Today is our second day in Kiev, and it's probably the only day of our whole trip that our schedule doesn't revolve around the adoption. Today was our "buffer" day, just in case there were flight delays, and to give us a day to adjust to the time change and get our game face on!
We wanted to relax today because our emotions are all over the place right now. We're feeling excited and overwhelmed by being here. We're nervous about what will happen at the SDA appointment tomorrow, and we're anxious to know which direction the ball will roll from there. We miss Sophia & Claire, and I (for one) am a little homesick. And we're intimidated by this city!!! We've traveled in Europe several times before, but never have we felt so disoriented and uncertain. All my efforts to become familiar with the Ukrainian language have been completely useless to me here.
Luckily, Konstantin was able to recommend an English-speaking tour guide, so we enjoyed our one free day by taking in some of the city of Kiev. It is a beautiful European city. One might mistake some sights, like the square in front of St. Sophia church, for another European city, like Italy. Unlike other areas of Europe, however, you won't find many original buildings. Most of what you see, even of the "historic" sights, are replicated because the originals were destroyed. Our guide gave us a crash course in Ukraine's ever-changing and sometimes turbulant history. Also unlike other cities in Europe, you will not see many tourists, and you especially won't hear anyone else speaking English. I felt like I was walking around with a giant American flag painted on my face.
Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs building - we were told that there were supposed to be many more buildings like this one built by Stalin, framing Kiev's very own version of the Red Square. St. Michael's church is next door to this building, creating quite a contrast. St. Michael's was torn down to make room for more buildings like this one, and was just rebuilt after Ukraine regained independence.
The People's Friendship Arch built in 1982 to represent
the unification of Russia and Ukraine
Майдан Незалежності - Independence Square, our "home base"
and point of reference for finding our way back to our apartment!
Recreation of the "Golden Gate" which was one of three entrances to the city of Kiev almost 1000 years ago, with a statue of Yaroslav the Wise holding St. Sophia Cathedral
The bell tower of St. Michael's
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