Here we are in the heart of the Ukraine. I sometimes like to call it "Annaland" as this is where Anna was born and spent her childhood before her family immigrated to Canada. Ukraine is an interesting country for many reasons. The first is that it is a widely misunderstood by most people in North America. In general, it has been described by Lonely Planet as one of the "last undiscovered frontiers of Europe". When speaking to many people before embarking on our trip many of the stereotypes of the old USSR and Russia come up due to growing up with bad (and some not so bad) 80's action movies starring none other than all the old crew from The Expendables movie franchise. Thanks to them, we have to unlearn much of what Hollywood has taught us. Our first stop is Kiev, the capital city.

Our tour begins at the Kiev airport. We flew Wizz Air. A piece of advice, NEVER fly Wizz Air! No seat assignments means a total free for all when it comes to boarding the plane. Imagine Black Friday, but on a plane and you get the idea. Crowded on there with a slew of international travelers we flew to Kiev and landed a couple of hours later when all of a sudden the rear of the plane erupts in applause. This is the first of many Russian/Ukrainian traditions that we encounter. We land and are greeted by Anna's father Sergei. He is waiting for us and has our day planned. We notice when leaving the airport a gold Bentley in the parking lot. Not gold colored, but GOLD!. The Bentley was my first introduction to the extreme wealth gap in the population. Welcome to Ukraine!

Our first stop is The Lavra. It is a large complex of churches constructed in the 11th century, making it the oldest church we've seen by over 100 years in all of our journeys. We arrive and notice the women with headscarves heading in and out. The religion of the church is the Russian Orthodox Church. Some of their unique traditions include celebrating Xmas on January 7th, Russian saints, and a slightly different cross. When entering we are greeted by large white churches with gold roofs and frescoes painted on all sides. We explored the beautiful grounds and viewed the relics and displays on site such as old church bells and statues. The biggest thing the Lavra is famous for are their caves. They have a large network of underground caves where the saints are buried. There are about 75 of them. Sergei is nothing if not a smooth talker. We arrived late as the caves were closing. Sergei decided to be the photographer for the day and one of the monks noticed the camera and struck up a conversation. As a result of their "chat" we became distant Muslim travelers on a quest to observe traditions of other religions. Anna nearly converted for almost 30 seconds. As esteemed delegates, we were given robes to wear and granted exclusive access after hours to see the caves. The caves are low, damp and utterly unique in that it feels like a crypt that stretches for miles. If it was taller it could be used in an Indiana Jones chase scene. We saw the bodies of the saints wrapped carefully in fine & colorful fabrics to help preserve their bodies and memories of their deeds. The fabrics have the Russian cross on them, a portrait of their face in many cases, and a careful sleeve so a hand can  be shown. The hand is left open because many worshippers pay their respects and pray to the saints while holding their hands. Their bodies are hundreds of years old and the hands look very well preserved. It is the belief that saints bodies are protected by God so they don't decay like regular humans would after death. In 2010 they encased all the bodies in glass so now no one touches them anymore.

Walking around Kiev we noticed how very green it is. Parks and monuments everywhere. This region of the world has a lot of history so there are many monuments to remember those who served to make Ukraine what it is today. We finally arrived in Kiev square. This is the heart of the city where the people gather. In 2004/2005 it was the heart of the Orange Revolution where they rallied to protect the integrity of their democracy. They were successful and the rightful winner of the elections that year was finally put in power. It is a large square with fountains, monuments and large open spaces for performers, exhibits and the like. Every Sunday the streets are closed off so only pedestrians can walk. It is not only the heart of Kiev, but in many ways the heart of Ukraine as well. We walked along the street for a while and noticed the architecture here is similar to the rest of Europe, yet different at the same time. It's a mix of western Europe, Russian, and a hint of Turkish influence if you look carefully enough.

One thing that became abundantly clear on our walk through Kiev was how well dressed everyone was, especially the women. Doesn't matter what you're doing that day, if you're leaving the house, you get dressed. Simply throwing on a hoody and jeans will not do, you need to look proper like you're going out for dinner, even if you're simply going to the park. Many of the people we saw at the park were all walking in heels, flowing dresses, collared shirts, pressed pants, and nice shoes! No running shoes unless they're stylish, and absolutely NO baseball caps! I'm the only person who dared wear one. I haven't done it since. It's all about dignity and self respect and people here have both in spades. The rest of Europe was like this as well, but it's more noticeable here.

After our walk through Kiev Square we made our way to the train station. The subway system is very old, and all the cars in it are very old as well. We had to descend a couple of escalators to get down to it. I have to say I've never been on an escalator that's so long I could not see the bottom. We arrived at the train station and prepared to board the over night train to Anna's hometown, Dnepropetrovsk. I can only say the name once every 60 seconds so please wait before asking me to repeat myself. The overnight trains themselves are very similar to the trains in the recent Sherlock Holmes movie. Kind of something out of an Agatha Christie novel, and we had a private cabin to ourselves that sleeps 4 people in 2 bunks with plenty of room for luggage, and no overnight sales people (we're talking to you Thailand!). Before boarding we needed some food, so we found a McDonald's at the station. As we approached we noticed the menu had only Denny's rejected greasewiches on it and the uniforms looked like McDonald's from the 80's, than we saw it was called "McFoxy's". They cunningly placed their entrance right next to McDonald's so people would walk in there unknowingly thinking that they will be "loving it". It almost worked too! Bloody Chinese knockoffs!! Luckily we pulled out at the last minute and got real food. I use word real  her in a totally contextual sense.

Our first day in Ukraine was a great adventure where we explored ancient churches, crypts, plazas and trains. History and heart all in the span of about 8 hours with tons of walking. This was a good first day. Now we head into the arms of family and friends where Annichka (that's what the family calls her) grew up. Dnepropetrovsk. Time to meet the family!