KIEV, UKRAINE

                           A Visit During Happier Times 

      With all the recent problems in Ukraine I do not want to get into politics. My goal is to share the wonderful time we had in this lovely city before venturing on to Russia—before Putin regained power. My many Russian readers may or may not agree with me, but all I can do is relate my personal experiences. Three years prior to my visit I had breakfast one morning in Winnipeg, Canada with a Ukrainian business man. He was friendly and talkative and I enjoyed his company. I remember that he impressed upon me that when referencing Ukraine it was exactly that---not THE Ukraine or The Canada. I have passed that on many times, even a couple of times to reporters who were not in the know.

      Ukraine, slightly smaller than Texas, is Europe’s second largest country, and the largest country of what once was the Soviet Bloc. Ukraine was the most populous and developed republic of the USSR. Its longest international border is with Russia on the east. Balarus borders the north. To the west lie Poland and Slovakia. The Black and Azor Seas border the south, and on the southeast are borders with Hungary, Romania and Moldavia.  Besides Ukrainian, other languages spoken include Russian, Romanian, Polish, and Hungarian.

      Russia dominated Ukrainian history for centuries, but the Ukrainian culture stretches even farther back in history. The country was the center of the first Slavic state, a powerful nation called Kievan Rus, which dominated Europe in the 10^th and 11^th centuries. Invasions by Tartars and Poles weakened the country throughout history until 1654 when Ukraine joined the Muscovy.    

     Ukraine covers less than three percent of what was the USSR landmass, but its rich black soil produced over a third of the Soviet food supply while its mines produced 50 percent of Russia’s iron ore and 25 percent of its coal. 

      Brief independence for Ukraine followed the czar’s abdication in 1917. The Bolsheviks began a brutal civil war in Ukraine that ended with the Soviets taking most of the country and forcing it into the Soviet Union. Eight million people died when the brutal Soviet rule orchestrated artificial famines in 1921-22 and again in 1932-33. 

      Stalin made a vicious attack on Ukrainian culture by exterminating a large part of the intelligentsia. It wasn’t long afterward when horrific fighting between the Germans and Russians took place on Ukrainian soil during WW II, killing an additional eight million people. Large numbers of Russians were encouraged to move to industrial regions of Ukraine and soon became a sizable minority of 11 million. During communist rule the Soviet Union imposed the Russian culture and language onto all Ukrainians. But in spite of this the Ukrainian culture, which stretches far back in history, managed to survive. Even with repression, suffering, political turmoil, and ecological disasters Ukraine’s spirit and national identity have never died.

       The 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster and the slow Soviet response embittered Ukrainians. A small nationalist movement, founded in Kiev in 1990, contributed to the country’s independence in 1991.

      The ancient city (5^th century) of Kiev is known to Russians as the ‘Mother of Cities’, due to its long and prominent history. A river city as well as the country’s largest city, Kiev also is the capitol city.

      Kiev had established trade routes with Western Europe and Arabia when Moscow was still a village in the woods. In 988, during the golden age, Kiev’s Prince Vladimir gave Orthodox Christianity its Slavic foothold with a mass baptism in the River Dnieper.

       Modern Kiev combines three 9^th century towns: Podol, the lower town closest to River Dnieper, Pecherch, and Staro Kiev, site of the modern center. Since independence Ukraine has experienced many traumatic growing pains as a new democracy.

     Transportation includes trams, trolleys, buses and the metro and transfers are allowed from line to line.  However, Kiev is not a pedestrian friendly city. Crossing the street can be hazardous to one’s health and is the best incentive for using the underground passageways/tunnels to get from one side to the opposite side of the street.

      Old Kiev with its narrow streets and small shops is the heart of the city. Merchants and craftsmen worked and lived, often for a lifetime, in the same small area. Kiev is known both as the Garden City and as a Green City. A large part of the city is park area.  As we got around the city, I realized that the city of three million people seemed like a small large city.

      After the Danube and Volga Rivers, the Dnieper River is Europe’s third longest river. Flowing through the city of Kiev, it also flows through Russia, and  Belarus to the Black Sea.

