Kyiv madness

Kyiv Metro vixen

Eric at the Kyiv train station (zaliznichniy vokzal)

First day together in Ukraine

Well well well, technology has foiled me again, and you, dear friends, are going to have to settle for "First Impressions" second time 'round. Erik and I arrived in Chernivtsi on a (nice) rattling pre-WWII propellor plane, and I couldn't decide what most deserved my attention, the loose screws and shaky wings appearing through the window, or the fur-clad beauties lounging with bottles of cognac and cigarettes in the seats next to us.
But I'm jumping ahead of myself. I have skipped over entirely the madness of Kyiv! Its easy to forget how useless you can feel unable to ask for a simple glass of water (voda). Somehow, through divine intervention perhaps, Eric managed to reach into the depths of his brain and assemble the pieces of Ukrainian/Russian he has learned so far to get us through the streets and metro systems. I don't know what to say so much about Kyiv - fast, elegant, edgy, sexy. There is a constant movement that has a mind of its own - trolley buses squealing past, dirty windows and crumbling paint with the faces of stunning Slavs staring out. Slick-looking characters hover on the corners sipping coffees and glancing discreetly at the high-heeled fashionistas strutting past. We have to return here once we're less frantically lost and can read, rather than guess the street signs. Can't wait!