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I had a wonderful mood when my aircraft landed in a small airport of the same size cozy and sunny Lugansk a Ukrainian suburban city. A beautiful and slim stewardess with a shining smile wished all the passengers a wonderful time in this amazing Ukrainian city with a big history and original culture.
Continue reading ‘A shocking truth about Lugansk Ukraine or ukrainian beauties’
Lviv is a very poetic city steeped in legends both ancient and relatively new! Narrow medieval streets paved with stones, architectural decoration done in different styles – all preserved in its original form. In ancient times Lviv was the capital of a mighty Slavic state called the Galicia-Volyn principality. Continue reading ‘Short topic about Lviv’
I remember my first days in Kyiv well, as forgettable as they were. It was five years ago and the city had no middle-class restaurants worth noting. Kyivans had the choice of dining out in Soviet-style cafes, McDonald’s restaurants or really expensive places where you daren’t walk in without a thick wad of C-notes to cover the high cost of dining. I love eating out and yet I hardly ate out at all.
Continue reading ‘Celebrating the city’s middle class restaurants’
A former resident of Kyiv, an American named Bruce, once told some Best Of team members that looking for Thai food in this city, though difficult at times, can even be rewarding. He mentioned in particular a certain local restaurant that, he said, served the best Tom Kha soup this side of Bangkok. Heady words, to be sure, but having lived there for some years over a decade ago, he became a discerning culinary expert on all Continue reading ‘No Bangkok, Kyiv still ekes out a worthy Thai restaurant’
Though Mardi Gras and Carnival are over, signaling the beginning of the Christian Lenten period, the local Maslenytsa tradition is all set to begin, meaning it’s time to think about pancakes (crepes, actually), known in Ukrainian as mlyntsy. In Ukraine mlyntsy are easy to find – just turn to any Ukrainian restaurant and they’re bound to be on the menu. But forget the restaurant scene for a while.
Continue reading ‘Pancake huts: there’s only one you need know’
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.
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.
Continue reading ‘Valentine’s Day gift ideas for the men in your life’
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, Continue reading ‘Sample Valentine’s Day itineraries’
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.
Continue reading ‘Put this in your pipe: Kyiv’s best smoke shop’
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