Trip to Ukraine: Kiev

I went to Kiev, Ukraine this past May! 
The street view from the Airbnb.

The first evening we went to this hookah bar.
It had this old piano there. I thought it was neat!

First dinner was delicious! Chicken cutlets and mashed potatoes.

Our Airbnb kitchen was really cute :)

Kiev has a metro system similar to St. Petersburg's. 
I really had missed riding the metro!

A ferris wheel in Kiev

My friend Daniel. We met studying abroad in St. Petersburg in 2019.

 

It was really cool to finally be in Ukraine!
See the fisherman behind me? :)

I got to ride in this small plane a few times.
Andrey is a fantastic pilot, and he is teaching Daniel how to fly.

The first day we flew over Kiev.

The weather was perfect! No turbulence.

Kiev from the sky

The Kiev Sea / Reservoir

The next day we flew over Chernobyl!
Definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

Here's a close-up picture of Chernobyl that Daniel took!
It's mostly a forest now, but you could still see the site and the city pretty clearly.

 

A fancy mall back in the city. 

Some beautiful lilacs.

The famous Independence Monument in Kiev

First time trying black vodka (only found in Europe). 10/10 recommend.

A delicious classic dinner of Borscht.

Just for fun :)

Grocery shopping for the essentials ;)

We went to the train station to buy tickets to Odessa!

One of the many cathedrals there.

Last day in Kiev :( My new favorite European city

On the eight hour train ride to Odessa!

Arrived in Odessa around midnight! What a fun few days!
I can't wait to go back to Kiev!

Next up: Pictures from Odessa