Kyiv, November 2

If there`s one world wonder lacking recognition it`s the old Soviet railway system. These trains are punctual, yet some cross 1000s of km`s and take up to a week to reach their destinations. Of course all intercity trains are sleeper trains, with the vast distances in former Soviet countries. As passengers may stay on a train for several days, the space inside the carriages is efficiently divided, allowing enough personal comfort to feel at home, with no additional unnecessary luxury. Even in the lowest class (platshkartny) there is enough space to lay down to sleep, you get a blanket and clean sheets every night, and there`s place to safely store your luggage. So in theory, one could comfortably travel platshkartny all across the former USSR. In theory. Unfortunately, people here travel smaller distances too at night (it saves time), and the conductors make some extra money by taking more people onto the train than actually fit. These "extra" people then sit down right next to where you`re sleeping to have a loud conversation, drinking their way through a bottle of vodka along the way. Some conductors even sell drinks.

So, that`s why I prefer to buy a ticket in the second lowest (kupeny) class. I didn`t sleep well in the night train to Kyiv. However, had a good conversation and a beer with Valentina, the girl sleeping on the berth next to me. She`s a civil servant ("I marry people" ) in a small town not far from Kyiv and had the same problem as I did - didn`t want to travel platshkartny but kupeny class was fully booked.

In Kyiv I`m staying in this very cosy, small hostel run by a friendly guy named Paul. His assistant Anna just had her first day and was very nervous about me, since I was the first guest she had to help. And then - o no - a tea pot from the hostel`s kitchen disappeared and she didn`t know what to do. I gave her a bar of chocolate for comfort. Mystery of the disappearing tea pot has not been solved yet, but I think a Japanese guy staying in the same room must know more. His name is Nobu and we had a great day out in Kyiv together today. Making pictures of old women selling stuff in the streets, pro-democracy and communist party demonstrations and sexist advertisement for underwear. Yes, Kyiv is a city of oportunities if you want to have fun. And there are some great places to eat and/or go out if you know the way.

The metro is made nuclear proof, meaning it`s over 50 m under ground. The longest escalators take about 7 minutes to get you down. Some people sit on the steps. There is some interesting old commy propaganda inside the metro stations, just like in the metro`s of Moscow and St.Petersburg. In one station Lenin`s big bronze head is watching over the passengers on the platforms, a bit creepy.

The most beautiful sights of the city are the baroque churches with golden spires and domes. The oldest one, Sv. Sofia, was built in the 10th century by the old Viking kings of Kievan Rus. It`s been converted into a museum and contains some incredible 10th and 11th century paintings and mozaics. It`s possible to climb the iconic bell tower to have a nice view of the city (see my pictures!). Not for people with shaky knees.

Talking about pictures, I added one of an old lady selling candles inside a church, taken by Nobu. After we took this picture we found out that this lady also has the task of selling people tickets for taking pictures... No surprise she immediately went after us.

We paid a visit to Lviv Chocolate Cafe, which sells chocolate, coffee and chocolate with coffee, and has a staff of friendly girls who all look like models and one guy named Yuri who has no particular reason to look so grumpy. Then went inside the Chornobyl (Russian: Chernobyl) museum, wich has a haunting exhibition with shocking pictures and maps of the big nuclear disaster in 1986.

Paul has been an incredible help in finding my way through bus and train time tables and companies (especially since nobody working for public transportation speaks English). As I found out myself, there is only one train directly to Volgograd from Kyiv every week, and the last one left yesterday. Paul found out that my best bet was to take a train to Rostov na Donu in Russia (takes 19 hours), then try to find a connection onward. There is no train from Rostov to Volgograd when I arrive, but there are at least two overnigt busses. I bought the train ticket to Rostov for tomorrow, and I hope there will still be place on the busses, else I will have to sleep inside the station. I`m in for at least one very uncomfortable night anyway, but it`s part of the fun. Let`s see what happens. Next time I write, it`ll probably be from Russia or Kazakhstan.