Pereyaslav Khmelnytsky
We decided to take a day trip yesterday because it was such a beautiful day. Today is Orthodox Easter followed by May Day on Thursday, so the city has cleared out! Traffic is non existent and I think it will be for another week.
Pereyaslav Khmelnytsky is about 50 miles east of Kiev. Historically it was an important city in the Kievan Rus. In 1654, Bogdan Khmelnytsky, a Ukrainian Cossack who protected Ukraine from the Poles, signed a treaty in Pereyaslav Khmelnytsky swearing Ukraine's allegiance to Russia. And the rest is history!
While there we visited the town center and later the architectural museum. The town was pretty empty since it is Easter weekend. The museum is smaller than the one in Kiev, but a lot more interesting.
A memorial to soldiers killed in World War II
We returned to Kiev (thankfully we made it alive) a different way than we went. We discovered that we spent the day about 15 miles from Ms. Olga's summer house! We will go out to her summer house in a couple of weeks. The drive back was horrifying. Traffic was pretty steady in heading east and west. I am amazed we didn't see any accidents. The people out driving were passing other cars, trucks and buses without giving too much thought to safety. We did see one accident when we got back on the main highway. Apparently a car was trying to turn into a gas station and took the turn too fast. They ended up crashing into the guard rail. The passengers and driver got out of the car and sat by the side of the car waiting for the insurance person to show up. While they sat, the drank beer and had a good laugh. Makes you wonder if the beer was the cause of the accident.
I followed this guy for a long time--more to protect him from other drivers than anything else. He was a brave man driving on the mail road with no helmet!
I continue to wait for the lilacs to bloom!
Pereyaslav Khmelnytsky is about 50 miles east of Kiev. Historically it was an important city in the Kievan Rus. In 1654, Bogdan Khmelnytsky, a Ukrainian Cossack who protected Ukraine from the Poles, signed a treaty in Pereyaslav Khmelnytsky swearing Ukraine's allegiance to Russia. And the rest is history!
While there we visited the town center and later the architectural museum. The town was pretty empty since it is Easter weekend. The museum is smaller than the one in Kiev, but a lot more interesting.
A memorial to soldiers killed in World War II
We returned to Kiev (thankfully we made it alive) a different way than we went. We discovered that we spent the day about 15 miles from Ms. Olga's summer house! We will go out to her summer house in a couple of weeks. The drive back was horrifying. Traffic was pretty steady in heading east and west. I am amazed we didn't see any accidents. The people out driving were passing other cars, trucks and buses without giving too much thought to safety. We did see one accident when we got back on the main highway. Apparently a car was trying to turn into a gas station and took the turn too fast. They ended up crashing into the guard rail. The passengers and driver got out of the car and sat by the side of the car waiting for the insurance person to show up. While they sat, the drank beer and had a good laugh. Makes you wonder if the beer was the cause of the accident.
I followed this guy for a long time--more to protect him from other drivers than anything else. He was a brave man driving on the mail road with no helmet!
I continue to wait for the lilacs to bloom!
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