D17 - Kiev

27JUN - Day17 - Kiev - Km2139

Arribo a Kiev on Dima (Dmitry,23) i Yura (23) m'esperen a l'andana del tren. Conec Dima d'unes vacances anteriors a Kiev.
Kiev (Kyiv en ucrania), te a la vora de 3 milions d'habitants, la ciutat esta dividida pel riu Dnipro, el mateix que alimentaba la central nuclear de Chernobil. Actualment esta considerada la 21a ciutat mes cara per viure-hi d'una llista de 144 ciutats de toto el mon, al mateix nivell que Roma o Viena. La ciutat esta repleta de catedrals ortodoxes, places inmenses, parcs i avingudes amples... alguns dels meus amics em diuen que es com "una petita Moscu".
El pis on em porten es molt centric, Sveta ens espera per donar-me les claus, es una mica car, pero la situacio del pis em compensara els diners que m'estalviare en taxis. Conec la zona i no sera dificil orientarme els propers 6 dies que passare a la ciutat. Yura i Dima m'expliquen que la nit anterior es van quedar fins les 5 del mati celebrant la victoria de l'equip nacional al Mundial de Futbol, per primera vegada a la historia Ucrania arribava als quarts de final. Diuen que no s'havia vist la ciutat tan repleta de gent desde la Revolucio Taronja del Gener del 2004.
A la nit tornem a quedar, aquesta vegada venen amb Sergey (23) i Katja (17). Mirem el partir de futbol, Espanya-Franca i anem a passejar per Kreschatik, el carrer principal de Kyiv.
budapest2beijing@gmail.com

Kiev (Kyiv in ukrainian), the capital of Ukraine, with over 3 million inhabitants, crossed by the river Dnipro. Beautiful golden cathedrals, big avenues and squares, lots of parks. My friends say that is like a small Moscow. In Kiev one can feel like in any other european capital, the same is not true for the other big cities of Ukraine. This year Kiev ranked the 21st most expensive city to live in, up from the 50th position last year. Prices are high due to the appreciation of the Hrivna against de US Dollar, energy is up since russia increased the fees early this year, the country is developing, properties rocketing...
Dima (23) waits for me at the platform, he is with Yura (23). They bring me to the appartment where I will stay the next 6 days, very close to the Independence Square, the heart of the city. The house is opposite to O'Briens one of the most famous irish pubs in the city, often visited by ex-pats. The place is acceptable, a bit expensive but I take it. I met Dima few months ago in PaTiPa, in my first holiday trip to Kiev, he finished university last year, now he is having a break in between jobs.
At night they want to meet to watch the World Cup match between Spain and France. They both come with Sergey (23) and Katja (17).
They explain the celebrations last night when Ukraine soccer team defeated Switzerland and reached the 1/4 finals for the first time in history. The city was crowded by people everywhere celebrating the victory, my friends stayed up until 5am, tonight they are all tired. It was the biggest celebration in the city since the Orange Revolution in January 2004.
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