Kicking it back in Kiev, Ukraine
One of the ancient cities of the world, Kiev has plenty to discover from ancient Orthodox churches to exciting dining spots! While the city confused us at first, we discovered it was underrated.
Logistics:
Because Kiev is the capital, there are many ways to reach it and even more lodging options. Here is what we did!
By Plane
There are two airports in Kiev. Kiev Borysphil has most of the international flights reach destinations throughout the world. There is now a second budget airport, Igor Sikorsky Kyiv International Airport (Zhuliany), located 8km from city center. Because we were flying from Poland on Wizz Air, we flew into Kiev Zhuliany.
By Public Transportation
Because we were tired and slightly scared of our first intance of the Cyrillic language, we abandoned all hopes of using buses or metros from the airport.
However, after a few days, I managed to convince MF to try the metro! Buying tickets is really easy, just beware that if you insert too much money, you won’t get a cash refund. We ended up with a few extra rides at the end of the day!
To reach our next destination in Ukraine, we took an old Soviet-era train. Now, that is a story for later...
By Private Hire
While we debated renting a car, I am glad we didn’t! Not only would the road signs be incredibly difficult to read, but the drivers are slightly crazy! Thankfully, Uber works really well here and is extremely affordable.
Lodging
Since we would be staying in Kiev on two separate occasions, we tried two different lodgings! Our first place was a comfortable apartment called Grata Apartments located less than 5 minutes from Mayden. While the location was perfect, the apartment felt a little dated but it served our purpose while we explored the old historic city.
After we returned from Chernobyl, we stayed at the Dream Hostel, located in Pildil district. Compared to our first stay, we might have enjoyed this one a little bit more as the district is more young and allowed us to explore the real side of Kiev. Our room was basic, but it served its purpose especially when our overnight train did not leave until 10pm!
Travel Tip: I relied on booking.com because most hotels are listed on this site. Plus, it offers better cancellation and good discounts. We also used hostel world.com for our hostel booking, although you can book directly for cheaper occasionally!
Food & Drinks
Although we were in Ukraine, I really enjoyed the Georgian food here!
Top Recommendation:
Mama Mañana: On our first evening, I dragged MF through the confusing Kiev streets to try Georgian food - a new cuisine for us! Initially, we were extremely stumped by the menu because we had never even heard or tried any of this food. Thus, we ordered exactly what the blog said they ordered plus our waitress’ recommendations. In the end, we split the signature house khachapuri which was a tasty beef, pork, and cheese pizza and then for our main, a great beef and eggplant kebab. Our food was terrific!! The khachapuri was amazing with gooey cheese and the meat in the middle of the dough. Our kebab was also very tasty and quite enjoyable! For our first taste into Georgian food, we wanted more!
Others:
Korchma Taras Bulba: After our walking tour, our guide recommended this tourist trap. With menus in over 35 languages and waiters in costume, the restaurant was designed for us… I wish we tried somewhere else! For lunch, we split chicken noodle soup and a great chicken kiev. In the end, I wish I went with my hard earned research or went with Georgian food.
The Last Barricade: Underneath the famous Maiden Square lies the Last Barricade. Founded and dedicated after the last revolution, the Last Barricade serves traditional Ukrainian food in modern ways. In order to enter, you have to whisper the password: Fight and you will win. Luckily for us, we did not have whisper any passwords as we entered as we were the only customers. The decor of the table was extremely cool and hip. To begin, we had a great baked cheese that reminded us of the English baked camembert. For our mains, we ordered a terrific chicken kiev and chicken with honey and thyme. While this place is very popular, we could tell why! Our food was terrific and I highly recommend it!
Khachapuri Ta Yvno: On our last night in Kiev, we went to a nearby Georgian restaurant in the Podil district. While we did not want much food, we definitely wanted khachapuri! Rather than meat, we opted for cheese only. It was as yummy as advertised! I also tried minced meat dumplings for the first time. For this meal, the khachapuri was the star of the show.
Lviv Handmade Chocolate Cafe: Need I say more than the name or pictures?
Click here for our Kiev Google map pins for all of our hard research of the top food and drink spots!
Next Time….
Obviously, we cannot eat everything, but there is always next time!
- Whisky Corner
- Any other Georgian restaurant listed above (because we love Georgian food so much!)
- Puzata Hata
Activities
- Chernobyl: One of the highlights in Ukraine, Chernobyl is a short two hour drive away from Kiev. Click here to read about our awesome experience on a two day / one night tour!
- Orthodox Churches: As the capital of Ukrainian Orthodox, there is no shortage of Orthodox churches here. Between St Andrew and St Sophia, we cannot decide which one is better!
- Kiev Walking Tour: Because we love walking tours, we obviously went on the “old city” tour! We loved hearing more about this city which made it easier to navigate afterwards! Click here to read to read about our walking tour!
- Podil: Next to the Shevchenkivskyi with the famous landmarks, the next best district for us was Podil. Full of young people and fun restaurants, it is where the locals go for fun!
- World’s Deepest Metro: While it is not a must do, it is a fun activity to do during a rainy day! The metro does have some spectacular pieces of art if you’re interested.
- Cell Phone service: Because Ukraine lies outside most cell phone provider’s plans, I highly recommend getting a plan once you arrive at the airport. We said we would do it eventually, until we never did and we wished that we had cell phone service!
