Today was a bit foreshortened because of my ankle. A brief trip down to Maidan and then by Metro over to the main Kiev train station was about all I could handle. After that I hobbled back to the apartment for a bit of rest and stretching exercises, both of which seemed to help quite a bit.

I’ve seen a big train station in person before (London), and this one in Kiev is very much in line with that. Think of New York’s Grand Central Station, only a bit smaller and with more people; that’s Kiev. There was some of that great old classic train architecture in the main building, and then some nice modern stuff in the auxiliary.

Although most of the train station was surrounded by industrial type structures, oddly out of place across from the newer building was a church. It looked newer that most of the other ones I’ve been seeing, at least from the outside; inside it had the same ornate and highly decorated interior as the others.

Despite the short day, it ended on a rather nice note. As most readers probably know, my company has a working relationship with some Ukrainian developers, and it is only natural to get to know some of your work counterparts on the other side of the world. I have been Skyping with one of these guys for a while, and since he lives in Kiev, we made arrangements to get together this evening. I’m always a little hesitant about such things, but Vladimir turned out to be a very nice and very funny guy. It was a great evening. I had a nice Ukrainian beer (my first ever, because I’m just not a big alcohol consumer), we talked for a couple hours, and then he even helped me get a taxi so I wouldn’t have to walk twenty minutes in the rain. I’ve had some very nice evenings during my trips to Ukraine, and this one definitely ranks high on the list.

Tomorrow is my last full day in Kiev, and the plan is to visit the Great Patriotic War Monument and Museum. I’ve taken a couple pictures of the monument already, because it is huge and visible from multiple places in Kiev. Tomorrow I should be able to get an up close look.