Unexpected Kiev

Well, Christine mentioned in the previous post...the train ride to Kiev involved some unexpected awakening in the middle of the night.  Poor Christine has been fighting a pretty bad cough/cold...and felt "foggy" for the past few days.  So needless to say she was ready for some rest upon arrival, but of course that couldn't happen until we found our hostel.  So far, we've managed to do it solely using the public transit system which has been really cheap.  Thankfully, this time was no different.  We hopped on the Metro and within 10 minutes we were within walking distance to our hostel.

Amazingly even with the fog, Christine saw the sign through a narrow courtyard that I had completely missed.  She said, "Wait!  It says hostel!."  The words "HOSTEL" in block letters was on the window of a building that appeared under construction (large piles of earth and wiring in the front).

It was glorious to have found "Dream House Hostel," but even better was that it turned out to be our favorite place yet in terms of having a good value.  It's only been open for 3 weeks and everything is brand new!  All wood floors, big common areas, awesome showers, and super fresh down sheets.  And even better was that it was half the price of previous hostels we've been staying at.  ($11 and some change / person).  That said, this isn't really the norm, but we weren't going to question it.

Christine slept like a rock which dealt a solid punch to her cold. Our 9-person room was empty (except for 1 other person who was there only at nights).  So, it was quiet at night....perfect for great sleep.

Kiev, has been unexpected in many ways, too.  It's smaller and more quaint than we had expected.  It's very lush in terms of a capital city and has a ton of small boutique restaurants.

It also set the bar extremely high for Cathedrals.  St. Sophia's Cathedral (another UNESCO World Heritage Site) was incredibly intricate and amazing in so many ways.  It has one of the greatest number of Mosaics and Frescos in the World.  Many of which are originals from the 11th century.  Thankfully, it was one of the few religious buildings not destroyed by the former USSR government.  In short..it was awesome and another unexpected amazing part of Kiev.

Lastly, we have to mention the Kiev Perchersk Lavra (translated the Kiev Caves Monastery).  The Cathedrals within the compound were definitely great to check out, but the caves beneath were the most unique part.  The two caves are full of glass enclosed sarcophagi of many revered Eastern Orthodox Priests.  (No pics allowed.)  We walked through with our candles lit and attempted to not be too out of place as observers.  People were paying their respects by kissing the top of the sarcophagus and saying prayers.  Yet another very interesting and unique experience from visiting Kiev.

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