Fixed Costs:
- Grata Apartments: €25 per night
- Taxi from Airport: 120UAH / £3
- Dream Hostel: 906AUH / £25
- Metro Tickets: 8UAH per ride
- Chernobyl Two Day / One Night Tour: $270 per person
- Walking Tour: 1,000UAH / £27
- Ukraine COVID Insurance: 56UAH / £2 per day
Onto Ukraine
Because Ukraine reopened borders one day earlier, we were quite nervous heading to our second new country on our career break. Whilst newspapers and Ukraine websites said the country was reopened, actually testing out the border would be different. Strangely, our exit from Poland was much harder than entering Ukraine!
Once we exited the plane and walked past the Soviet marked planes, border was no issue. Rather, it was the lack of service! Thankfully, MF still had some semblance of phone service and called us an Uber.
As the Uber drove through central Kiev, the marks of communism were everywhere. The concrete bunkers called apartment buildings looked straight out of the 1950s except there was no maintenance. We had 8km of kinda sad sights so it was not a great first impression until we reached the famous Maiden square. Then, we struggled to find our hotel. Life was rough for us newbies!
Stroll through Maidan Nezalezhnosti and Khreshchatyk
I dare you to say that five times quickly! Because we were hungry and it wasn’t raining (something we would remember fondly!), we decided to walk to our dinner spot. Plus, MF was scared I was going to get us lost if I took her on the metro… Thus, we strolled through Maidan and K street. Compared to our first Uber, this stroll was fantastic! The towering buildings actually had terrific architecture that looked quite lovely in the night lights. Thankfully, our stroll was making up for our rocky entry into Ukraine!
For dinner, we made our way to Mama Manna and it was awesome! Quite a great ending to our first evening in Ukraine!
Rain, Rain, Go Away
Despite all warnings that our second day was going to be a wet one, we went on a walking tour of Kiev! Click here to read about our wet experience walking through the Kiev highlights!
Afterwards, we tried to dry off. While we had umbrellas and plenty of clothes, we also needed our shoes and clothes for the rest of the trip! Thus, we kept it inside and tried to keep it dry! I did attempt an escape when I thought the rain had stopped; alas, my luck was not there as I was soaked instantly… Whoops!
Strolling through Podil
After we returned from Chernobyl, we stayed in the Podil district and immediately set out to explore this new area compared to the “Maidan” district. However, compared to last night, the morning is completely silent! Also, the district doesn’t have as many highlights so we decided to return once people ventured out!
Later that evening, Podil was full of life! Between the market and restaurants, the district was full! Granted, it was a Friday night! We definitely could see us hanging out here, but we had an overnight train to catch!
Re-Walk the Walking Tour
When we last went on our walking tour, the rains fell and we were soaked and could barely see the historic landmarks. Thus, we re-walked our walking tour on our last full day in Kiev when it was an absolutely beautiful sunny day!
Deepest Metro
For our first stop, we took the confusing metro to the world’s deepest metro station. Rumored to take five minutes to reach the surface from the metro, we obviously had to test it out!
For our first trip up to the surface, it lasted 4 minutes and 23 seconds. Not quite the five minutes, but we acknowledged we might have walked a little quickly between the escalators!
On our second trip, we managed almost the same exact time. Either we walked too quickly, or the escalators have improved on their speed!
Historic Landmarks
In the Maidan district, we hit all three famous Orthodox churches again - St Sophia, St Michaels, and St Andrews. By far, the sunshine is much better on the facade than clouds and rain!
At St Andrews, we purchased tickets to walk around the exterior. Because it only costs 20 cents, I highly recommend it! The views are outstanding as we could see the river and the left bank. Plus, the church is very more beautiful when we stood next to it!
Finally, our walk ended at the Last Barricade, located beneath the Maidan plaza. Fantastic decision to end our walk with one of the best restaurants in the city!
Overnight Train to Lviv
While I was semi-excited for an overnight train on a Soviet-built train car, MF was dreading it. Then, I became ill and also dreaded the journey!
Booking
Despite my fears, the train booking process was rather simple! Logging onto Ukrainian Rail, I could easily review the availability by class and day - in English! In this COVID world, there was plenty of availability with 3-4 days to spare but might want to look into it at least a week in advance because it is a popular route! If these were normal times, we would have booked a private two bed compartment. However, because the seats were hardly full, we gambled on a four bed compartment and thankfully we were the only people in there!
Boarding
Once we arrived at the station, we were initially lost and confused because most of the words were in Ukrainian. Nevertheless, I was able to match our train number and departure time to find the right train.
Our Experience
Unlike the Scottish overnight train last year, this one took the award for roughest travel night. Thankfully, there were clean sheets and bedding awaiting us in our four bed compartment. Once we made our bed, we underwent our bedtime routine. When I went to brush my teeth, the water was out on the whole train… Oh boy, MF was not pleased!! We laid down and prayed that we would sleep amidst the train sounds and wobbling through the Ukrainian countryside.
ABout 30 minutes before we arrived, we were rudely or kindly awaken by the train attendant (depending on your view!). Despite the relatively short seven hour train ride, we managed to sleep JUST okay. Granted, we were very tired, but we were happy it was over and off our bucket list! Now, onto Lviv!!!
The UnChartered Summary
The Ukraine has been on my bucket list ever since I started researching for this trip. From the insane history to tasty food and unreal experiences, Kyiv/Kiev certainly started us on the right foot - despite being completely lost in language!
- If we had to do it again, I would immediately buy a phone plan upon arrival. It would have saved us a lot of headache!
- In terms of apartment location, I think we played it well. I would stay near Maidan for the sights, then move to Podil for the local experience.
- For the food, I wish I had several more days just to try all the Georgian food! I would also recommend the Last Barricade for a last meal.
- All things said and done, Kyiv/Kiev was better than expected. We did run out of "tourist activities" because the city is very spread out outside of Maidan and Podil.