Modes of transportation

We took the metro several times everyday.  It was quite handy, but also fairly stinky and always crowded.  Push your way in, grab something to hang on to (there was never anywhere to sit) and hang on or you'll go flying when it takes off.

The thing that pained me about the metro is that it is soooo far underground.  We took a 4 minute ride down the escalator everytime to get down to the trains.  I must have a mental illness or something, because everytime I'd get down there I'd start having a panic attack thinking how far underground we are, how dank the air must be, and how if there was an earthquake we would be buried so far underground.  I'd have to force myself to stop thinking about it and take deep breaths so I didn't let myself get too worked up.

The first and last day Ira's friend Sergei drove us to and from the airport and around town a bit.  More on him later.

(When we flew into Kiev the very first thing we wanted to see was the temple, so Sergei drove us out to it.  Here is Ira, Brian, and Sergei.)

We also rode on this funicular a couple of times.  It is in the middle of the city, and you take it to get down to the lower part of the hill.  It was cute, and surprisingly very practical.

We also took taxi's several times, as they were very cheap.  It was usually faster to walk or take the metro, though, than taxi.