Church Bells

St. Volodymyr Cathedral, Kyiv, Ukraine

So, I've been lying low since Sunday, mostly because my back and hips were incredibly painful.  I even took ibuprofen round the clock which is very unlike me.  On Tuesday, I decided I had to go out.  I was getting sick of the apartment and I needed to food shop.  I walked up to Glossary Organic cafe for lunch.  It did my heart good to be in familiar surroundings with friends who seem always glad to see me.

On Wednesday, I had lunch with my friend, Anna, who works for a German Foundation, for gender issues and women's rights.  She just changed jobs and is happy with her new work.  We ate at a Ukrainian cafeteria.  I had whole wheat berries boiled with meat and onions.  It doesn't sound very good, I admit, and is kind of heavy and plain food, but I really liked it.  I also had a bowl of Solyanka which is a kind of soup with various kinds of meat and sausage.  Very tasty.  I drank a glass of compote with my lunch.  Compote, in Ukraine, is water in which fruit has been boiled.  It is strained and served as a light and refreshing drink.  Very popular.  After we ate we walked around the corner to Glossary to have a coffee and continue our visit until it was time for Anna to go back to work.  I hung out a while longer and read and visited with Jenia and Chef Sergei.

Today, Thursday, I puttered around the apartment in the morning and did some laundry.  I also read and drank a fair amount of coffee (instant, I'm almost ashamed to say).  I headed out around 2 to have lunch at Glossary.  I noticed a large police presence on the street and asked Jenia what was going on.  He said that the President of Poland was arriving for a State Visit and would visit the Golden Gate which is across the street from the restaurant.

Around 5, I walked over to the Cathedral of St. Volodymyr. The picture is at the top of this post.  The bell ringers were up in the tower, vigorously ringing the bells announcing the start of a service.  Today the service would be Great Vespers for the Feast of the Nativity of Mary which is celebrated tomorrow.  Everyone was waiting outside the church and the clergy and servers in their vestments were waiting at the entrance of the church.  I never did find out what they were waiting for because at 5:15, the head priest must have decided that their expected dignitary wasn't coming.  Everyone entered the church for the beginning of the service.   I was fascinated listening to the bells and watching the bell ringers create the sounds.   Click here for a clip of the bells ringing.  I recorded it on my iPod.