Wednesday Walk: Random trip to Kyiv

Hi, my dear Wednesday walkers!

Today I invite you for a short walk around Kiev. Lately I don't come here too often because my animals require constant attention and don't leave me much free time. But this time I decided to visit my daughter and at the same time do a little review.

During the day, Kyiv does not resemble a city that was shuddering from explosions and air defense at night. My daughter told me that she was afraid that the windows in her apartment would fly out. But now nothing reminds of this a normal city, normal people, normal life... And at the opera house they give Carmen. No, the war definitely didn't break us 😉

But there is something that will remind you that there is a war going on in this country - anti-tank installations on the streets of the city. At any moment they will take their places to protect our streets from rashist tanks. However, I do not think that now they will ever appear here.

The city is literally immersed in greenery.

Famous Kyiv chestnuts. Do you know that Kyiv is called the city of chestnuts? Today, when we drove through the central part of the city, we could see numerous trees blooming with amazing “candles”. And in the fall, their fruits, similar to small hedgehogs, will be scattered all over the sidewalk.

It is hard to believe that once these trees, whose homeland is Asia Minor, were considered exotic for our city. In the XVII-XVIII centuries, only very wealthy citizens had the opportunity to plant them near their homes. Also, chestnuts could be seen in the courtyards of monasteries. However, this is just not surprising, because the church as an institution has never suffered from poverty.

In 1938, Dmitry Bibikov was appointed governor-general of Kyiv. It is his name that the urban legend connects with the mass appearance of chestnuts in Kyiv. In the same year, Tsar Nicholas I was to visit Kyiv. This was the period when Ukraine was occupied by the Russian Empire. Deciding to decorate the road along the route of the Tsar, the governor-general ordered to plant chestnuts there. The trees were brought from the Balkans.

But his plan failed. Perhaps the Tsar really didn’t like the chestnut alley, or maybe the officials thought so (by the way, there is another version that the Tsar directly ordered the chestnuts to be removed), but then utter nonsense began! The alarm was raised by the military, who uprooted all the chestnut trees in one night and planted poplars instead. Well, what can I say ... Russian officials have always been ready to lick the ass of their superiors.

And what happened to the chestnut seedlings that were so cruelly uprooted? They were going to be thrown out, but they disappeared! The people of Kiev carefully took them and planted them next to their houses. There were a lot of seedlings, and thanks to the care of the people of Kiev, they all took root well, so very soon Kyiv became a city of chestnuts.

Dnipro. My daughter lives on the left bank, so we had to cross the bridge. Calm sky. It doesn't seem to move. And space. Real Kyiv space! As they say, a rare bird, being in its right mind, will agree to fly across the Dnipro! 😉

And this is a typical Kyiv sleeping area. My daughter lives here. Now lilac is blooming here and everything around is filled with a delicate aroma.

This is how my hometown looks like, my dear friends. Russian Czar Putin has decided that we don't deserve to live just because we want to live in our country and speak our native Ukrainian language. But we will definitely win. And I will be happy to see you in peaceful Kyiv, to walk with you along our wide boulevards, inhaling the smell of lilacs, to sit with you in our cozy street cafes. You know, we have great service! 😉

With love from Ukraine 💛💙