     Our local city guide pointed out art nouveau buildings, Stalin-era buildings that generally had a large star on top, many of the city’s 80 churches and numerous 11^th century well-preserved buildings. Kiev is both the modern gateway to Ukraine and a historic town that blends commercial streets with modern byways with its old town. The city is the place of presidential administration, parliament and government departments. Actually Kiev is twice as old as Moscow. Spellings of buildings and streets can be very confusing as there is almost always at least two spellings for any one place or street.

     At the 170-year-old Red University all the walls and buildings are painted a terra cotta red. Across the street is a large bronze statue of the famous Ukrainian poet, Shevchenko. He stands just inside the entrance of a park bearing his name ---an island of greenery in the middle of bustling down city.

     The old city gate, built 1017-24 by Prince Yaroslavl meant to underscore his country’s power. Under Yaroslavl’s rule the city increased ten-fold. Nomadic tribes never could penetrate the main gate to the city. During the 16^th and 17^th centuries the gate deteriorated and in the 18^th century it was covered with earth. In 1832 archeologists discovered the ruins and a portion of the gate was restored and protected behind an iron fence.

      Kiev’s main business district, Khreshchatik, was blocked off for the holiday, so we strolled down the center of the wide street lined with large old trees and grand monumental buildings interspersed with small shops. It was a beautiful warm day.

      Independence Square, where the Orange Revolution took place when the presidential elections were so hotly contested, was lovely. We had a wonder couple days in Kiev, ate some wonderful borsch and enjoyed delightful weather and the friendly people. I was heartbroken when I heard on the news that the square was again the site of protest and that much of the paving stones had been dug up. I feel  lucky to have been a visitor during happier more peaceful times.

BUDAPEST SITES

                                           A Couple Must-See Sites
Dohany Synagogue

       The Dohany Synagogue, with seating capacity for 3000, is a striking Byzantine structure, and is Europe’s largest, and the world’s second largest, synagogue. Built in 1859, it is still used by Budapest’s conservative Jewish community. With its two 140-foot-high onion domes, it is a fine example of Moorish-Revival architecture. The synagogue has recently been restored. Next door is the Jewish Museum.

       The Holocaust Memorial, designed by a contemporary Hungarian sculptor, is in the form of a weeping willow tree. Thin metal leaves, purchased by survivors and descendants of relatives fall from the branches. It is a moving memorial.

      Budapest had one of the largest Jewish populations in Europe. Centuries ago Jews had to live outside the walled city. When the city expanded those areas beyond the walls were included into the city. During the Nazi occupation of Hungary over 20,000 Jews took refuge in the synagogue. However, 7000 did not survive the bleak winter of 1944-45. The original brick wall of the Jewish Ghetto can still be seen.

       Auschwitz swallowed 600,000 Jews. During WW II, Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat, saved many Jews by supplying them with false passports.

Open Air Museum

      One day with a pleasant ride through the countryside, up around the Danube Bend we stopped at the Hungarian Museum, an open air eco-museum. Established in 1967, it opened in 1974. It is a reconstructed village from the last century.

     Stopping by an old cemetery a docent explained the wooden grave markers. “The blue marker means the person was a child. The black marker, an adult. The marker for a male is pointed, the marker for females is rounded. If a female married more than once she had another rounded mound. The markers are carved of wood, and were used to tell a story before people could read or write.”

      I found this interesting as I’d never heard nor seen such markers before.

      We learned that eventually there will be 300 buildings in 10 units. During my visit, there were 80 houses, 3 churches, a chapel, 7 mills, an inn, school, and workshops. The museum explains history and also illustrates social differences.

      In passing she said, “Feudalism was eliminated in the 18^th century. In the 19^th century one in 20 was titled noble, but was not necessarily rich.”

      Walking around the complex we spotted several different fruits ripening on trees.  It was a very interesting visit.

Parliament Tour

      The top of my priority list on my  third or fourth trip to Budapest was to tour the inside of the Parliament Building. It is a magnificent building and you might like to check post 4-2-14

KRAKOW (Cracow), POLAND

                                    City With a Long History
           Krakow, in the southern part of the country, is Poland’s third largest city. Founded as a fortress in 700 AD, it became the capitol in the 12^th century and remained so until 1596. Today a city of 800,000 it houses a university and ten colleges with a total student enrollment of 120,000. This cultural, educational, and industrial city, located on the Wisla  (Vistula) River, is an architecturally and historically rich city compact within an area of Old Town that is only 800 by 1200 meters in size.  

