It’s the start of May – Bank Holiday weekend, this means a four day weekend from work. It couldn’t come at a better time. We worked hard all day Thursday and fully completed the porcupine enclosure and worked with the staff to move the porcupines into their new enclosure. It looks impressive, even if I say so myself!
Friday was the official season opening for the zoo. There was a press conference given by the Director and the zoo was packed (as usual) with visitors and the weather was stunning. We missed the TV coverage but have been told that the porcupine enclosure was shown on TV! We spent most of the day relaxing, played on the internet, watched films and wandered in the zoo.
On Saturday we met with a distant cousin from Kyiv – Oleg. Oleg is related to my aunt Ola. He took us for a long drive around some of the sights of Kyiv. We started at Babyn Yar, the site of horrific massacres during the war. Hundreds of thousands of Jews and people of Kyiv were rounded up, taken to this ravine and shot over the course of the war. It’s hard to believe that this could have happened; the area is peaceful, leafy and tranquil.
We went on to a new area of Kyiv (I forget the name of the place) where there are new very stylish apartment blocks, a large man-made lake with beaches and excusive executive houses with private beaches. It is a popular area for people to stroll and sunbathe at the weekend. I think the area is called Abalone? There was a beautiful church near where we stopped. The domes were coated in gold tiles and sparkled in the sun. The building is not completed yet, there is still another dome to add. Like many buildings in Kyiv, work was started and then seemed to grind to a halt. This would seem to be a very common problem here.
Oleg is extremely knowledgeable about the history of Kyiv and its architecture. He is fascinating to talk to and has a lot to say regarding the recent history since Ukraine became independent from the Soviet Union.
We then went to look at a huge reservoir and hydroelectric power station. When I say huge, I mean massive, it stretches about 30 miles between Kyiv and Chernobyl – to the edge of the 30 km exclusion zone. Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is not actually at the town of Chernobyl, but at Prypyat – a village built for the workers and their families. From what Oleg said, the reservoir brought radioactive contamination to Kyiv following the catastrophe.
Oleg drove us through some small villages on the outskirts of Kyiv. The villages are very different to the city – no tower blocks, no food stalls and only a small village shop. Most of the village roads do not have asphalt and are full of potholes. The houses are traditional Ukrainian style and the gardens have high fences. In one village we stopped at a small church, which looked very beautiful. It was designed by a friend of Oleg’s who had recently died. Oleg told us that making the design for the church was extremely difficult for his friend as during Soviet times the subject of church design was banned from architecture courses, so architects now have to figure it out as they go along!
Friday was the official season opening for the zoo. There was a press conference given by the Director and the zoo was packed (as usual) with visitors and the weather was stunning. We missed the TV coverage but have been told that the porcupine enclosure was shown on TV! We spent most of the day relaxing, played on the internet, watched films and wandered in the zoo.
On Saturday we met with a distant cousin from Kyiv – Oleg. Oleg is related to my aunt Ola. He took us for a long drive around some of the sights of Kyiv. We started at Babyn Yar, the site of horrific massacres during the war. Hundreds of thousands of Jews and people of Kyiv were rounded up, taken to this ravine and shot over the course of the war. It’s hard to believe that this could have happened; the area is peaceful, leafy and tranquil.
We went on to a new area of Kyiv (I forget the name of the place) where there are new very stylish apartment blocks, a large man-made lake with beaches and excusive executive houses with private beaches. It is a popular area for people to stroll and sunbathe at the weekend. I think the area is called Abalone? There was a beautiful church near where we stopped. The domes were coated in gold tiles and sparkled in the sun. The building is not completed yet, there is still another dome to add. Like many buildings in Kyiv, work was started and then seemed to grind to a halt. This would seem to be a very common problem here.
Oleg is extremely knowledgeable about the history of Kyiv and its architecture. He is fascinating to talk to and has a lot to say regarding the recent history since Ukraine became independent from the Soviet Union.
We then went to look at a huge reservoir and hydroelectric power station. When I say huge, I mean massive, it stretches about 30 miles between Kyiv and Chernobyl – to the edge of the 30 km exclusion zone. Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is not actually at the town of Chernobyl, but at Prypyat – a village built for the workers and their families. From what Oleg said, the reservoir brought radioactive contamination to Kyiv following the catastrophe.
Oleg drove us through some small villages on the outskirts of Kyiv. The villages are very different to the city – no tower blocks, no food stalls and only a small village shop. Most of the village roads do not have asphalt and are full of potholes. The houses are traditional Ukrainian style and the gardens have high fences. In one village we stopped at a small church, which looked very beautiful. It was designed by a friend of Oleg’s who had recently died. Oleg told us that making the design for the church was extremely difficult for his friend as during Soviet times the subject of church design was banned from architecture courses, so architects now have to figure it out as they go along!
Steve, me and Oleg at Babyn Yar
Church with gold roof
Church designed by Oleg's friend
No comments:
Post a Comment