What color is Kiev?

We are wrapping things up here in Kiev, leaving on Friday. We can't help but think about this in the context of other trips we've taken in the line of work. I was musing about "our places," thinking about what they would be if they were colors.

Inside a church; the red is so incredibly rich.

For example, Uganda is definitely green. Nothing as green as those banana leaves! And Ghana a rusty red - the Harmattan blowing that red dirt everywhere. Sarajevo? I might think of it as grey because of the blocky buildings with their pockmarked walls, but I don't. I think of the red, pink and peachy roses everywhere - and how those colors pop against the grey. So Sarajevo is rose colored.

And Kiev? When we first arrived the leaves were still on the trees and everything was yellow. And the bulb-domes are that shiny, shiny gilt, so you'd think Kiev's color would be gold. But now that we've been here awhile, I think Kiev is really like a bright kaleidoscope.

Podil's bright buildings

They love their colors! Down the street from us is a bright red huge office building, with the usual cream baroque scrolling decorations - it's one of many, some bright yellow, many a light blue, some greens too. This weekend we were wandering in the neighborhood Podil and climbed a knobby hill to look down on the brightest rooftops in some buildings tucked down into a ravine.

And at night on weekends, the streets are lit up with colorful lights in different shapes. At first we thought they were Christmas lights and figured we'd never see them lit. But we were wrong - they are just there for color. And they're so pretty and festive, they just make you smile.

 Khreshchatyk St., a pedestrian street on weekends

Of course, this shouldn't be a surprise. The traditional costumes are full of color, and there are flowers everywhere, not just painted on the souvenir trays and matryoshka dolls (though there too!).

A side street - they like their lights!

People are often carrying armloads of flowers they've bought from a flower market; there are huge flower markets in the "underpass malls" that are everywhere. And of course, the churches, being orthodox, are covered inside and out with colorful frescos and decorations. Every bare space is covered; little arches in towers have pictures of saints in them like Advent calendars.

Every nook and cranny ...

So when we think back on Kiev, we'll think golden domes, sure. But beyond that, we'll see in our mind's eye the brightness of a city that loves color.

Traditional wreath on non-traditional tourist