Arriving in Kiev

We have spent the last 2 days cruising up the Dnieper River. The river is covered in green blooming algae in places. Lots of industry along the river. Pollution is a concern. There are many people fishing in small pontoon boats, some with lawn chairs, no life jackets.

We visited Dnepropetrovsk a vital industrial centre of Ukraine. It is one of the key centres of nuclear arms and space industries of the former Soviet Union. Because of its military industry it was a locked city until 1991. Being flat the land has proven easy to utilise and thus explain why the city has been able to grow to such a great extent over the past 200 years.

Kremenchug another city we stopped at was founded in 1571 as a fortress. The inhabitants of the settlement took part in the peasant's revolts. Modern Kremenchug has dveloped important metallurgical and engineering industries that produce steel castings, heavy trucks, rolling stock, and harvesters. Iron Ore is mined in the vicinity. A large hydroelectric station was built in 1959, thus a large reservoir was created. This is one of the 5 locks that we went through.

As we approach Kiev we see the golden domes and towers of the Cave Monastery. It was founded in the 11th century. The caves served as subterranean tombs for the monks. The monastery is divided into 2 parts. The Upper Lavra on the mountain and the Lower Lavra consisting of the so called Near and Far Caves. The Mongolian Tartar attack did a lot of damage to the monastery. The mummies of the monks are laid out in the passages of the caves.

Kiev is one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe and has preseved its charm over the centures. The magnificient palaces, churches and monasteries stool on small grounds in contrast to the small timber houses. Nowadays there are wide, traffic packed roads and huge new house complexes right next to the historically significant ruins. The Dnieper river divides the city in half. On the right shore is the old Kiev.