Kiev

Weekend trip to Kyiv, Ukraine is a short recap of my 32 birthday celebrations back in 2017. In short, we booked a central hotel in the city center, used local taxi's a lot, traveled forth and back to the distant neighborhoods, and tried a lot of great Ukrainian cuisine. Traditions should be respected. For the fourth year in a row, I have been celebrating my birthday at one of the former Soviet Union member country's capital cities. It all started in Yerevan, continued in Tallinn, Vilnius and…

Puzata Hata is a popular (and probably the largest) chain in Kiev - it serves traditional Ukrainian cuisine for a budget price. Puzata Hata was one of our favorite Kiev restaurant chains we visited during our latest trip to Kiev in August 2017. See: Kiev restaurants The Puzata Khata Restaurant Network opened its doors to the first visitors in 2003. Then it was the first restaurant in Bessarabka, in the center of Kiev.  Puzata Hata in Kiev Today, Puzata Hata is a network of modern…

Roshen Confectionery Corporation is a Ukrainian confectionery manufacturing group. The leading manufacturer of confectionery products in the country, it operates facilities in the Ukrainian cities of Kiev, Vinnytsia and Kremenchuk, as well as in Budapest, Hungary and Klaipėda, Lithuania. The name of the company was derived from the last name of its owner, current president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko. It was back in August 2017, we were in Kiev to celebrate my birthday when we discovered…

The Trinity Monastery of St. Jonas is a Ukrainian Orthodox monastery in the Kievan neighborhood of Zverinets, a short distance from the medieval Vydubychi Monastery. We discovered this monastery back in 2017 when visited Hryshko National Botanical Garden Trinity Monastery of St. Jonas It was Jonas, a Vydubychi hegumen, who founded this monastery in 1864. Princess Vasilchikov, the widow of Kiev's Governor General, decided to support the undertaking and presented her dacha to the brethren.It…

Turns out there are at least two botanical gardens in Kiev. In today's article, I will write and provide photographs from Hryshko National Botanical Garden taken back in Summer 2017. Apparently, we got here by a taxi from our hotel (Hotel Ukraine), and as far as I remember we got back to the city center by trolleybus.  The M. M. Hryshko National Botanical Garden is located in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. Cash desks at Kievs Botanical garden I don't remember exactly what was the price for…

Pesto Cafe is a popular restaurant chain located in Kiev, Ukraine. We visited branch located near the Independence square (located inside the shopping mall Globuss). Actually, that was the closest restaurant from our hotel room at Hotel Ukraine, Pesto cafe serves classic Italian cuisine for pretty affordable prices. View towards Independence square from Pesto Cafe Bruschetta at Pesto Cafe Salads

Varenichnaya Katyusha (Вареничная Катюша) is another cool Kiev's restaurant, discovered by accident back in the Summer of 2017.Turns out Вареничная Катюша is a popular restaurant chain across the Kiev. But I didn't know that back when discovered it. We found this place after a night boat ride along the Dnieper river and before returning to our hotel room we were just wandering around for someplace offering a meal after the midnight. Varenichnaya Katyusha was open. It's hard to recall an actual…

Boat Tours in Kiev, along the Dnieper River kind of reminded me a popular track from early 2000 by Electric Six - Danger! High Voltage. Loud music, a lot of booze and hell - it's really cool. We were just checked in at Hotel Ukraine, had some rest after a flight and decided to explore Kiev by night. We went out from the hotel, around the Independence square caught a taxi and asked for some recommendations - boat tour was an idea from the taxi driver. We agreed, and soon we were taken to the…

Hotel Ukraine is a 4-star hotel located on Independence Square in the heart of Kiev, this hotel offers air-conditioned rooms and suites with elegant décor. It is a 3-minute walk from the Maidan Nezalezhnosti and Kreschatik Metro Stations. We booked Hotel Ukraine at the end of July 2017, during my birthday trip to Kiev. We stayed here for some 4-5 days. For getting here from Borispol's airport we hired a taxi, which took us here for about EUR 10 - 20. Once on site, it took us some hour to…

For a luxury stay in Kiev's top-end hotels, you should be ready to spend about EUR 200-300 per night.  I first visited Kiev and Ukraine at the end of 2016, during a connecting flight to New York City, while waiting for a connecting flight, it was announced that our flight is delayed by some 10 hours. Decided to use these 10 hours and visit the city. See: Short Day Trip To Kiev, Ukraine After a short unplanned day-trip to Kiev, we decided it's worth to return here again, most probably in…