Willages...Willages...and St. Sophia

Tuesday the 27th, we spent touring the Museum of National Architecture and Life in Ukraine.  This is an outdoor museum which is actually a collection of authentic villages scattered across the countryside and forest.  We picked a warmer day, (45F) and braved the breeze and hiking to explore a glimpse of Ukraine peasant life from different areas.  We were four of the seven tourists that decided to visit the museum today, since it is clearly more designed for a warmer season. 

Regardless of the gray skies and the runny noses, we were fascinated with the thatched roofs, willow woven fences, and the vision of how beautiful if must be in the summer with all of the flowers planted and in full bloom.  Each little community had a cute Babushka that was a curator of sorts who unlocked the interiors of the homes for us to see artifacts of this difficult life.  Most of the interiors where off limits for cameras, but we did manage to capture a few shots through the windows.  It is funny that in this country of superstitions my DVD cam-corder lost all of its data right after I tried to sneak in a video (without flash) of a school room that was not that different from our Little House of the Prairie.

This tourist stop is be a must during the warmer seasons, with the outdoor theater, the actual workings of small farm life, and the mills that are an integral part of peasant life.  Many windmills decorate the property, which was a surprise to us all, not thinking of Ukraine being known for windmills.  Scattered between the villages of 5-15 buildings each are grassy rolling hills, plowed soil that is still worked and a real feeling of being back in time.  There are also 3 functioning churches that are made of wood but still capture the Byzantine architecture with domes that are presumably covered with a more affordable copper based on their green tinge. 

It was mid afternoon and we hadn't adequately planned for the length of this museum.  Walking through the forest we shared a few almonds that I shoved in my pocket that morning.  We all talked about the movie Defiance that we had seen the previous night.  The movie was based on a real life survival story which the Bielski brothers lead over 1,200 Jewish people to safety after living 3 years in the forests of Ukraine during World War II.  We knew that we were far from appreciating the harsh reality that the Jews suffered, but somehow a grumbling stomach, a long way to walk, and the silent forest helped us imagine just a little bit better. Our backs were starting to ache after so much walking, and I personally marvelled at the hard work that these peasants did day by day just to exist.

Cute Ukrainian Home

The museum was just a little south of the main city of Kiev, and only cost a taxi fair of 86 grivna.  We shaved that down to 18 grivna on the way home by combining transferring Marshrutkas (buses) and the Metro with a little more walking.  Once back in the center of the city, we spent some time at Saint Sophia's Cathedral.   This is another must see attraction with it's restored and original frescos dating back 1000 years!  Yarislov the Wise and other iconic royalty of Ukrainian history are all captured on the walls and upper domes of this beautiful Cathedral.  In addition, there is an incredible painting of Christ as described in Revelations with all of the kings of this world bowing down to him.  This was our favorite painting. We were a little late for taking good pictures outside, but Kris's camera did capture this wonderful shot.  Another successful day while we wait for our court!