Incredible Go-Karting in Brovary

About a half-hour from the center of Kyiv, on the left-bank in Brovary, there is a huge shopping center, bowling alley, movie theater, and Go-Karting center called "Terminal". The building is gigantic and its interior design is very similar to Ultramarine (by the Train Station). Probably built by the same folks. The Go-Karting race tracks (there are two of them) are indoors and professionally built with imported, spring-reinforced sidewalls. The age minimum is 14 years old or 12 with an adult (with height minimum as well). It's not cheap at 80 uah per person for a 15-minute race. Helmet, driver's coveralls, gloves, and a printout of your lap times and race results is included. Hat's off to the helpful staff and their seemingly effortless, professional organization of the actual Go-Karting which helped make the whole evening excellent. The restaurant overlooking the track serves up some above average fare and the service quality was excellent. Drive east, Metro bridge, past the last Metro stop (Lisna) and then towards Chernihiv after leaving the Kyiv city limits. More details here: Terminal Go-Kart Website.

Uzbek & Armenian Food with a Playground

Nothing like sitting in a open-air eating besydka with your kids enjoying a playground 10 meters away and plates of mushroom, veal, and chicken shashlyk (30 uah each), wrapped in lavash and onions, spread out in front of you. Not the cheapest of restaurants, Sim-Sim usually has available seating and excellent service. It's on the Velyka Okruzhna (Ring Road) heading east after exiting from Prospekt Peremohy. About 20 minutes from the center. The playground area is well-lit and staffed. Most importantly, our kids enjoy it.

If you like spicy soup try the "Lahman" (33 uah). It is a hearty vegetable and beef soup with noodles accompanied by a small dish of pasty red stuff that is really spicy when mixed into the soup or spread on a piece of grilled veal. Spicy enough to make one's eyes water and makes the ice-cold Paulaner Hefe-Weiss (24 uah) taste all the better. Worth a try.

Sim-Sim Restaurant
Uzbek and Armenian Cuisine
Velyka Okruzhna (Ring Road)
Closest Metro: Sviatoshyn
Tel. 406-4625, 459-5951

Sand Castles at Blue Lake

A great way to spend the day is on the clean sand of Blue Lake on the Obukhivska Road. Driving south on Naberezhna, continue past the exit for Pivdenyj Mist (Southern Bridge — the one that you would take to go to Borispil) and when you see the big UkrAvto Mercedes dealer on the left take the exit to the right. Once you take the exit the road splits for the Okruzhna and for Obukhiv. Follow the Obukhiv signs and proceed south for approximately 10 minutes. Sidenote: you will pass a big bluff (in the distance) on the right where hang-gliders are often spotted jumping off the hill. On the left you will see a gated entrance. There is a small fee, and one can rent chairs for a small fee as well. Enjoy!

Biking In Kyiv

Took the leap and bought a couple bikes yesterday.

Recommendation: Bike Pro Sport
Talk to "Sasha" about their selection of Schwinn and Scott bikes.

Rode around in Holosivskyj Park and ended up at that cafe that looks like Captain Nemo's Nautilus by the willow trees. The service was excellent, there was a festive aura (the tables were packed) and the prices were very reasonable.

Ukr-Folk Hip-Hop

That's how one of the bands performing at "Spivoche Pole" during Oleh Skrypka's incredible festival of Ukrainian folk art, craft and music introduced themselves. Multiple music stages. Singing groups that toured specific parts of Ukraine reported their findings by sharing the songs they learned there. Folk music from other countries (e.g. France) was also heard from the main stage as well as the whole gamut of Ukrainian music from traditional to hip-hop.

I relished one of those "aha moments" of how good it is to live in Ukraine. Sitting outdoors, in the open air with a view of the Dnipro and Patona bridge. The rhythmic music mixing with our kids laughing as they run through the trees and bushes building "forts". Beer taps flowing alongside trays of fresh dyruny. Spontaneous encounters with random friends leading to animated conversations. More music --- and the bonus educational piece: our kids seeing how a bandura is carved out of a single block of wood, and how a vyshyvka is weaved on an ancient wooden foot-treadle loom.

We visited the festival twice on Saturday and returned on Sunday for the grand finale: Oleh Skrypka's performance, while the moon ascended above the evergreens, and the two giant straw men (seemingly in the middle of the crowd) were set ablaze.

A world away from the pathetic political drama just a few kilometers away. Highly recommended.