Welcome to Kiev!

Yesterday evening we arrived at Mariya’s grandparents’ apartment in Kiev, and I could barely finish dinner before collapsing onto the pullout couch bed. Even as the jet lag and compiled exhaustion from the last few weeks hit me, something about the tiny apartment felt comforting. Her grandparents smiled and hugged us hello, and even in a completely unfamiliar place, the pictures of little Mariya and stories I’d heard about this place gave me a vicarious sense of home.
I woke up this morning to cars rushing by outside, loud birds chirping, and a piercing sunlight beaming in from the porch balcony. Mariya left the patio door open for fresh air, and the world outside was already awake and buzzing at 7am. After a traditional breakfast of pancake-like biscuits made of cheese and raisins, we took turns showering in the raised bathtub then headed eight stories downstairs to explore her old neighborhood in the “West Bank.”

This particular part of Kiev is situated on an island west of the main city, and is primarily residential – all around us are stacks of high density apartment buildings, joined together by narrow roads and identical plazas that are decorated with small communal gardens and brightly painted playground sets. I took nearly a dozen pictures of the apartment building facades alone, because they fascinate me – talk about a homeowner’s association nightmare! Every apartment has a balcony, but residents are free to cover/not cover, and decorate them as they wish. The result of this is a patchwork of wood, aluminum, splotchy yellow paint, plastic, metal, and nearly every other exterior façade you can imagine.

Mariya explained to us the history of these apartments, and how they were built in the 1960s to house large families in compact and economically efficient places. Considering the rough times Ukraine has faced in the last century, the patchwork balconies are an interesting expression of individual taste for this little island- withstanding a history of famine in the 1930s, being occupied by the German soldiers during World War II, living through the dictatorships of Lenin and Stalin, a broken economic system under Soviet communism, and in recent history, the horrible Chernobyl nuclear disaster. (Chernobyl is only about 40km north of here, and Mariya’s mother and uncle lived with her grandparents in this apartment when it happened.)

As we walked through the quiet neighborhood, Mariya (or “Masha” as her family calls her) pointed out all of the familiar places from her childhood: her old apartment, only a quarter mile down the road from her grandparents. Her colorful elementary school with painted tires buried along the entryway. The rusty little playground that she used to play in as a child, with her secret hiding spot tucked away in the bushes. The peeling wooden bench her mom used to sit on and watch her, still painted in the same faded primary colors.

We watched the sun set along the river, and talked about plans for the next few days - visiting the city with her grandparents. Going to the opera. Meeting up with Mariya’s childhood friend, and her stepmother who picked us up from the airport. Kiev is a beautiful and historic city, and it sounds like we have a lot to look forward to!