For my first night in Kiev, Yakov took me downtown and we walked around Independence Square which is a beautiful downtown area. Ukraine was never very happy as part of the Soviet Union, and had to be beaten into submission - more on that later. This square was built to commemorate their independence from the Soviet Union about 10 years ago. As someone put it, from the size of the monument, you can see how happy they were to be out of it. The area around the square is as high class as anywhere in Europe, and has all kinds of designer stores. It was a warm and sultry evening, just what I always think of and love in Europe.
For dinner Yakov, Oksana, and I went to a very Eastern European restaurant for Borsh. Yakov is a big fan of Borsh though Oksana was convinced I wouldn't like it. Turns out I liked it. It reminded me a lot of Minestrone minus the beans and noodles. It was slightly spicy and very tasty. We also had these little dumplings. I also had my first taste of Ukrainian beer. Like most northern european beers, it was a Lager/Pilsner with a good fullbodied flavor.
For my first night in Kiev, Yakov took me downtown and we walked around Independence Square which is a beautiful downtown area. Ukraine was never very happy as part of the Soviet Union, and had to be beaten into submission - more on that later. This square was built to commemorate their independence from the Soviet Union about 10 years ago. As someone put it, from the size of the monument, you can see how happy they were to be out of it. The area around the square is as high class as anywhere in Europe, and has all kinds of designer stores. It was a warm and sultry evening, just what I always think of and love in Europe.
For dinner Yakov, Oksana, and I went to a very Eastern European restaurant for Borsh. Yakov is a big fan of Borsh though Oksana was convinced I wouldn't like it. Turns out I liked it. It reminded me a lot of Minestrone minus the beans and noodles. It was slightly spicy and very tasty. We also had these little dumplings. I also had my first taste of Ukrainian beer. Like most northern european beers, it was a Lager/Pilsner with a good fullbodied flavor.
ok so the soup wasn't 'purple' and actually looked ok!
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