While Stacy was unfortunately sick in bed, i went on a Free Walking Tour of Kiev. Only 2 of us showed up...awkward. Ever since the turmoil with Russia in Ukraine tourism had decreased dramatically. Our tour guide was maybe only 19 years old. I've been on a lot of Free Walking Tours around the world and have never only been 1 of 2 tourists. But, he still showed us around and we had a good time.
This fountain represents the 4 founders of Ukraine - 3 brothers and a sister (the sister is wearing traditional Ukrainian garb). The other guy on the tour with me asked the guide where they came from and he said "no one knows".
This functioning clock is bordered by 100 people that were killed in 2014 when Russia invaded.
Surrounding the base of this globe is the distances between that spot and other places around the world.
This "People's Friendship Arc" was built in 1987 to commemorate the unification of Russia and Ukraine with the Soviet Union. Now there are plans to remove the arc.
The statue on the left shows Russian and Ukrainian workers holding up the "Soviet Order of Friendship of Peoples". The statue on the right shows the Pereyaslav Council. In the background is a tiny amusement park that overlooks the Dnieper River. Random.
View of the Dnieper River.
I loved the story behind this sculpture! It's called the Eternal Love Sculpture. It depicts an Italian soldier and Ukrainian woman who had met at a concentration camp in Austria where they were imprisoned by the Nazis when they were 20 years old. After 2 years in the camp, they were freed, but were separated due to politics at the time for 60 years. In 2003, the man went on the TV show "Wait For Me" which finds missing relatives, friends, etc, and the woman was found still living in Ukraine and they were reunited!
This is a sculpture of an beloved Ukrainian actor and his dog.
The tour ended here. The story is that London gave Ukraine this double decker bus as a gift. Ukraine didn't know what to do with it so they turned it into a ticket booth.
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