Magical Kiev

Think of Communism, and I would associate it with a yellow star in a bright red background. Ukraine was integrated into the Russian Empire in the 1900s' until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. As I flew over the Atlantic Ocean to Kyiv, I was envisioning a city full of golden domes donning the blue skyline. 

I did not arrive at my hostel till 8 at night. Feeling hungry, I took a walk along Chervonoarmiis'ka str., where the hostel is located. I was surprised to see (at least) five Japanese restaurants on that street alone! I decided to try one. The host was a young man in an oversized coat as I approached him. Unlike New York where you have to wait to be seated, here in Kyiv you are free to seat anywhere. The menu was sushi and Italian pasta with a twist of Japanese flavor. I ordered a soup plate of green pasta noodles with sliced chicken, and yakitori. Unfortunately, the meal was not good at all. 

I started the next morning to Andrew's Descent. As I walked up the steep and winding cobblestone road, street vendors were beginning to start their business as usual activities - setting up tables, and unloading their merchandise from their vehicles. 

At the top is Saint Andrew's Church. There are steps that lead up to the Church. Dark green dome with decorative spires decorated with ornamental details made this Church a landmark in this historic Podil neighborhood. Walk further away from here, you could see an ornate white bell tower standing majestically. This is the St. Sophia's Cathedral. It is the oldest standing church in Kyiv, built in 1037 by Prince Yaroslav the Wise, who incidentally was laid to rest here. This majestic 13-cupola sanctuary adjoined Yaroslav's Palace has become a holy place of worship for the Kyivites. Today the entire complex is protected by Ukraine, and receives support from UNESCO. Directly opposite St. Sophia's Cathedral is St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral. Its sky blue exterior and glittering golden domes add a stunning layer to the cityscape around the entire area. Exit out from the cathedral to your right is a monument to the victims of Holodomor (starvation); a sobering reminder of Stalin's inhumane policies. 

Having time on my side, I headed back to Andrew's Descent, and took the metro to Kyivo-Pechers'ka Lavra-Caves Monastery. The Monastery which made Kyiv the 'Rome' of Orthodox Christianity receives pilgrims from all over Europe and attracted droves of visitors yearly. It is 28 hectares of land with churches, towers and museums. The most interesting and holy site is the Underground Caves, where priests were mummified naturally, and laid in glass caskets. Women are required to wear scarves to cover their head before entering. Candles are given to some visitors to guide them through the tunnels.

Not far from the monastery, lies the Museum of Great Patriotic War. There are painted battle tanks, and other artillery and monuments surrounding the area. One of the monuments that stands out is the Mother Motherland monument, shining brightly as it reflects the beams from the sun. It is made of titanium, and measures 102 m (203 ft). 

I ended my day at the Independence Square. This is where history was made in November 22, 2004, where the Orange-clad demonstrators gathered to protest the results of the run-off vote between two political candidates.   

The unthinkable happened to me on my last day in Kyiv. I was pick-pocketed while riding the metro. It nearly spoilt my entire day. Not to be deterred, I went to the Golden Gate (Zoloti  Vorota). It is the remains of the ancient Kyiv's main gate that were originally constructed during the height of the Kyivan Rus, and is considered as one of the most unique architectural archaeological sites in Kyiv.

The Kyiv Metro is the first rapid transit system in Ukraine. Riding the metro itself is a joy and its interior is amazing: decorated elaborately, it shows the postwar Stalinist architecture blended with traditional Ukrainian motifs. It has one of the deepest stations in the world, Arsenalna at 105.5 metres below ground. The best part is, a single ride costs only 2.00 hryvnia which is less than a quarter in the United States. 

I went to the main train station to relax my tired feet before my departure to Lviv.

Despite the misfortune incident, I had a really good time in Kyiv. I believed Ukraine has the most influential atmosphere from the former Soviet Union era. Now, I have added gold and dark green to my palette of yellow and bright red when I think of Communism. 

Berlin

The following morning, we flew to Berlin on Air Berlin. We had a little trouble locating our hostel, but when we got there, I was surprised to find that the hostel was actually pretty nice although linen was not provided. Unfortunately, the weather in Berlin was just as cold.

What was so interesting about the hostel is that it is located in a neighborhood where part of the Berlin Wall is still left standing. We stopped at Alexanderplatz where we had lunch at Dinea in Galeria Lafayette. Alexanderplatz is a large public square and transport hub in the central Mitte district of Berlin. Not too far from the train station is the Neptune Fountain. Built in 1891 and designed by Reinhold Begas, it has the Roman God Neptune in the center, with four women around him representing four main rivers of Prussia: Elbe, Rhine, Vistula and Oder. The tallest structure in Germany, Fernsehturm (television tower) is also located here. Further away, is the Museum Mile, a major highlight of any visit in Berlin with superb museum collections and stunning architectures. Some of the interesting places around here are: DDR Museum, which offers hands-on experience of what day-to-day life in socialist Germany was like; Alte Nationalgalerie, offers three-level collection of 19th century art; Lustgarten, a garden known for its visual pleasure and Pergamonmuseum, a massive wealth of information regarding classical Greek, Islamic, Middle Eastern and Roman art and structural design.

