Ukraine's Independence Day Holiday

Here's a view of Independence Square and part of
Globus, the large underground shopping center.
kiev

Here's part of the crowd in downtown Kiev
at Independence Square on Independence Day.
kiev

This is a statue of Voldomyr looking out over the Dniper River.
kiev

Here's a shot from the Podil district.
kiev

One of the many, many churches in Kiev.
kiev

St. Michael's
kiev

Here's a shot of me, still recovering from my second haircut since
arriving in Ukraine, and arguably the worst haircut of my entire life,
"stitched" together with a shot of Voldomyr with the Dniper in the background.
kiev

St. Andrew's.
kiev

A view of the shoppers along Andriyivskyi Uzviz
(Andrew's Ascent) from St. Andrew's Church.

excerpt from Kiev Post article:
Kyiv's so-called "most charming street", Andriyivsky Uzviz is a lure for tourists: a respite from the bustle of a city that's rapidly changing, a repository of Kyivan history, and a teeming bazaar, where vendors who sell old Lenin busts, creepy Wehrmacht medals left over from World War II and banners proclaiming communism's glory, play backgammon together until passerby stop to inspect their wares more closely. Residents who decades ago lucked into the Soviet housing lottery lean on aging balconies to view the street life below.

Andriyivsky Uzviz, literally "Andrew's Ascent", named after the picturesque Baroque St. Andrew's Church (1749-54) at the hill's top, has long been home to artists and artisans, as well as members of the city's upper classes. "Kyiv's Montemarte" is the name that has been attached to it, and its history is as old as the city itself: it was the original road between the aristocratic precincts of what used to be called the Upper City, and the bustling mercantile center of dockside Podil, which begins where the Uzviz ends, at Kontraktova Ploshcha. Take away the occasional sight of a Mercedes Benz or a Lada rattling its way along the Uzviz's treaherous cobblestone curves, and the street looks much like it did a century ago

Some Photos from Kiev on Ukraine's Independence Day Holiday

25 August 2004