One of the best things about living in Istanbul was the exceptional flight connectivity all over the world, and often flights to Europe were so cheap and convenient that you could just head off to a new country for the weekend. Well, that's what Zoran and I did with Ukraine, and we had a great time!
With such a short time in the country, the priorities were sightseeing in Kyiv and a day trip to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, the site of one of the world's greatest man-made disasters. Of course, now it's generally considered safe to go, and tour agencies run trips to Chernobyl (and the nearby town of Pripyat) all the time. Still, it was pretty exciting to be in a new kind of "danger zone" and get a glimpse into 1980s Soviet life frozen in time.
Of course, along the way, we also tried lots of great new foods -- tons of caviar at Besarabsky Market, lots of different kinds of lard, and, of course, the iconic Chicken Kiev!
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| Monastery in Kyiv |
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| Buying caviar in Besarabsky Market, Kyiv |
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| Chicken Kiev in Kyiv! Pervak Restaurant |
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| Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square), Kyiv |
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| A selection of five different lards! Pervak Restaurant, Kyiv |
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| Downtown Kyiv |
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| Entering the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone! |
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| Contaminated and abandoned Ferris wheel, Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (Pripyat) |
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| Soviet propaganda, Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (Pripyat) |
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| Pork chop lunch, Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (Pripyat) |
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| Arrival to Pripyat |
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