Kyiv Part 2

Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, is full of little gems and interesting treats. Similarly to other former USSR republics, Kyiv features a Motherland Monument. These adorn many cities and towns across eastern Europe, and this is certainly the largest I have ever seen. It towers above the skyline of Kyiv, and inside it, features a very in depth and fascinating exhibition on the Second World War, which is often called the Great Patriotic War. The museum is expansive, immersive, and very well done. It also features some incredibly macabre exhibits, such as a pair of gloves made out of human skin, as well as several instruments of torture used by the Nazi's on Ukrainians and Jews. It's also very interesting to get a different perspective on the war, here in England its viewed with great pride, and judging by how people remember it, we won the war by ourselves yet received very little credit for it, which is entirely wrong. Ukraine suffered immensely during the war, and its high time Eastern Europe received some recognition for the role it played during the war.

Also, around the Motherland complex, there's also a war machine park, where you can see all the different types of tanks, rocket carries etc, as well as some immense sculptures depicting the war, which are an amazing example of soviet brutalism and art.

If war memorials aren't really your thing and you want a bit more peace and quiet, then the M.M Hyrshko national Botanical garden is the place for you. It's huge, and in May everything is in full bloom and it is just stunning. The gardens are huge, and cover many different climates and zones.

There is an extra charge for the greenhouses, but it was only a pound or so. It had a great area of cactus's, some of which were the largest I have ever seen!

Something that I regret about was not visiting Chernobyl. I didn't realise that you had to book it up quite far in advance, particularly due to needing permissions and getting on an organised tour. I am hoping that I will be more organised next time, and will get it all booked up so I can visit. Please make sure you always double check things like that so you don't end up disappointed like I was! I had to settle instead for the Chernobyl museum, which was interesting enough, but not a patch on the real deal itself. Now you have to pay an extra fee in the museum to take pictures, which I did, but to be honest it wasn't really worth it. I took two pictures, only one of which came out okay. I did manage to get a nice one of the town signs. These were all signs that hung on the entrance to various towns and village's across the region, all of whom were evacuated during the Chernobyl disaster, most of which were never repopulated, and have been left as they are (Pripyat being the most notable example). It really hit home the magnitude of the disaster, and stands as a reminder of what happens when using nuclear power without sufficient health and safety.

In fact, the whole of Ukraine seems very conscious about it's often quite tragic history, there are many memorials and memorial parks dotted around the city, giving respite from the summer heat. It's worth seeking out some of them, as they are a nice place to socialise, eat ice cream and relax in, particularly after visiting through provoking and often quite emotional things, such as the motherland monument & museum.

And there's more coming tomorrow!