View from the Botanic Gardens - Kiev Ukraine

This is one of the classic views in all of Kiev. This vantage point is in the "New Botanic Gardens" more formally called the M. M. Hryshko National Botanical Garden. The structures in the center foreground are churches of the Vydubichi monastery. The buildings in the distance is the "Left Bank" of Kiev and the river is the Dnieper. And running right through the middle is the Darnitskiy railway bridge. Well, I guess they had to put that bridge somewhere, but why here? 😄 And recently they added a second bridge here for auto traffic too. 😞

OMG! It's a Clown Car!

I wish I had gotten another photo of this car, one with the clown in all his glory. But there were a few people milling around, and I wanted to get a quick shot before someone got in the way. Besides, I didn't even see the clown until a couple of days later.

At the Kiev Flower Show

I'm always a bit concerned about posting photos too quickly, because, "what if I run out of photos to post?" But going through my archives recently, I discovered (no surprise) that I wouldn't run out of things to post any time soon. In fact, I could post something every day for over two years before I run out of photos. Like that could possibly happen in the days of digital photography and smartphones. And hopefully I'd be taking new ones during those two years too. So, time to do some serious posting!

This one recently became the background image for my profile, so it seems a good candidate to start with. Although for some reason it look pretty lousy in my profile. Maybe there are special rules for profile images?

Chernobyl Reactor #4

The infamous Chernobyl reactor #4, the one that blew it's top the morning of April 26, 1986.

Six years ago today, I overnighted, yes legally, in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Photo from April 27, 2012. Most trips are day trips only.

Dormition Cathedral - Kiev Pechersk Lavra

A rear view of the Dormition Cathedral at the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. First established in the year 1051. This site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Rodina Mat - Mother Motherland

The somewhat redundantly named (at least when translated to English) centerpiece of the Musuem of the Second World War in Ukraine. This was image #3 taken on my Canon 400D (aka the Rebel XTi) overall, with some modifications. On the original photo, the sunset was off near the right of the photo. Using some Photoshop magic, I centered it behind the base of the statue. Since this was done quite a few years ago, I can't actually remember how I did it!

Currently the 18th tallest statue in the world. For comparison, the Statue of Liberty is #42.

Held in the statue’s left hand is a shield with the State Emblem of the Soviet Union. For a small fee, you can go up to the height of the shield for a breathtaking view of the Kyiv skyline. Below the towering statue in its base is a Memorial hall that displays the names of 11,600 soldiers and over 200 workers on the home-front, honored during the war with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mother-motherland

Kiev Water Museum

The Kiev Water Museum, also known as the Water Information Center, is an educational facility occupying one of Kiev's early water towers. The tower was built in 1876 and can be found in Khreshchaty Park, near central Kiev.

House of the Weeping Widow - Kiev

The name of the house derives from the fact that when it rains, the woman on the façade appears to be crying. Taken on a cloudy day (no rain, so I couldn't see the woman crying), so I replaced the sky to make the photo more interesting. I hope!