital of Europe?
Our dinner the second evening was a bit more special, because we went to a Tatar restaurant called Musafir, which is ranked nr. 1 on TripAdvisor. Tatars are a small minority in Ukraine, and they are Turkic people. As a consequence, Tatar cuisine is very similar to the Turkish one. We ordered 7-8 starters, two main courses, water, dessert and coffee. The food was excellent and what happened after checking the bill was priceless. Mike guessed the total price would be €50. Instead, we paid €15 for everything. The Ukrainian currency is by the way called Hryvnia.
Kyiv is by far the cheapest European city I have ever been to. A 5-10 minutes ride with Uber costs 2-2.50 Euros. We went the Hyatt rooftop bar and paid €4-5 for e drink with high-quality liquor. Drinks in hotel chains like Hyatt, Radisson, Hilton etc. are usually more or less the same in every city. Not in Kyiv. Besides, the price of our apartment was €40 per night. It was a 80m2 apartment with two bedrooms. I would say that this price is average in Kyiv.
In the evening, we went to a bar called One Love Coffee. The bar was interesting. It looked like a coffee bar and they actually did serve coffee and cake (and alcoholic beverages of course), but loud techno sound came out of the boxes. As we had to get up early the next day, I went back to the apartment around midnight. Mike this bad-ass stayed there and came back to the apartment at 3.30, although we had to get up at 6.00 AM. And I have to mention that this guy is 37 years old.
Dark tourism: day trip to Chernobyl
The reason why we traveled to Ukraine was not only to see Kyiv but also to visit Chernobyl. The Chernobyl accident is the most disastrous nuclear accident in the history. It happened in 1986 just seven months after my birth. Nowadays, the nuclear power plant serves as a tourist attraction 100km North of Kyiv.
Various tour operators offer tours to Chernobyl, but in fact it doesn’t make much of a difference which of them you choose. The program is more or less the same, so are the prices. We booked the trip via Chernobyl-Tour and paid $90. The start of the tour is at 7.30 AM and you return to Kyiv at 9 PM. It takes approximately two and a half hours to get to Chernobyl and you are going to lose some time at the checkpoints. Most importantly, you have to bring your passport with you, as they control it at the checkpoints. An identity card is not enough and your access will be denied. Why? I have no idea.
To my surprise, we entered a bus full of people. I expected to be in a group of 6-7 people, but we were more than 40! Mike and I rented a Geiger Counter, which was provided by the tour for 10 additional bucks. The tour guide also gave us a certificate, on which they would eventually write down the radiation we received that day. Many friends said they would never go to Chernobyl, as they are afraid of the radiation. So was a German traveler who returned back to Kyiv at the first gas station where we took a break.
The tour takes you to different spots in and around the Chernobyl power plant. We visited a few abandoned villages just 2km from the nuclear plant including a kindergarten. To make the experience even spookier you can see plenty of semi-destroyed dolls lying around the kindergarten. It looks like the place has been abandoned just a week before. Nevertheless, I am sure that the tour operators do their best to put things like a broken doll at a popular spot. For example, right in front of a door or somewhere everyone has to pass through. It makes the feeling a bit more authentic, but it’s fake in the end.
We had lunch at the canteen of the power plant. Yes, even that is possible and part of the tour. There are still people working in and around certain parts of the power plant and therefore, there is a need for a canteen. I imagined the following conversation on Tinder: “So, what do you do for a living?” – “I work in the Chernobyl canteen. What about you?”
Quality of the food was just about acceptable, but certainly the worst I had in Ukraine. Anyway, what can you expect for 5 dollars.
Traveling to Prypjat
The second part of the tour was in my opinion better than the first. We went to different places around the nuclear power plant before heading to Prypjat. Prypjat was the largest city near Chernobyl and home to many workers of the power plant. 50’000 people lived there when the nuclear disaster happened. The city of Prypjat was built in 1970 only and was kind of a communist showcase project.
I don’t mean that in a positive way, as the city must have looked ugly even before the disaster. Now it’s just an abandoned, overgrown ghost town. However, there are stray animals that live there. You can actually see plenty of them, but it’s advised not to touch them because of the particles on their body.
Prypjat is most famous for its amusement park including a big ferris wheel. It’s one of the places that made me uncomfortable but also fascinated at the same time. Somehow, it basically felt weird to be in a place that represents fun and joy but is nothing more than spooky ex-amusement park. Nevertheless, that place was one of the highlights of the tour and also the last place we visited before we went back to Kyiv.
Is traveling to Chernobyl safe? Obviously, the tour operator says yes. :). They told us that it could be a problem for your health if you visit the area around Chernobyl every day. However, you have to follow a few basic rules: your face and your hands are the only parts of your body that don’t have to be covered. There were tourists in t-shirts only. I cannot make a final judgement about the dangers, as I am no expert. But can a tour that attracts thousands of tourists for years really be that dangerous? I don’t think so.
My travel experience in Kyiv
Ukraine is a rather overlooked country in Europe when it comes to traveling, which is a shame. Of course, I can only make a conclusion about Kyiv, but the second-largest country has more to offer than the capital only. We have met several travelers who came from Odessa, Lviv and other parts, and all of them seemed enthusiastic. Yes, there is a war going on in the East, but you won’t notice that in most parts of the country. For me personally, the long weekend in Ukraine was the best trip in 2017 and I definitely will come back soon.
I also liked the Ukrainians. The people in Kyiv are more westernized than their brothers and sisters in Russia. Most of the young people speak English, whereas only around 10 percent of the Russians speak anything else than Russian. As I have visited Russia two weeks before my trip to Ukraine I had the direct comparison between the two countries. The Ukrainians we met were very friendly towards us foreigners. One old man deeply apologized for the inconvenience when a beggar asked us for money, which wasn’t a problem for us. But also in shops or restaurant the locals treated us with utmost hospitality.
Nevertheless, Ukraine is still real Eastern Europe and different from the Balkans and the Visegrad states (Poland, Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia), which aren’t even in Eastern Europe by the way. Although Kyiv seems like a westernized city, it still has a Sovjet Union feeling. But that makes the city a special place. If you want to experience a beautiful city, nice locals, delicious food, great nightlife and cheap prices there is no way around the capital of Ukraine. Absolute recommendation!
Nicely written.
#Future Goals