Wednesday,
July 18
First full
day in Kyiv – on my own
Well, today
was my first full day on my own here in Kyiv. After a fairly uneventful
evening last night (of which the adventurous part was walking from Central
Baptist down to, as I like to call it The American Embassy/Church of St. McDonald’s
down by the Dnipro. I hadn’t really planned to do it, but I was ambivalent
about where to eat supper, and Cola Light was calling my name. I think it my
have been about 5 miles, round trip. My feet were not happy with me after that.
But, it was definitely an adventure.)
This morning
I had adventure #2. I had scheduled a meeting with Wes Janzen, of the Kiev
Symphony Orchestra and Chorus (KSOC) at their offices down near the Opera House.
En route, I took the Metro (subway) which is normally an experience in and of
itself, but this was fairly routine. New non-Cyrillic signage, notifications in
English and clearer maps all made this a “normal” subway ride. Once I got off
the “Teatralna” stop of the subway, it was about a 5-minute walk up the hill to
Opera House square.
On my way, I
made several observations since I was alone and had no one to talk to (even
myself!) It struck me how quiet Ukrainians are when in large groups. There was virtually
no talking – so quiet with thousands of people sharing the same space! Neatly funneling
into lines, neatly boarding the escalators, and no talking on the train
whatsoever. Fascinating. As I stepped onto the incredibly long escalator, I
heard Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor
playing somewhere over a loudspeaker. That was a first here, and it made me
smile.
Wes and I
shared a good 2+ hours together, getting re-acquainted and dreaming of the
future. He is relatively new to his current position, though he has been Guest
Conductor of KSOC since 2006 or so. We finished our time together with a quick
visit to the Church of St. Volodmir, an Orthodox church near the Opera that I
had never yet seen in all my trips here. It was remarkable inside. After that, I
said “dopobachinya” to Wes, and shortly after Serhiy met me for lunch at a Café
just up the street from the German Embassy and near the penthouse apartment of
the Klitchko brothers, famous Ukrainian boxers. After lunch, we walked around
Kyiv for what seemed like hours, because it was! We walked down Kreschatyk
Street and some of the little underground malls located in many parts of that
famous street.
Tonight, a
quiet evening in my room allowed me to organize all of my receipts for the trip
thus far. That was fun! Clearly, I know how to have a good time! Tomorrow the
men’s chorus festival begins. Looking forward to it.
