Arrival in Kiev (Jan & April 9)

We awoke in the Heathrow Airport cold, and still tired. But, we felt that this was truly the beginning of a grand adventure, so we were flexible and excited! We got into the terminal, had a very European breakfast (Oatmeal with honey and pumpkin seeds, fruit with plain yogurt) and got ready to board our plane. They do not post which gate the flight will be at until the last minute, so with our stop in the bathroom we had to run when we heard the final boarding call!!

We arrived in Kiev 30 min early, before Andrew's sister, Meredith, arrived to meet us. It was early afternoon when we arrived at our apartment in an old Soviet style housing complex, and after a brief rest we headed out for a walk around the main square. With Meredith there in the Peace Corps, we were able to navigate the Metro in the Cyrillic alphabet!

We walked through Maydan Square and quickly learned that there are Soviet monuments on nearly every corner, as Ukraine was part of the U.S.S.R. We saw a "Friendship of Nations Monument" which was 2 brothers representing Russia and Ukraine.

We ate dinner at a little buffet place just of Khreshchatyk, the major road downtown. Jen picked things that looked fun, and ended up with 3 different kinds of cabbage dishes, and a 50 cent beer (yuck!). We bought groceries for the next few days and headed home content, but VERY tired!