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.
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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’
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.
Continue reading ‘Apartment rentals – a good alternative to Kyiv hotels’
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.
Continue reading ‘Check out seafood dining options in the capital’
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.
Continue reading ‘Asian restaurants in which to fete the new year’
Bukovel, our winner in the Best Of search for Ukraine’s top ski hill, impresses in every way. In addition to having fast, modern lift equipment, rental facilities and restaurants, they actually print trail maps, too.
With the mercury plunging and the frost on the windows thickening, it’s safe to say winter has arrived. For many this means staying indoors away from the cold, but to the Best Of team it means getting out to enjoy the best the winter season has to offer, such as skiing.
Continue reading ‘The Best Of team hits the slopes to find Ukraine’s best ski hill’
Wine tasting, anyone?
With the winter swiftly approaching and Kyiv getting less cozy day after day, even a weekend getaway to normally sunnier, warmer Crimea has less appeal than usual. The chilly winds sweeping the peninsula this time of the year are likely to prevent travelers from spending too much time outside – until they stop to consider the option of tasting Crimean wine deep inside the earth.
Continue reading ‘Winemakers’ reveal their secrets deep below Inkerman’
Word gets around quickly when places beloved by ex-pats close. It gets around even quicker when they reopen.
It wasn’t long ago that the owners of Kyiv’s downtown Indian restaurant, Himalaya, announced they’d be closed for renovations. That was early December. I had figured, as with other restaurants in the city, that the renovations would last anywhere from six months to forever. Restaurants in this city have a habit of enduring renovations to match the long, insufferable Ukrainian winter.
Continue reading ‘Himalaya reopens; Pleasure Cafe starts up’
