This week I’m “liveblogging” my trip to Ukraine. Unlike traditional reports, these posts will be shorter and more frequent.
I returned my rental car at 9:00 am on the west side of Kyiv, which is right in the heart of the morning rush hour. Rather than sit in an Uber going back to my hotel, I took the Kyiv Metro back. There, I noticed a not-so-subtle change from my trip on the Metro a decade earlier.
Kyiv Metro 2023
From Tashkent to Tbilisi and from Baku to Moscow, I love old Soviet metro stations and loved the Kyiv Metro during my first visit in 2011.
After dropping off my car, I boarded the Metro at Nyvky station on the Святошинсько-Броварська лінія (Sviatoshynsko–Brovarska line). The station opened in 1971 and looks like it has not been updated since then. In so many ex-Soviet cities, you cross underground rather than above ground and each station is like a mini-city of its own, with bustling bakeries and convenience stores and hair salons.
Trains run frequently and I love the countdown timer that displays the time since the last train departed at every station.
The trains look old, but are relatively modern onboard.
Fares run 8 UAH, which is about 30 US cents.
One of my favorite stations was Театральна (Teatralna) station near the Kyiv Opera Theatre. It opened in 1987 and prior to 1992 was known as Ленiнська (Leninska) station. Why?
(those were pictures I took in 2011)
After Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea, Lenin was covered and a 3D image of the opera theatre was installed over it. Lenin may still be there, but you would not know it today:
Some of these Metro stations are incredibly cavernous.
Upstairs at Teatralna station there is still some Soviet-era artwork on the wall:
Time did not permit me to stop at more stations on this trip, but there are some beauties. Most of all, though, I thought it interesting that Lenin station has been “cancelled.”
> Read More: Lenin Statues and Historical Remembrance
What does this mean:
> I love the countdown timer that displays the time since the last train departed at every station.
Does it count down the time until the train will arrive at your current station, or is it counting up how much time has elapsed since the previous train departed your current station?
The latter. It counts up how much time has elapsed since the previous train departed the current station. So I guess it is a count-up timer?
Thank you!
Take care over there and safe travels home.
So when it hits zero another train arrives?
Was that your experience?
No, the other way. It counts the time since the last train. Usually 2-3 minutes between trains.
Thanks for those. I took the metro in Kiev and was also similarly impressed. Much nicer than DC metro which, IMO, is underwhelming including the new Silver Line.
I’m amused at all your adventures while your wife and child are at home. My wife won’t permit me too many adventures without her dragging along and our work is difficult to permit it. My father-in-law is getting to travel because he’s 87 and I think it’s good for his health and mental outlook. If he travels, he’s at least pushing his mental boundaries and I think those are most in need of stimulus at his age. His iphone is configured for wifi but I can’t facetime him. I think a problem with his internet provider. Working on it remotely which is challenging to say the least!
I miss Ukraine and Poland and will probably visit later this year with my United miles I get from credit card bonuses. I pray daily the war will be over soon and normality will return but at my age, I’m beginning to understand that normality is sometime anormal. I’m glad you’re enjoying the hospitality of Ukraine. They are a wonderful people that i discovered 2 decades ago.
The Russian art work on the walls remind me of China street art when I first went to China in 1977