KieVVision

Change (2011)  Changing Money  In the centre of town and at the Eurovision venue there are countless kiosks to change money. Look out for the signs saying: ОБМIН. The most popular currencies are Euros, US dollars; and Russian Rubles. While some advertising hoardings show many flags, the smaller operations stick to a smaller number of currencies, so to be safe just take one of those three currencies. You can get the local currency, Hrivna, also at international airports in Europe. You are usually only asked to give your surname and first name. If you are asked for your passport, it is so the clerk can write these names down correctly. In several places there's no paperwork at all.

Ukrainian Letter of the Day        Л = L  A = A Л = L Л = L O = O АЛЛО = ALLO (Hello!)

Party for Everybody (2012)  Party beach  KYIV DESTINATION: The Left Bank  From Poschtova Ploscha metro station you can walk down to the river and then over the river on the grey pedestrian chain bridge to the opposite side of the Dnipro. Have a bungee jump here if you fancy. If you take an immediate right you hit a mile or so of beach. In summer here there are often food and wine parties, where you can sample Ukrainian and Georgian wines, have a barbecue or falafel wrap, cheese selection or cake. These events have an small entrance fee and then you can buy whatever food and drink takes your fancy. From here you have spectacular views of the old city and the monasteries on the opposite river bank and can watch the various pleasure boats drift by. What's your favourite part of the river Dnipro?

Rändajad (2009)   A Corner of Estonia in Kyiv  EUROVISION COUNTRY: Estonia KYIV DESTINATION: National Museum of Apothecary, Cheese Kingdom Johann Heiter from Tartu in Estonia opened the very first pharmacy in Kyiv in in 1728 in the lower town of Podil. Tartu is the home of one of Europe's leading universities. A 100 years later after the pharmacy had been through several hands, this building was specifically designed on the foundations of Heiter's original pharmacy to house a modern, private pharmacy. Just outside the gates of Florivsky Monastery. It now serves as the National Museum of Pharmacy on 7, Pritisko-Mikilska St. Estonia and Ukraine have also briefly been the same country. In 1033 the Prince of Kyiv Yaroslav the Wise raided and controlled Tartu and held it for around 40 years.  When the city was part of the Russian empire, Moscow renamed Tartu after Yaroslav. Cheese Kindgom is an Estonian store chain selling Dutch cheese http://www.juustukuningad.ee/ind

Ukrainian Letter of the Day      B = V  A = A B = V T = T O = O ABTO = AVTO  (automobile or car)

Waterloo (1974)  Public Toilets  Shopping Mall toilets For people who find hygiene important, you will find that in Kyiv public restrooms maintain a generally high standard. Public toilets can be found in shopping malls, restaurants and on the streets. Some street toilets have a kiosk in the centre and cost 10 Eurocents (3 hrivna). In restaurants free toilets are often unisex with separate stalls. Some may have a bin by the side of the toilet bowl. This is for toilet paper in parts of town where water pressure is low. But these bins are not found everywhere. TIP:  Men's restrooms may have the letter M on the door.  Women's restrooms may have the letter Ж on the door. What tips do you have about public amenities in Kyiv? Street public convenience

Ukrainian Letter of the Day  X = Kh  X = Kh E = E K = K Хек = Khek  (Hake)

Un BloodyMary (2006)  Food in Jars  KYIV DESTINATION: Banka Bar Banka Bar http://banka.ua/en/about/  is a Ukrainian concept based on the nation's love of pickling and preserving fruit and vegetables. Consequently all the drinks and food are presented in pickling jars ('banka' in Ukrainian). The chain is the idea of the restauranteur who founded the popular Celantino Italian restaurant chain. The first bar opened in the basement of 11/6 Lva Tolstogo St. There is another Banka Bar on Rusanivka Embankment on Rusanivka Island, close to the Eurovision venue.

