Dec. 22 – Kyiv, Ukraine

“Experience Kyiv”, the city map proclaimed. Inside, plenty of colour ads promoting a Ukrainian natural resource, all trying to one-up each other:

“Massage”
“24 h massage”
“Erotyc [sic] massage. All girls talk in English.”
“24 h massage. Only the best Ukrainian lady. We speak English.”
“Professional & erotik [sic] massage. All girls are experts with certificates.”

A certification process?! I’m sure that has been made into a film.

But I had a more pressing, non-euphemistic appetite. For breakfast, it would have been quick and easy for me to step into the McDonald’s or Subway – they were both in my line of sight from the hotel entrance. But I was not that desperate yet, so I began to walk around the Maidan Nezalezhosti. On this immense square, six roads and three metro stations converge. There is a gilded column, a profusion of Christmas lights, a subterranean shopping mall from which a giant soccer ball protrudes. Ukraine and Poland will co-host the 2012 Euro Football Championship.

I kept going and got to a grocery store and grabbed some bread, salami and raisins. I walked the aisles, while through the audio system Michael Bolton’s agonized voice gave me incentive to leave. My groceries were for the journey ahead, so I returned to the broad boulevard looking for a place to eat. At random, I turned onto a laneway.

Food is important to the traveler. No sustenance, no legs. No legs, no walk. No walk, no see. But it’s not just the calories. If it is tasty and you don’t feel ripped off, it can be memorable. I happened upon a large eatery called “Ukrainski Stravi”. Inside, traditional Ukrainian décor and staff dressed in costume. I liked that it didn’t feel like a tourist gimmick. The other patrons around me were locals – families, workers on break, students. You take a plastic tray, go to the buffet and (in my case) point at an item and get if from the server. Beet salad, borscht, fresh garlic bread, pierogies with sour cream. There were also eggs, sausages, shashliki and vegetables in a variety of combinations. And when I returned in the evening; stew, bread, more pierogies and another pastry. Turned out the evening dumplings were sweet. It was awesome, and astonishingly cheap ($7) meal. The beer ($1.25) was produced on-site.

Kyiv is worth a longer stay, but I keep rolling today before noon. If things work out, I will report from a new country tomorrow.