My American mother-in-law once found herself in a very uneasy situation: While visiting her son (my future husband) in Kyrgyzstan years ago, she was introduced to the invigorating experience of a Russian banya. However, with no understanding of Russian culture or the language, she found herself locked in a steamy room with a large, naked Russian woman who proceeded to undress her and beat her with a bunch of birch branches.
Kyiv
From personal experience I know how hard it is to shop for men. Seriously, how many more times can you give your husband, brother, or boyfriend a belt, a business-card holder, or another “Simpsons†mug? Valentine’s Day is the toughest nut to crack: does a gray scarf, beige sweater, light-blue button-down shirt really say “I love you� On the other extreme, you can’t bring yourself to give him a heart-shaped box of chocolates.
Haven’t planned anything for Valentine’s Day? We offer some ideas for simple, romantic dates.
Option #1
The National Opera Theater will present Tchaikovsky’s wonderful three-part “Swan Lake†ballet on Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. Tickets start from just Hr 10 and top out at Hr 100. The show should be done before 10 p.m., at which time we recommend dinner and drinks at Italian chef Franco Bettoni’s Mille Miglia restaurant in the Radisson SAS (22 Yaroslaviv Val, 492-2255). Though further away from the opera than another good Italian eatery, (more…)
It’s long been around - the movie and book exchange at the Baboon cafe/bookstore. For those who have blinked and missed the note in the Kyiv Post Community Listings (see p. 33 for these), it’s pretty simple: bring your old books to Baboon, trade them in for old or new ones, or receive credit on future purchases. The same applies to movies, of which they have a growing stack of VHS tapes. Maybe most people have already switched to DVDs, but for those that haven’t this is a gold mine.
We’re not going to say that a Cuban revolution is going on in Kyiv, but from two years ago, where there weren’t any smoke shops here, to today, when there happen to be five (downtown street corner kiosks included), that’s almost revolutionary. Cigar-starved Kyivans now have reason to celebrate.
SPORTS, CLUBS, FILM,
It’s wonderful to acknowledge charitable giving in Ukraine, whenever and however it is done. Even better is acknowledging that the Kyiv Lions Club, now three years old, will again host the now 10th-annual Robbie Burns Night party, all the proceeds for which will go to their eponymous charity fund, to be distributed to local charities.
Short-term apartment rentals continue be the accommodation of choice for guests to the Ukrainian capital, and for good reason. Hotels here tend to be either ridiculously expensive, or the service they offer is so bad, people figure they could do better if they just shopped around.
Seafood lovers have in the past had to suffer in the nation’s capital. Despite the fact that Ukraine borders two seas and can boast hundreds upon hundreds of kilometers of rivers, the people of the Steppe remain true to their traditional fare of meat and potatoes augmented with beets and mayonnaise.
With the Lunar New Year set to begin on Jan. 29, it’s time to start thinking about where to get some red-colored dishes (symbolizing good luck), or something with lots of noodles in it (symbolizing long life), or traditional, sticky sweet rice flour balls to remind you that life can and should be so. Thankfully, Kyiv is not as completely homogeneous as it might seem.