The Berliner Dom is a Baroque Cathedral located on an island in the River Spree, also known as the Museum Island. It was severely damaged during World War II, but reconstruction only begun in 1975. One of the most interesting items in the richly decorated interior of the church is the reconstructed pipe organ, built by Wilhelm Sauer. The organ, originally built in 1905, has more than 7.000 pipes. A number of members of the Hohenzollern family are buried in the church, among them Friedrich I and his wife, who are entombed in beautifully sculpted sarcophagi. The oldest tomb in the cathedral (1530) is the tomb of elector Johann Cicero, elector of Brandenburg. We spent sometime in the Dom, and as night time approached, we decided to head back. The ensemble on Museum Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Brandenburg Gate is a former city gate and one of the main symbols of Berlin and Germany. It is the only remaining gate of a series which Berlin once entered. It was heavily damaged in the war, but now fully restored in 2002. Today it is regarded as one of Europe's most famous landmarks. The Reichstag building is another historic building in Berlin. It has a large glass dome at the very top. The dome has a 360-degree view of the surrounding Berlin cityscape. I had wanted to view the interior of the building (the next day), but unfortunately the line was way too long. The Reichstag is one of the few famous buildings in Berlin that does not charge a fee to enter. The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe also know as the Holocaust Memorial consists of a 19,000 squares meters (almost 6,000 squares feet) covered with 2,771 concrete slabs arranged in a grid pattern on a sloping field. Designed by an American architect, Peter Eisenman, the slab are designed to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, and the whole sculpture aims to represent a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with human reason.

Berlin does have lots of history significance, after all, it was here that Adolf Hitler and his subordinates had great plans to transform Berlin into a center fit for his new empire. 

Before we could stay any longer, it began to snow heavily. We detour to one of the streets and found a nice little restaurant. We had soljanka (a spicy sour soup), kartoffelsuppe (potato soup), and eisbein (ham hock). It was a delicious meal to end the night.

Weather was better the following day. The sun came out, and we went to Kurfurstendamm, one of the most famous avenues in Berlin.  It has very long, broad boulevard with lines of trees (in this case, trunks), and full of luxurious stores, shops, hotels, restaurants and houses. This is also where the ruins of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church located. I bought some Easter chocolates at KaDeWe, a famous departmental store in Berlin. We went back to Brandenburg Gate for another look. 

Berlin has a population of more than 3 million people. Following German reunification in 1990, the city regained its status as the capital of all Germany hosting 147 foreign embassies. Berlin is a world city of politics, media, and science. It is known for its diverse culture, arts, architecture and historic legacy. Like New York, it is the city that never sleeps.

As we were on a train back to pick up our bags from the hostel, we were asked to show our train ticket to the inspectors. We did not buy our tickets that day. As I was pretending to look for them, Jack just acted dumb. To make the long story short we were ticketed and asked to pay a fine. "We don't have any money left. Can I pay later?", I said. "Yes, you can. You can send us your money" he said. The inspectors took our information. We left Berlin for Frankfurt in the rain that night. Snow, rain, wind, and sun - we had it all in Germany.

After a few hours of sleep, we flew back to New York the next morning. And, I still have not pay the fine yet!

St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery

Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev is an outstanding architectural monument of Kievan Rus'. Listed on UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is one of the city's best known landmarks in Kiev.

Frankfurt

I've been to Frankfurt am Main twice before but both times were in the summer. We left Kuala Lumpur at a near record 90 degrees Farenheit (32 C), and came to Frankfurt am Main at a 30s' F (almost 0 C) temperature.  With a huge drop in temperature in less than 12 hours, I felt cold when we got off the plane in a chilly Thursday night in March.

Jack and I left our luggages at the Frankfurt International Airport, and we took a train (cost €3.80) to Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (Main Train Station), where our hostel is located. 

Situated in the Main River, Frankfurt is a major financial and transportation center in Europe. The Stock Exchange is one of the world's most important exchanges, and there are over 300 national and international banks represented here in Frankfurt. In fact, it is the only German City listed in the top Alpha world cities. You may not think of Frankfurt as a tourist destination given the fact that it is a major key player in the financial and commerce sectors, but Frankfurt does offer a lot more.

Along the Schaumainkai in Frankfurt's district of Sachsenhausen, on the left bank of the Main River, there is an extraordinary concentration of museums and galleries, and some of them of international standards. This area is known as Museumsufer (Museums Riverbank). If you walk along the area, don't be surprised to see houses that are transformed into museums and galleries. It was getting really cold as we walked toward Römerberg in the rain and wind. This is the central square of Frankfurt's Alstadt (Old Town). All kinds of festivities are held here yearly. There are 6 picturesque reconstructed half-timbered houses known as the Ostzeile in Alstadt. In March 1944 bombardments flattened the whole historic district, including Römerberg. Some were rebuilt soon after the war, but the Ostzeile wasn't reconstructed following historical models until 1981-1983. We stopped by at a restaurant for beers and lunch, where I had sausages with sauerkraut, and Jack had pot roast with potatoes. Meal was very good. 

We went to the Historisches Museum, just south of Römerberg. The museum covers the history of Frankfurt, including its destruction after the war. It also traces the history of the city from prehistory to the modern times. The most popular attraction in the museum is a set of three scale models. The scale models were created between 1926 and 1955 by the brothers Hermann and Robert Treuner. The largest of the three models shows Frankfurt's Inner City in the Middle Ages and shows a city center full of half-timbered houses. The two other models show the inner city after it was obliterated by two large bombardments in March 1944 and after it was reconstructed in the mid 1980s. Other museums worth mentioning here are Stadel Art Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Ancient Sculpture, Museum of Applied Arts and Craft Museum.

To end our day in Frankfurt, we went to Kaiserdom (Saint Bartholomeus), a Gothic building which was originally built in the 13th century. Twice reconstructed after a fire in 1867, and the war in 1944, it has been recognized as a symbol for the national unity to Germany, especially in the 19th century. St Paul's Church (Paulskirche) is another national historic monument in Germany because it was the seat of the first democratically elected Parliament in 1848. Partially destroyed in World War II, it has a modern interior appearance now, and used mainly for exhibitions and events.

Most of Frankfurt was destroyed in the 1867 fire, and later in World War II. What you see today, is either new modern infrastructures or a reconstructions of the Old Frankfurt like Römerberg.