| Day 2 | Breakfast at the hotel.
City tour of Kiev with visit to St. Sofia Cathedral. Kiev is not only the capital of Ukraine but also the mother city for all Eastern Slavic peoples. Kievan Rus, the state from which Ukraine, Russia & Belarus are all descended, was established here between the 9th & 11th centuries. The modern centre & the remains of the old city are both on the hilly west bank of the Dnipro, third largest river in Europe
Lunch at local restaurant.
*Excursion to the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra monastery. Founded three km south of where Kiev stood in 1051, the Caves Monastery was Kievan Rus first & for a long time most famous monastery. Spread across wooded slopes above the Dnipro, it is a unique array of gold-domed churches, underground labyrinths lined with mummified monks, & elegant monastic buildings turned museums, one of which has a hoard of Scythian gold to rival that of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg
*City tour “Old Kiev” with visit to St. Andrew’s church located at the northern end of the street & at the top of the charming Andriyivsky uzvis. It is an inspired 1746-61 Baroque interpretation of the traditional Ukrainian five-domed, cross-shaped church by Rastrelli. The slender curves of its blue, white, gold & green exterior stand out against the skyline, perched up above the Podil district at the crest of the historic Upper Town, at the supposed site where the Apostle Andrew erected a cross. Its richly decorated interior features a three-tiered iconostasis & several paintings from the 18th century.
*Dinner with folklore performance. |
