Kyiv Trip re-cap part 4

Monday, my second full day in Ukraine, Tara and I took off sans kids while the housekeeper/babysitter stayed with them. I had really wanted to see St. Sofia's church because I remembered Tara talking about that when she first was in Ukraine several years ago. You can see from the picture where they have built the new (white) around the original old (brick).

St. Sofia's, especially the inside, is probably one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in my 30-something years. I once saw the insides of a Byzantine Catholic church in OH and it now reminds me of what I saw inside St. Sofia's. There were mosaics and icons everywhere. I need to do some research on who all the people were in the mosaics. Some were Christ and the apostles, and some were of the royal family of Ukraine hundreds of years ago.

There was a beautiful mosaic composed of Pysanky eggs of St. Sofia herself. We encountered a group of school children and they were posing for a picture there. The children were very rude when we went to leave. Even though I couldn't understand what he said to Tara, I could understand his tone. I guess that's typical for Ukrainian children. I would have never even considered speaking in such a disrespectful way to an adult when I was growing up.


I had to use the restroom while we were at St. Sofia's and there is where I got my first experience with "squatty potties". Because it seems extremely sacreligious to post a picture of them in the same post as St. Sofia's, I will include the squatties in another post. I believe that most Ukrainains have what we Americans would consider "normal" toilets in their homes, but squatty potties are what you use when you're out and about. Sometimes you have to pay to use them, othertimes not. You need to furnish your own TP as well.


I'll re-cap the remainder of Monday in another post. Stay tuned for the squatty potties! :)