Kiev on the weekend

We visited Kiev for four nights in 2011 while on a tour that went on to include Russia (including a river cruise) and the three Baltic countries.

We loved Kiev and its people.

I must say that recently, while on a cruise, we met two Ukrainians that worked for the cruise line. We discussed our trip to Ukraine and asked how the country was doing.

We were told that things were not going so well. The people were fed up with their corrupt politicians. Also, apparently crime has seriously increased. If you go there, be careful where you go on your own, especially at night.

The part of the Kreschatyk that's closed on weekends is around the Maidan Nezalezhnosty. But the Kyivans will be out there enjoying a stroll, and stores and restaurants (at least some of them) will be open, since it's a tourist area. And yes, Kyiv is very hot in July and August so make sure wherever you're staying has A/C. I think the heat may impact your enjoyment of your visit more than any road closures.

But since you're going to Poland and only have 4 days for Ukraine, why not just spend them in Lviv? I think it's much more interesting in terms of architecture than Kyiv. You can easily fill 4 days there visiting churches, checking out the architecture (if you aren't familiar with the Hutsul Secession, read about it on forgottengalicia.com), and just exploring all the little streets around the Ploscha Rynok. And then from there it's a short trip to Poland.

As for crime and safety, we were there last summer, I wandered all over Lviv and Kyiv and never felt unsafe. Mind you, I didn't go into any dark lane ways in the dead of night, but I don't do that anywhere. The subway in Kyiv is always packed, so that's one place where I kept my hand on my purse.

I spent several weeks in Ukraine last year, between late May and mid-June. After doing a lot of research I decided I needed twice as much time in Kyiv as in L'viv because of the number of museums I was interested in. Accordingly, that's the way I allocated my time. I had over a week in K'yiv.

My major period of interest is the 20th century. The Chernobyl Museum and the Famine (Holodomor) Museum in K'yiv were very accesible to English-speakers. I especially recommend watching the subtitled videos of survivors of the famine. There's also a good introductory film at that museum; be sure the staff realize you're an English speaker so they run the right version for you. I think knowing something about the famine is critical; it seems to affect the country's psyche to this day.

Kyiv's WWII Museum is also good, but it has a fair amount of material (mostly the human-interest stuff) that hasn't been translated into English. Still worthwhile.

There are lovely churches in K'yiv--I'd say more than in L'viv. But L'viv has a greater density of beautiful architecture since it didn't take the wartime battering Kyiv received.

Rather than splitting my time and using a good chunk of a day to change cities and hotels, I'd choose one or the other. Splitting 4 days will give you a really inadequate amount of time in both places, I believe. Assuming you're going to.l Krakow on this trip, I'd suggest making Kyiv your Ukrainian stop.

Because of my interests, I spent less time in the touristy parts of Kyiv than most foreigners do. I didn't find any oppressive crowds. I didn't feel unsafe anywhere, but the public transportation can be massively crowded. I wouldn't attempt it with luggage.

The core of L'viv was much more touristy than central Kyiv. Folks who say L'viv is "the next Krakow" may not have been to L'viv recently.

Edited to add: Carry a scarf around with you for popping into churches. I don't know whether they'd throw you out without one, but the local women consistently don them--to the point that you sonetimes see loaners on a counter inside a church.

Thanks, everybody, for your replies!

I'm a little uneasy as well about having only four days and splitting them. Strictly speaking, it doesn't have to be that way. I have 17-19 full days (counting from my arrival in Warsaw and excluding the day I fly home) that are more or less uncommitted (the hotel reservations I've made are all refundable as of now). I have a huge list of places I want to visit/re-visit, but I know that is impossible (I was going to post more about about this with an itinerary SOS in the Poland forum today or tomorrow!). I could add a day to each city if necessary.

There are no perfect answers in situations like this. I spent 5 weeks in Poland and left some cities (and many towns) unvisited. Even more than Ukraine, Poland has lots of interesting museums and historical sites rich in English explanatory material. I hope I'll be able to return.

Please refer to my earlier post for information I added about headscarves before realizing you had posted again.