May 21-22, 2015
Flight: Austin, TX (AUS) to Houston, TX (IAH); United Economy
Flight: Houston, TX (IAH) to Munich, Germany (MUC); United Economy
Flight: Munich, Germany (MUC) to Kiev, Ukraine (KBP); Lufthansa Economy
Hotel: Hotel Kozatskiy; Kiev, Ukraine ($29)
I managed to get in a few hours worth of work this morning before heading to the airport. Orignally, my flight to Houston was supposed to depart at 1PM with a 2-hr layover. On my way to the airport I got a text that my flight was delayed due to storms in Houston. We'd been getting a ton of (much-needed) rain here in Texas this month. The flight departure time kept getting pushed back further and further and checking arrival/departure gates was arriving in far corner of C to opposite corner of E in Houston. There was a 2PM flight departing to Houston at the next gate, I asked about getting on standby and they handed me a boarding pass. Good thing I took that chance as we ended up leaving 20 minutes before my original flight.

We arrived at the B-terminal in Houston and by the time I caught the Skytrain I had no time for the lounge as my flight was about to board. The flight to Munich was on a 767-400. I had managed to score an Economy-plus seat at checkin but hadn't realized it was a bulkhead row. No wories, the seat was fine and had a thin pull-out screen. I watched a few movies, American Sniper, Kingsman and Trading Places, which oddly had several scenes deleted.


United Y IAH-MUC

Arrived into Munich on time which gave me a few minutes to go relax in the Lufthansa lounge. Eventually wandered down to the gate to Kiev where we boarded via bus. I slept most of the flight, awaking to see the view of Soviet apartment blocks as we came in for landing. Immigration was quick and easy and I found my taxi driver after getting some cash from the ATM. The drive into town took about an hour with traffic. The weather was great, 80s and blue skies. Talked with the driver a bit, he said there are many refugees in town now from the eastern Ukraine conflict.

I was staying at the Kozatskiy Hotel right on Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square), the site of the protests last year. The Kozatskiy was an old Soviet style hotel with dim hallways but my room was nice enough with aircon (though never did find a remote), TV and a view across the square. There is a McDonalds two doors down and a hostel next door where my friend stayed a few years ago.


Kozatskiy Hotel

I was still tired so hung out in my room for a bit before heading out about 5PM. Luckily it is summer here and stays light until after 9PM. My first stop was St. Michaels Golden Domed church, just up the hill from my hotel. The church is gorgeous eggshell blue with several gold-leaf domes. The church was destroyed by the Soviets but rebuilt after independence. There was a male choir singing inside which sounded amazing.


St. Michael's

St. Sophia church was a few blocks away. It gets its name from Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. I arrived just a few minutes too late as the church was already closed (last entry 5:30PM), although the grounds and belltower were still open. I clibmed up the belltower for a great view. I headed down a few blocks to the Golden Gates, one of the original gates to the city. There was a park here with a restaurant. Along the way there were guys selling coffee (and beer?) out of the backs of trucks. From the gates I headed back past St. Sophia towards St. Andrews church. The church is at the top of a hill with a steep descent down to the low-lying part of town along the Dnieper river. I was keeping an eye out for postcards as there were rows of vendors here selling magnets, shirts, dolls, pretty much everything but postcards.


St. Sophia Belltower

St. Sophia


Poshta - mailbox


Coffee truck

For dinner I went to the 'Black Piglet' (Chorne Porosya). I fumbled my Russian and they brought me an English menu. At the top of the menu was printed 'MEAT AND BEER. IT IS VERY GOOD'. I figure you can't go wrong with that and ordered the Pork cooked in beer dish. Quite tasty but a bit small of a dish so I left a bit hungry. I wandered back down to the Maidan and down through the underground shopping mall. At the other end was an ice cream shop, just the perfect treat. The Ukranian currency fell 50% last year and prices have started to catch up.


Dinner - Pork and beer