 Old        Old Town, or the inner city, was surrounded by a wall in medieval times, as were most European cities. The Barbican built in the 15^th century protected the walled city, and is one of the largest and oldest left in Europe.  Only one of the original seven gates remains. Originally the wall had 47 towers. The moat was twenty meters wide and seven meters deep.

 The 13^th century market square is literally square measuring 200 meters on each side, and is the largest such square in Europe. St. Andrews, an 11^th century church, is the oldest in the square. There are 130 churches in Krakow, 75 of them are in Old Town.

  On one corner of the square stands St. Mary’s gothic church, 1359, the common people’s church. Its two towers are uneven. The tallest tower served as a lookout tower. Today every hour, on the hour, one can hear a trumpet call from the tower recalling the 13^th century trumpeter who was killed by a Tarter arrow in the middle of sounding a warning. To maintain tradition, a live person, not a modern day recording, plays the trumpet call. The main altar of St Mary’s consists of five panels, 350 carvings, and measures eleven by seven meters. This 1489 altarpiece is the finest and largest sculptural work of Gothic art in Poland.

Canon Street is the oldest in the city and is where the church clergy lived. Jagiellonian University, the first university in Poland founded in 1364, was the alma mater of the astronomer, Copernicus.   The building where he studied is still in use, and has a rather pretty inner courtyard.

A brief history includes:  In 1241 Tater invaders sacked the city. The city was revived later by German colonists. In 1795 Austria seized the city. Napoleon incorporated the city into the duchy of Warsaw. 1815 saw Krakow as the capitol of an independent republic of Krakow, which was incorporated, into Austria 1846. During WW I the city was the scene of fighting between Austro-German and Russian forces. After the war Krakow was once again a Polish city. Germans occupied the city from 1939-1945 until it was taken by Soviet troops.

The royal cathedral and castle sit on Wawel Hill. For centuries, since the first king crowned in 1320, Wawel Cathedral has been the site for coronations and burials of Polish royalty. A hundred kings are interred in the crypt. Wawel Castle, most famous now for its collection of Flemish tapestries is located behind the cathedral; 136 of the original 156 are preserved, and it is the largest such collection in the world. During WWII the tapestries were sent to Canada for safekeeping and were returned in 1961. The work is so fine that it would take a worker one year to complete a square meter! They were specially ordered, and reach from floor to ceiling.

Little furniture is in the castle; the ceilings are beautiful, as are the wall frescos.

The courtyard of the castle had recently been refurbished. The first floor of the castle served as servants’ quarters, the second floor as reception rooms, and the third floor was royal living quarters. Originally built as a fortress, it then became a summer home, and now is a museum.

Warsaw is the political capitol of Poland, Krakow, the cultural capitol, and Czestochowa the religious capitol.

      In Krakow we visited the Jewish District, Kazimierz, which before the 1820s was an independent town.  In the late 15^th century Jews, after being expelled from Krakow, migrated to the northeast area of the town. A wall separated the Jewish sector from the Christian sector. The Jewish Quarter grew rapidly as Jews fled from all over Europe.

       At the outbreak of WWII 70,000 Jews lived there. In 2000 the Jewish population was about 100. There were six synagogues in the area. The 15^th century Old Synagogue is the oldest Jewish religious building in Poland, and today is a museum. Two other synagogues remain today, but only one is functional.

      In 1993 the Center for Jewish Culture and History, opened in the area, and is run by non-Jews. Because it cannot be state run, it is run by a private foundation.

      Kazimierz is one of the best preserved pre WWII areas of Jewish religious, learning, and culture, a life no longer possible in Poland because of the lack of facilities.  

       Prior to the opening of the Center, there was no research or books to teach Jewish culture. In 1986 the US Congress sent two million dollars to help create the project, which paid for 90% of it with the remaining 10% coming from local contributions. The project is on going.

       About 160 Jews live in Krakow, but only three Jews currently live in Kazimierz, and only 5-12,000 in all of Poland. The count is difficult to establish as most of the children orphaned by the war were raised by and as gentiles.

