My friends and I headed to the City Park along the banks of the Dnipro River in the early evening for a free classical concert which for a reason unknown to us (not speaking much Ukrainian) was canceled. Nevertheless, it was a lovely evening for a stroll. Along the river bank, one park flowed into the next in unbroken succession. We rapidly ate cold ice cream bars before they melted at a stand near the pastel blue Mariinsky Palace (named for Tsar Alexander II's wife in the 1750s) in Mariinsky Park. There were pleasant paths for skateboarding and skating; a vendor selling his Bach CDs; a couple posing for wedding pictures; and others just enjoying an evening stroll or view over the river. Near the empty amphitheater where the concert was supposed to be, there were old men playing an intense, timed game of chess.
We crossed the pedestrian "Lover's Bridge" where couples attach padlocks to the iron work railing to seal their commitment and write graffiti love messages. I think the city discourages it, but who can stop true love? We saw their soccer team practicing in Dynamo Stadium; a large kissable frog; folks filling bottles of "good water" at the park's free spigots. Some people believe the park water has more minerals, though tests have shown it's like the other city water of Kyiv. (I stuck to the bottled kind.) But when we arrived at the famous and fanciful State Academic Puppet Theater, I stumbled upon my favorite scene: a beautiful young girl in ballet shoes lost in her fantasy with George and the Dragon. Becoming aware that she was no longer alone, she slipped silently away.
The next night, we enjoyed an after- dinner stroll through Shevchenko Park. Taras Shevchenko was born into a serf family in 1814, but his talent in painting got him into a university in St. Petersburg. He later returned to the Ukraine to make a series of paintings about Ukrainian life and became involved with other intellectuals, seeking freedom and liberation for the serfs. He is considered the father of Ukrainian literature and influenced the development of the Ukrainian language through his poetry. He was imprisoned by the Tsar for his seditious and inflammatory poems and died in 1861 just before the the serfs were emancipated. 
I was surprised to find that his sedate statue not only overlooks his garden in Kyiv, but that a statue of him as a more passionate young man watches over Dupont Circle in Washington, DC. Traveling around Kyiv, you can't miss the prestigious Shevchenko University in its bright red building. The park across from the university had brightly colored benches and charming plant arrangements in the shapes of animals. There were ponies for the kids to ride and pavilions for water and refreshments. What wonderful park places for the end of the day!
Click Link Below for Slideshow:
Kyiv: Summer Parks
Ukrainian Bandura Players, "Bukovenian Youth Dance," Songs and Dances of Ukraine
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