KieVVision

Autostop (1980) Getting a taxi Kiev does not have a hailing taxi system. You can book taxis from your hotel reception desk, but then what do you do? Probably the simplest thing to do is use taxi Apps. There are two available that are popular. Uklon http://uklon.com.ua  and Uber. Both are relatively new. Local expats tend to use Uklon. Uber has had some start-up teething problems with having enough drivers, but it may be worthwhile downloading both to cover yourself at busy times.    Both Uklon and Uber have English-language pages, however your driver may or may not speak English, so write down your destination to show him.  There are also taxi companies and some have English-language telephone operators. Probably the ones in hotels are the most geared towards tourists. A journey typically costs 50-100 Hryvna, but this of course depends on the length of the journey and traffic. What taxi advice would you add? 

Rockefeller Street (2011)  The main drag: and Eurovision party zone  KYIV DESTINATION: Khreschatik  Many tourists end up on Khreshatik, the Stalinesque wide boulevard which is a popular promenading destination. The grandieur of the post-war buildings means many are impratical as modern day stores, but there are one or two excellent exceptions along Kiev's version of Regent St. At weekends the street is blocked off to traffic allowing various novel modes of rental transport (seaways, go-carts etc) possible. There are also young men dressed in comic animal costumes who will pose with you for photos for a small fee. A wide, raised pavement on one side also is good sauntering ground when the traffic uses the road. From here you can walk up the exclusive shopping street of Passazh (see previous post). The wide pavement also has a number of coffee pavilions and souvenir stalls. In addition there are some good Ukrainian clothing stores here.  These stores include "B

Ukrainian Letter of the Day                           З = Z З = Z О = O О = O ЗОО = ZOO

Made in Spain (1988)  A little bit of Spain in every home  EUROVISION COUNTRY: Spain  KYIV DESTINATION:  The National Toilet Museum   The very first water closets in Ukraine were Spanish. They arrived in the 19th Century after a Spanish porcelain manufacturer developed a new system that integrated flushing water into the toilet bowl structure.  This system was branded as 'Unitas' - or Unified (system). It was so popular that the Ukrainian word for а flushing toilet remains to this day as "unitaz". You can learn about the whole history of water closets at the Museum of the History of the Toilet.  http://museumtoilet.com.ua    The museum is based in an interesting building. It is part of the 18th century defences of the city in "Tower No. 5". The visit is with a Russian-speaking guide, and takes about 15 minutes, after which you are free to roam and look at the exhibits. Take a Russian-speaking friend to translate for you as the stories the

100% Te Ljubam (2000)   Gay Kiev  Ukraine is only at the start of its journey in the recognition of all of its citizens equal rights. Tolerance of gay rights is mixed. In Kyiv you will find total acceptance by enlightened young professionals. But there is also a dual background of Soviet indoctrination and newly discovered Orthodox religious beliefs to combat in this process. On the other hand this is the country that almost won Eurovision in 2007 with drag queen Verka Serduchka (who came 2nd). Kiev has a vibrant gay life. It is just not that visible. There has been progress. Much was made in the European press of attacks on people marching in the gay pride march in 2015 in Kiev. However it was less reported that the 2016 gay pride march went off without any hitches. In the same period the parliament successfully passed a bill that opposed discrimination at work based on sexuality in 2015 and a poster campaign (shown below) provides a hotline for reporting such abuse.