      The area was again coming alive with many of the apartments occupied and stores and restaurants opening.

OLD TOWN PRAGUE

                                   A Beautiful Ancient City

       Crooked 11^th century roads wind around ancient Bohemian architectural relics. The town square is the oldest in Europe and the town hall dates to 1338 and today  is used only for ceremonial purposes. In front of the town hall sits the 1410 astronomical clock which attracts

large crowds on the hour when the clock chimes (9AM to 9 PM). Various characters appear representing the miser, vanity and skeleton. The clock also shows the year, month, day and hour, the rising and setting of the sun and moon and the signs of the zodiac.  We made a point of being on the square, to join the gathering crowd, later in the day. It was worth the effort!

      The Charles Bridge dominates the city. The 1700-foot bridge with 16 arches ends (or starts) at Old Town. Thirty 17^th century sculptures top each of its supports. On the other end of the bridge is Lesser Town. The first bridge was a wooden one and was destroyed by a flood. The second bridge was built of stone (then called Judith Bridge), but also was destroyed by floods.  The 3^rd and present bridge, built in 1357, is of stone and concrete. The pedestrian part of it becomes an art gallery on certain days, and is a good place to find a nice souvenir painting. Charles‘s mother was Czech and there is a larger than life statue of him on the Old Town side. The bridge has been called the Charles Bridge since 1870.    

      Surrounding Charles Square is a Jesuit complex with five different architectural styles.  The tower gate was part of an 11-meter high fortification wall of the medieval city. Above the arch of the gate are three statues: one of Charles IV, one of St Vitus and one of Prince Wenceslas. Below the statues is a lion, the symbol of Bohemia.

      The gate on the Lesser Town side was finished a century later and  has two towers.

      New To The 14^th century Cathedral of Our Lady of Tyn is also on the square. It is a very different style and once you’ve seen it you’ll always remember it.  Established in 1348 it was built around Old Town that today is the industrial and commercial center of Prague with public buildings, banks and museums. The 1630 Wallenstein Palace now houses the Senate of the Czech Republic.

      The city is full of castles, palaces, and churches. There are too many for me to try to list here, and It would be hard to see them all, but each can make his own decision on which ones to visit.

    

PRAGUE

                         Czech Republic's Prized City

     Our hotel in Prague, in a quiet residential area, was in the process of restoration. Built in 1910, it was owned by the owner’s grandmother. When the Communists took over the house they allowed the lady to live in a small two room apartment. She died in 1985. When the country was free from the communists the grandson put in for repatriation and regained the home. He was restoring the home as time and money permitted. In the beginning he had as many employees as guests and quickly learning that was not profitable, he made changes and was progressing. It was a lovely home and by now I suspect he has finished the restoration.

      Our lectures, all by college professors, were excellent and so interesting that we didn’t mind sitting generally for three hours!  The Czech Republic consists of Bohemia, Monrovia and Silesia. The rest of what once was Czechoslovakia in now Slovakia.  The Czech Republic is landlocked by Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Poland. In spite of heavy deforestation, one-third of the country remains forest. However, in northern Bohemia the forest is damaged from acid rain from burning low grade brown coal and presents a problem for the country.

      Prague is a huge city and so our local guide split our sightseeing into four full half days. The city is built on seven hills and on both sides of the Vltava River. It is often referred to as the City of a Hundred Spires. The city of stone and limestone dates back to 965, and is now a UNESCO site.

     The city is a living museum and an architectural treasure. Although occupied by Germans during WW II, fortunately it received no major damage. The Gothic architecture dates to the Romans and the Baroque to the Hapsburg era. Prague, the country’s largest city is the center of cultural and intellectual life as well as the main commercial and industrial center. Prague University,1348, dates to Charles IV and is the oldest in central Europe. It is also a city of castles, manors, and museums.

     The Vltava River runs through the city in the shape of a question mark separating Mala Strana—Lesser Town on the west bank—from Stare Mesto—Old Town on the east bank..  Eighteen bridges span the river, the Charles Bridge being the most famous.

     Prague is a wonderful city, loaded with history and with much to see and do.

Much more to come.