A Quiet Sunday in Kharkov

Jason and I decided to go out for a walk this afternoon and explore a bit of Kharkov that we hadn't gotten to yet. The weather was cold, but clear, and the sidewalks are mostly snow-free. Oh- and we forgot to go to the bank, so we had no cash for any endeavor that required "nalichny" (cash payment)... like say, a restaurant or museum. Seriously, in line at the grocery store I denied ownership of a carton of orange juice because I couldn't afford it (when I saw the tally was more than our last 152 Grivna, "no, no, that's not my orange juice! pfft- don't be ridiculous!"). 

But hey! walking is free and so are the photos. Our first stop was the Holy Shroud Lavra (monastery). There was quite a line in the Cathedral- they had a holy icon on loan (it was the Holy Mother + a name that I did not recognize). In any case, people were snaked around the interior of the Cathedral, lined up to pray, kiss and light a candle in front of the icon.

We dodged around a bit, going from Cathedral to Cathedral- this area was apparently spared during the war. Interestingly, the riverbank has a nice walking path, but the neighborhood around it was dodgy. No one has come in and started building high-rise apartments with river views. 

    Holy Shroud Monastery

Store at the Monastery...

... selling icons, bags, and bottles of Holy Water

Assumption Cathedral

Thankfully- we captured that trash can for posterity. 

Jason in the park by the Monastery- decends to river with the added bonus of remarkably bad art for sale (you start feeling bad for the frames and canvas...) 

Kharkov River Walk

Annunciation Cathedral- gorgeous inside, dodgy outside.

Waiting for metro at the Istorichisky Muzei (Historical Museum) metro stop