Activity Review: Kiev Walking Tour
By far, one of our favorite activities is a good old fashion walking tour. Thanks to our great time in other cities, we also joined Kiev Walking Tours on their Ancient Kiev Tour. Because there was no one else in Ukraine (remember, day 2 of the country being open!), we had a nice private tour!
We meet at Maidan square and thankfully they are still running tours in COVID times. Usually, there are tours at 10am and I highly recommend reserving your space because of potential COVID restrictions on group guide. Today, we had the awesome Natalie as our guide!
Fun Kyiv History
Founded by three brothers, Kyiv/Kiev was named after the oldest brother - Kiev-Rus. In fact, people can thank him for the name of Russia as the Russians stole his name for their country and language! Ukraine has had a turbulent history, especially the eastern side which has historically been pro-Russian. For much of Kyiv/Kiev’s history, they have been closely aligned with their neighbor. Compared to the western side, Kyiv/Kiev has been apart of the Russian Empire and Soviet Russia ever since the 1660s.
Even today, Ukraine and Russia share much more than I expected! The language is actually very similar and most residents actually speak Russian compared to Ukrainian. Natalie said that the difference is similar to British English and American English and how Americans will say phrases differently or use different words. Who knew!
Revolutions!
In modern times, Maidan or Independence square has been the beginning and location of every revolution - either in 2004 or 2014. While I won’t comment on the revolutions in honor of their memory, I highly recommend watching the Netflix Show Winter on Fire movie. We were humbled to be walking on this ground where Ukrainians fought for their freedom.
St Michael’s Golden Dome Monastery
As we fought the rain uphill to St Michaels, we were well-rewarded as the rain momentarily paused and the views were amazing! The beautiful monastery is painted in Ukrainian colors of blue and gold and we loved it! Natalie told us the colors of Ukraine represent the blue sky and sunflowers. We were really confused because we could not see any blue skies nor any sunflowers!
Sadly, this church was destroyed by the Soviets in the 1930s and had to be rebuilt in the 1990s after independence. Natalie said you can definitely tell that the gold is real here because it still shines 20 years later compared to the dark brown “gold” on top of St Sophias.
Inside the monestary is unreal beauty. The walls are adorned with gold and beautiful paintings. Compared to western churches (aka mostly Catholic), the interior is crazy beautiful and really shines through the church! Whilst we aren’t technically allowed to take pictures, I managed one quick grab!
St Sophia’s Cathedral
Surprisingly, there is one building that has survived centuries of war and Soviet oppression! It is the beautiful St Sophia’s Cathedral! Originally built in the 1000s, the cathedral has seen tough times despite standing tall throughout Ukraine’s history. Nearly destroyed several times, St Sophia survived its dark times by surprisingly becoming a museum! Even to this day, it remains a museum rather than a Catholic or Orthodox church.
Travel Tip: Christmas Markets are hosted in the giant square next to St Sophia’s Cathedral. I wish we could see them for these markets!
St Andrew’s Cathedral
Built in the 1740s for a wedding by the Russian Empress, my namesake church actually never was used for a wedding or church activities after it was built until much later. Primarily, it has been a work of art as it overlooks the Podil district and much of Kiev. Sadly, people can only visit the exterior as the interior is facing major reconstruction. According to Natalie, it has always been under reconstruction but at least we have the outside views!
Travel Tip: It costs about 20 cents to visit but it SO worth it for the amazing views! When we re-walked this tour, we enjoyed the great views! Click here for pictures!
(Not so) Golden Gate
For our last stop, we ended at the Golden Gate… made out of wood. Representing one of the oldest gates into Kyiv/Kiev, unsurprisingly, the Golden Gate was destroyed (many times) and they rebuilt it. Now, it just reminds them of their culture!
The UnChartered Summary
Any walking tour of a new city is needed to get a lay of the land! While we discovered that we easily could have done a self guided tour, it was nice to have a local walk us around and show us their city while we peppered her with all of our questions!