The Best Chocolate-y Birthday Party in Kiev

For me it was guilt-free chocolate for once and from all appearances the girls liked it too.  So this is how to have the best chocolate-y birthday party for tweens (and any other age in between 5 and 99) in Kiev.

You hold them by the hand and walk down with them on Andreevskiy Spusk.  You arrive at No 2, the Lviv Handmade Chocolate Cafe.

You are greeted in Ukrainian - have you noticed how they refuse to utter a word in Russian on this cafe's premises?  Must be business policy.  However, we came prepared.  We had called ahead the day before to make sure we'd get a Russian master and once we reminded them as we'd been asked to do, all went well.

 

You put on your special chef's apron and hat and then the fun begins.

The praline dough and cookie cutters.

Hard work.  The buttery chocolate melts in your warm hands fairly quickly, so you have to be fast.  You cut out cookies and then roll the truffle balls.

Then you decorate: dark chocolate, milk chocolate, coconut and almond sprinkles and what not, all the best from Lviv.

You get your very own chocolate basket that gets decorated, too.  You don't realise until the very last moment how much chocolate you have really made.  It is a lot.

 Then it's all beautifully wrapped and you even get your very own certificate!

Rest assured, there was quite a bit of sampling, too....

Then yummy hot chocolate, ready to go.  

The chocolate workshop can be arranged for Saturdays and Sundays for a group of 5-10 people at 200 UAH/person.  It lasts 90 minutes and is generally taught in Ukrainian.  We booked three weeks before the event and called the day before to request a Russian speaking 'master'.  

Make sure you leave in an air-conditioned car or else all your lovely work melts.

Rubbish Day

It does get collected promptly, no matter the weather, each week.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Picnic at the Cemetery

Today, the Sunday after Easter, is St Thomas Day in the Orthodox Calendar.  The day after tomorrow, the second Tuesday after Easter is the Orthodox version of All Souls Day, remembering the dead.  Its Russian name reflects beautifully the beliefs and values of the Christian - it is called Радоница, Radonitsa, The Day of Rejoicing, remembering the resurrection, focusing on the afterlife and what is to come.  The living celebrate the fact that their dead loved ones are now enjoying eternal life. 

I went to the a nearby cemetery today to witness for the first time the unique way Ukrainians (and Russians and Belorussians) celebrate on this day.  

Relatives and friends come together at the graveside for a feast.  Kulich (Easter cake), painted eggs and vodka are required, but from what I saw, anything goes.  There are priests coming and going, blessing graves, I hope it's not disrespectful to say that what I felt was a genuinely festive atmosphere.  

There are flowers and candles for sale on the pavement approaching the cemetery.

I placed some by the cross commemorating the victims of the Holodomor.

The cemetery is beautiful, with some impressive crosses and lots and lots of people all around.

beautiful crosses

For obvious reasons I could only use my iPhone, so my pictures of the actual picnics are not so good, but if you click on them to enlarge,  you'll see a lot more.

Most families, when they bury their dead, will not only have a headstone or cross made but will also build a small stone, iron or wooden table by the graveside.

There is a whole separate section in memory of the victims of WWII.  It's interesting to see how it's full of strolling families, explaining history to the young.  Heroes here are not forgotten, that is clear.

cookies ans sweets are left for the victims, too

Closer look at some of the graves, notice the eggs, cakes, sweets and even the vodka glass.

I posted on facebook this morning about 'the picnic at the cemetery' but, not surprisingly, elicited no response.

Now, having put that sentence into context,  it makes for a whole different story, no?

(I believe this will go on for two more days and if you have lots of time, I highly recommend Kiev's famous Baikove Cemetery).

Coffee, Kindle, Good Company and the Secrets of Shevchenko Park

Shevchenko Park has an interesting history.  On an empty parade ground, named after the lovely red Kyiv Taras Shevchenko National University building opposite,

origianally named St. Vladimir University, the colours of the building are inspired by the ed and black stripes of the St. Vladimir order's ribbon

it was opened to the public in 1889.   The Taras Shevchenko momument was only erected in 1939, replacing the original momunent of Tsar Nikolay I's that was removed by the Soviet regime.

This park is so much so one of the landmarks of Kiev that even though I have been there a dozen times, it has taken me more than a year to really walk through absorbing all the details that make it an exciting, buzzing place for all ages through all four three seasons of the year.

Husband and I had the day to ourselves, Baby well looked after at home, the girls at school on what was actually still a national holiday, yesterday's Victory Day being extended by the government into a long weekend,  Shevchenko Park with its free wi-fi was an obvious choice.  We could sit down for coffee, read, walk, catch up with work and each other all at the same time, out in the sun.

Coffee,  Kindle, great company and even some secrets revealed.

The fountain behind Panas restaurant, the shape of which resembles the Black Sea.

the Black Sea Fountain is listed among the secret places of Kiev

The Central Tourist Information Centre and as far as I am aware, the only place to rent bikes in Kiev.

Interesting, colourful benches.

Posers,

but look closer, poor Babushka is hurt (and yes, that is cellotape).

'Classic Grandmother' by Anna Kysyleva has been guarding the park since August 2011

Mobile cafe, pony rides, artesian water and the militsia.

Loveliness.

Women dressed up for the playground, so Ukrainian.

But the best for last, my favourite.  A dozen or so chess tables set up or already in active, serious games.

 And if you want to improve your skills, chess books, too.

 Should we have joined?  Are women allowed to?  What do you think?

Off to the Dacha We Go

A couple of months ago I overcame my shyness, took a deep breath and walked up to a group of Ukrainian women at school.  We've been here a year, it's high time I stopped whining about not making any local friends, time to search my soul and see how much of it was my fault, blahblahblah, sort of along those lines.    They were very friendly, the mums.    They happily chatted away with me for a few minutes, making me the centre of attention.... then slowly the conversation took its natural course.  They switched back to Ukrainian.

Good things do happen to those who patiently wait.****

On Saturday we were invited for the day to the Dacha of a Ukrainian friend, Husband's colleague.    A red letter day.

Second time in six years that we've been invited to a non-expat's home. 

(We don't get invited much, I am used to this.  It is awkward for co-workers to socialize with the boss.  I would love to invite Husband's colleagues once in a while but I am reluctant, too.  I don't want our home to be turned into functions one must attend.  I don't want to get into this topic much, either,  as it brings up too many feelings of past hurts and present unease.  But let me just say this.  We are nice people, good hosts and easy guests.  So it's just circumstantial, I hope.  If it gets lonely once in a while, I'll live with that).

It was an excellent day, the company of generous people, delicious food, a rare glimpse into the life of the quiet countryside, a rare cultural experience. 

It is a miracle that we found the place.

pretty random sign - NOT our host's

We were fed for hours, non-stop.  It is true what you read, Ukrainians throw lavish feasts.  We sat down for lunch, ate for two hours, the table was cleared.   As soon as all the dishes were washed, the table was laid again for what we thought was going to be coffee and cakes.... but alas, no, a second lunch was prepared.

Then came the cakes.  Our lovely host baked six of these, enough to share at the table and for everyone to take home. 

traditional Ukrainian Easter cake - Христос Воскресь

this is the first time I have tasted this second kind of traditional cake, made of almonds and cottage cheese

 We were not let home empty handed, they packed a basket for us with enough food for three days.

Refreshening country side.

 It was a good day.

***Before I'm misunderstood - I was not fishing for an invite just for language practice and interaction that would break the expat bubble's wall.