Kiev (Ukrainian Київ/Kyjiw; Russian Киев/Kijew) is the capital and biggest city of the Ukraine as well as administrative centre of the Oblast Kiev, of which it is not a part. It is located at the Dnepr (Ukrainian Дніпро/Dnipro), which up to here is passable by smaller sea-going vessels and it has 2,700,000 inhabitants, as an urban agglomeration 3,015,108 (January 1st 2005).

The university was founded in 1834. Furthermore there are 99 academies, 25 museums, a planetarium, a theatre, botanical and zoological gardens. Because of its historial importance as the centre of the Kievan Rus, the city is often called the mother of all Russian cities. And because of its many churches and monasteries and its importance for the orthodox Christians since the middle ages Kiev is also called the Jerusalem of the north. After World War II Kiev was awarded the name “city of heroes”.

At 11 a.m. We finally arrived at Kiev main station, that is Lothar from Heidelberg, Nazar from Lviv, Alex from Kiev and myself. After four metro stations we arrived at our accommodation that was centrally located at the “Maidan Neshaleshnosti” square, in the middle of the “Chreschtschtik” avenue, where you also find the monument of independence. An insignificant three-storey building.
The lady from the accommodation service was already waiting for us. We filled in the rental contract, payed for five days in Kiev, approximately 50 USD per day, and started unpacking. I can only recommend our flat: 2 separate bathrooms, 2 sleeping rooms, a fully equipped kitchen and a balcony, where we spend quite some delightful hours.

Kiev is a fascinating big city. On one hand it shows spendor and glory of the Ukraine, that is bundled here: spaciously laid out boulevards, places with trick fountains, never seen before in Europe, illumination of the buildings in the Ukrainian national colours yellow and blue, elegant cafes and restaurants, gourmet temples and the orthodox churches with unbelievable richness and spendor.
On the other hand you see a lot of poor people, mainly old people, begging for money around every corner and trying to sell their last belongings. The metro is overcrowded almost during the whole day. There is an incredible lot to see.

• city tour 1 “wonder of nativeness”
• city tour 2 “wonder of harmony”
• city tour 3 “wonder of chestnuts”
• city tour 4 “wonder of realization”
• city tour 5 “common wonder”
• city tour 6 “wonder of reflection”

The opera house is yet another attraction and for a few euros you have pure pleasure on the best seats. I went to an opera performance with rural, national content. I have never heard of this opera before and I cannot tell you which national opera performance it was, as everything was in Russian and in cyrillic. But I was really impressed by the music, the costumes and the scenes.

Men: you can meet young men, but you must speak the language. This is true for all parts of the Ukraine. Everywhere you see the most beautiful men you can imagine. So many beautiful and attractive young people you will find in Europe only in Riga, Latvia (same language problems but not with the cyrillic alphabet).

Villa Mansland, Prague, was awarded three crowns, the highest number possible, by the Spartacus International Hotel & Restaurant Guide, in its 2nd, 3rd and 4th editions. It earned this distinction for being exclusively gay, for its pleasant atmosphere and for its very attractive appearance. It is the only hotel in the Czech Republic to have received three Spartacus crowns and it ranks among the small number of European hotels which have also received the top award.