Keine Mauern Mehr (1990)  1,000 years of History  KYIV DESTINATION: Golden Gates The Golden Gate was the main entrance to Kyiv. It's also 1,000 years old and one of Kyiv's top tourist sites. The gate was unusual because it had a church on top. The 1980s reconstruction that can now be visited includes a church. A combined ticket for the Gate and the nearby St Sophia's Cathedral is a good deal. Inside you can see the original walls and climb the top to get good views of the square and surroundings. The gate has it's own musical links. Mussorgsky wrote a suite called Pictures at an Exhibition in 1874. The exhibition was a memorial to a close friend who had died at a young age. The exhibition included some watercolours by the man who had died, Viktor Hartman and one of them included the gates in Kiev. Around 100 years later a UK progrock band called Emerson, Lake and Palmer developed two concept albums that took Mussorgsky's suite as an inspiration. The Mich

Glorious (2013) Kyiv's Very Own Venice Beach Muscle Gym Guidebooks say the island at the HydroPark metro station is often called Kyiv's Venice. It is a summer pleasure centre on the banks of the Dnipro river for sun seekers in Kyiv with sandy beaches, bathing spots and a massive hard core free outdoor gym called Kachalka.   To get there leave HydroPark metro and turn right. Follow the crowds past all of the food stalls. Cross the bridge (see above) where the brave and the young leap down into the river's water. Once over the bridge follow the curve in the road to the right. This takes you into a general sports area. On the left is the Kachalka gym, and on the right numerous outdoor sports pitches for ball games, many with spectator seating. The gym is hard core. The equipment is inventively made from old machinery, cogs, tyres and railings and is worth checking out in its own right. Sport is taken seriously in Ukraine, look at how well it did in the Paralympics for

Ukrainian Letter of the Day                 Ш = Sh  Ш = Sh O =  O K =  K Шок = Shok (Shock)

بطاقة حب (Love Card) (1980) Islamic Kyiv  KYIV DESTINATION: Central Mosque Yes this is Kyiv. If you stand at the top of Verkhniy Val street in Podil and look up at the hil on the right you will see the minaret of Kyiv's Ar Rahma mosque. This beautiful building was only completed in 2000. The mosque has open days when the general public can visit. It stands next to a much older wooded muslim graveyard that dates back to early Soviet times.  The graveyard is on the edge of the hill and has great views over the northern part of the city. It is a popular picnic and bonfire spot at weekends. Islam has been in Ukraine for 700 years since the founding of the Khanate of Crimea. There are currently an estimated one million muslims in Ukraine. The muslim community is a mixture of Crimean Tatars, people who originate from former Soviet republics and the international community living in Kyiv. The Crimean Tartars were of course the focus of the winning Ukrainian Eurovision entry in

Door de Wind (1989)  Things to pack  If you are an allergy sufferer then please note that the month of May can be poplar tree seed-time. So don't forget to pack your allergy tablets. The seeds make the sky look as though its snowing. And the fluff drifts in the wind like dry ice around your ankles across the pavements. This "poplar snow" lasts for about a month, before it dies out in summer. Do I Dream?  (1973) Another thing to bring for those limited shopping time is eye masks. Post-Soviet societies in general do not line their curtains with blackout lining. May is a time of early sunrises, so if you like your sleep, then bring your eye mask with you. Or even better buy an eye mask once you are in Kyiv. Shops like UA Made http://uamade.com.ua/ru/  in all shopping malls have some groovy eye mask designs. What would you pack for Kyiv?

Nina (1991)  What's in a Name? - or how Iceland exists in every Ukrainian  EUROVISION COUNTRY: Iceland KYIV DESTINATION:  Cemeteries   Iceland and Kyiv were established in the same decade by the same group of Viking traders. Although they are thousands of miles apart they share something more than blood to this day. Only Icelanders and the eastern Slavs retain the system of patronymics. That is - in both societies people have a first name, followed by the name of their father. For example, in 1999 Iceland's Eurovision entry was sung by Selma Björnsdóttir - or Selma, daughter of Björn. Take the grave of the 1930s Ukrainian actress above. She has three names: Christian name:  Ekaterina Father's name:    Alexandrovna (Alexander) Surname:            Gursikina Do you know of any other links with Iceland? Icelandic consulate:      Yakir St, 8 Kyiv. Tel:                                  +380 44 568 5963/ 2 email:                             iceland_consulate