KIEV

This former communist city is now a growing capital trying to break from its past repression and create its own cultural identity. Around the city one will find countless memorials dedicated to the unfathomable losses of life endured by this nation throughout the ages. From world wars to communist induced mass famines, from natural disasters to manmade ones, no one went unaffected by these hardships.

Despite Kiev’s dark past and sometimes bleak existence however, on the outside it does maintain its European charm. With extravagant cathedrals, churches and gold capped monasteries of various colors mixed with spacious parks it is a very pleasant city to walk around and see beyond the suffering. Bright colored shops and apartments contrast and conceal the many concrete communist style buildings.

The one thing however that makes this city most worth a visit is its people.  Even with all the political turmoil and corruption, poverty and past hardships it is the determination of its people and their outgoing hospitality that makes the city feel warm and welcoming. The local shop owners don’t try to cheat the tourists out of money, pedestrians on the street are all too excited to help a foreigner that looks lost, and even on the darkest, coldest and hardest of days the people carry on with their business creating the much needed optimism that will lead the rest of the country in a progressive direction.