You thought it was California? Nope. Ukraine.
I know it's odd and hard to believe, but--a least in Eastern Ukraine--most people (men too, not just women) are strikingly beautiful. A nice place to vacation from Poland!
I've been traveling a lot lately--nearly every weekend--which makes regular posting difficult. It'll only get worse from here on--I'll have access to internet most places I go, but probably won't be uploading my photos to this blog, which means you'll just have to use your imagination.
So, in the spirit of the Grand Finale (at least for a while), here is a glut of photos.
(Please note that the captions belong to the photos preceding them--for some reason, blogger won't let me leave an adequate amount of space between the caption and the following photo.)
Vacation on a teacher's salary...
Somehow this encapsulates all I like about Ukraine. The combination of the hideous Soviet architecture and the cool/exotic/not quite enough to distract from the architecture palms.
Maydan Nezalezhnosti
aka where the Ukrainians like to protest.
Falun Gong supporters before St. Sophia's cathedral.
St Michael's Monastery.
It was reconstructed after sacking by the Soviets.
The market at the train station.
St Andrew's church.
View from the Caves Monastery, where I took no pictures because I didn't want to have to pay. In hindsight, maybe that was stupid.
My traveling companions and I snuck in wearing one prohibited item of clothing respectively (t-shirt, shorts, skirt above the knee). The caves are actually just very narrow underground passageways, in which ancient mummified monks have been placed. They're all wrapped, and further enclosed in glass coffins (all the better to preserve them against the somewhat fanatical pilgrims, who kiss the glass repeatedly, while praying). Only occasionally does a mummified hand or foot peek out of the wrapping. Still, it's a bizarre and remarkable experience--made more elemental and terrifying by the fact that all of these pilgrims are lighting their way with tiny beeswax candles; I can't imagine anywhere in the US where a very tight underground museum filled with mummies--filled with dozens of people--would be illuminated only by candles. However, it did smell very nice.
Near the Caves Monastery, an overwhelming number of brides.
This made me wonder if I should start a project of having my photo taken with brides--like celebrities--ostensibly "for good luck." I wonder how they would respond?
Rodina Mat--the Defence of the Motherland Monument
Made of titanium, which I think is pretty awesome.
She stands next to a pretty cool outdoor museum of various large tanks, missiles, planes and boats, which I also didn't photograph because I'm too cheap. Just imagine that it was cool.
Still defending the motherland.
Still defending it.
I appreciate a healthy lack of respect for monuments.
The picture is blurry because it was covert.
Yes, that's a pig's head.
The land in which it's perfectly natural for old folks to dance in subway stations...See why I like Ukraine so much?
Don't these columns somehow look uncomfortable?
Does there have to be a break-dancing competition in every eastern European city I visit?
