Thyra Travels: Freezing in Ukraine

Guess what? Two days before I arrived in Ukraine the temperature midday was 24 C. When I arrived? 10 C. When I went to Chernobyl? High of 2 C. Then, the day AFTER I left the country? Back up to 22 C. The world has a funny sense of humor.

Kyiv

Kyiv reminded me of big cities in the states, Chicago, New York City, etc. It was BIG. The streets had many lanes, the buildings were tall, and it was chilly like back home. On top of everything, the food reminded me so much of my dad. Housing wasn’t cheap but I paid a premium to stay at a backpacker hostel and not a hostel that only locals stayed at (a sharp difference!). I found pretty quick they weren’t as talkative or social as travelers (makes sense). Food was hearty and comforting, with not bad prices compared to Western ones. I spent a lot of time walking around the city, looking at all the cool architecture. I saw a marathon and even a protest about the situation with Russia. It was the first time since I left the Balkans where I felt like a foreigner again. I loved Catalonia and Portugal but…it was familiar. The culture in Ukraine is so different than what I am used to, even if the food reminds me of home.

Motherland monument.

Chernobyl

When I was in Kyiv, I took a guided tour to visit the Chernobyl exclusion zone, which includes the abandoned town of Pripyat and the reactor that blew up. It is hard to write anything that fully encompasses the feeling of visiting the area but if was very interesting yet creepy. I think it is important to visit areas of disasters as you tend to learn more when emotions are involved. However, it is not a place for selfie sticks, at least personally.

Lviv

I took the train to Lviv, a cute university town, riding in a carriage with the funniest Ukrainians who referred to me simply as ‘America’. I spent some time relaxing here and did a free walking tour of the city. I was blown away! The tour was so good and I learned the history of the occupation of the city in WWII. It was crazy and I learned so much from the guide, who used to be a journalist. The city was super romantic at night and I was very conscious of my solo status when I passed by students playing violins and twinkling lights.

After a week, although I was getting used to Ukraine by this point, I was a little creeped still by the ambiance. People don’t smile a lot, my hostels were strange and full of Ukrainians who never left their beds, and the police kind of freaked me out. The cold and clouds didn’t help. I was super excited to go to Poland but would welcome the chance to return to Ukraine, which might be more lively when joined with friends.

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