Yesterday, we went to St Sophia’s Cathedral, and to the top of its bell tower. The view from the bell tower was amazing. We had a bird’s-eye view of the entire city. The original structure was built in 1037 by order of Kievan Rus Grand prince Yaraslov the Wise, whose sarcophagus is in the cathedral. The cathedral is adorned with the original 11th century frescoes and mosaics, which are absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures inside.
After we went to the cathedral, we took the Funicular, then the Metro, and then a shuttle bus until we arrived at a very American style mall with an ice rink, bowling alley, and movie theater. The girls had a great time ice-skating. At their food court, Kostya and I ate at Sbarro (spelled Cbappo in Russian, but still pronounced Sbarro) and Matt and the kids had McDonalds. The mall also contained a grocery store that was bigger than any market we have at home. It was about the size of a WalMart, but it was mostly groceries. I was so overwhelmed with all of the choices that we actually left without buying anything. Earlier this morning I was regretting the fact that we didn’t buy any pastries for breakfast. The baked goods are wonderful here, and you can buy at huge loaf of bread for 3 gryvna (about 60 cents).