ukraine: bila tserkva

Early in the week, my friend marina sent a message asking if I had any interest in going to a town called bila Tserkva...I'd never been there, so I thought it sounded like fun...we set up when and where to meet, which was easy...
Bila Tserkva is just over an hour from kyiv...we took a marshrutka to get there, which wasn't super comfortable, but it was direct, and easy...it dropped us off in the 'city centre' which didn't feel at all like a city centre...there was no platz in that area, it was just a spot on the street...we did see a couple places from which to catch local transport...

Marina gave me a quick lesson on the town, of which I remember two major facts...one, there are approximately 300,000 people in the city, and two, it is the largest city in the kyiv region (except for kyiv, of course)...I'm pretty sure she told me who founded the city, and when, as well, but I only remembered those facts after looking them up upon returning home...
We walked toward the closest church, which seemed to be hosting a wedding as we got close...marina translated the sign on the door, which made me laugh...turn off your mobile, women should cover their hair, and no lipstick should be worn...(the first time I've ever seen that instruction on a sign!!)

We looked around, then walked down the street toward another church...we thought this was the 'white church' from which the modern town name came...it is now a museum with a 5 griven entry fee...according to all the signs, organ concerts take place here regularly...after walking around, marina asked the lady if historical information was posted anywhere...the lady gestured in the direction of the far wall, on which we could see old photos and a long description in Ukrainian...there used to be a fortress right nearby, but it isn't there anymore, at least not as a fortress...

Marina did some translating for me, telling me when the church was built (which is when I learned this wasn't the white church we'd originally thought)...fun to learn a little :)
We walked across a small bridge going over the street, straight over to another white church...in front of the church was a statue of prince yaroslav, the guy who founded the town...this church was pretty small, and not open...nevertheless, we were pretty sure this was the real white church...i wish it had been open (though i didn't have a head scarf and probably wouldn't have been able to go inside)...

We continued walking, and turned up the Main street of town...after not too long, we spotted a place to have lunch...nothing fancy, just a normal buffet type place, but we were both hungry...
After eating we continued walking...our next stop was into a market...I like walking through local markets...we walked through the area with fresh produce, eggs, and one stall with spices...
Back out on the main street marina made the observation that there were a lot of stores and offices dedicated to kids...apparently kids have a good life in bila Tserkva...

Eventually we made it to the end of the street...the end of the street was at the entrance gates of a GIANT park...named Alexandria, after the wife of the guy who built the park...talk about a romantic gesture! (And not cheap)...
The entry fee was only 10 griven, which is less than a dollar...my guidebook had a map, but it ended up being rather confusing, so we just wandered...statues at various points, many seemed totally out of place...do I really want to see a statue of a nude guy in the middle of a park? i think i read somewhere there are 16 statues throughout the park?

We made sure to find several points of interest: the echo pavilion, Chinese bridge, the ruins, the column of sorrow, and the rotunda...there was very little 'proper' landscaping in the park, I loved it...instead, there were lots of trees, open spaces, trails wide and narrow...we ran into one couple taking wedding photos...(the bottom of her dress was not clean)...
Eventually we decided to leave the park...after exiting we found the closest bus stop, and hopped into #1, which took us back to the 'city centre'...

from there we found the bus station, and joined the queue of people going to kyiv...there were quite a few people, but marshrutka a came very few minutes, so everything went quickly...we were dropped in a different place in kyiv from where we started our day, but that didn't matter much...
I'd love to I back to the park in bila Tserkva at a different time of year, just to see the differences :) ...with so many trees, the park is probably a rainbow of colour in fall...