By Walter Kish

Fall has come to Kyiv.  The leaves on the famed chestnut trees that line Khreshchatyk St. are turning a rusty brown.  Strolling beneath these trees invokes a uniquely Kyivan autumnal peril – one is likely to get “beaned” by falling chestnuts seeking to fulfill their natural biological destiny.

This year, early October has blessed Kyiv with particularly fine weather, with plenty of sun and temperatures in the high teens.  The streets, squares and parks throng with people enjoying the remaining warmth before winter sets in.  Sweaters and jackets may now be more in evidence, but the spirit of the locals is still very much imbued with thoughts of summer.

Winter is typically not kind to Kyiv. For some four months, the sun virtually disappears, and the city becomes enveloped in a cold, grey mantle that affects the spirit as much as the natural environment. That is why Kyivans hold on to summer for as long as they can, reveling in the great outdoors and filling the outdoor cafes and bistros.  Even as the days and evenings grow colder, many of these outdoor establishments seek to prolong the patio season by supplying their al fresco patrons with blankets and installing terrace heaters.

Even the Maidan, Kyiv’s central square, is reluctant to give up its role as the city’s primary entertainment venue.  During the summer, almost every weekend saw a stage set up on the square and some sort of concert or performance there.  Ukraine’s booming retailers of beer, booze, cell phones and various luxury goods strove all summer to upstage each other in sponsoring free musical extravaganzas. 

This has continued into September and October.  A couple of weeks ago, one of Ukraine’s leading cell phone companies staged a giant Bryan Adams concert, which attracted at least 150,000 fans. This past weekend, one of its competitors sponsored a day-long musical festival that featured some of the most talented Ukrainian musicians and rock groups.

One sign of approaching winter is the rush by many young people to get married while the various rites and rituals can still be carried out under God’s blue sky.  St. Michael’s Cathedral and its square are traditional destinations for newlyweds who come to lay flowers at the feet of St. Olha. Last weekend, I counted no fewer than 18 wedding parties in the space of less than half an hour, more than I saw on any given weekend during the summer.

The same is true at the famous monument of Kiy, Schek, Khoriv and their sister Lebed astride a Viking boat on the banks of the Dnipro River.  These past few weekends, the foot of this monument has been carpeted with wedding bouquets, while nearby trash bins have overflowed with empty champagne bottles.

One difference I have noticed this year from the previous one is a surprising extension to the tourist season.  Last year, by the time October rolled around, there were few foreign tourists to be seen.  Over the past several weeks, however, I have noted significant numbers of Europeans continuing to take in the tourist attractions of Kyiv.

Regular streams of buses disgorge large groups of Poles, Germans and even Japanese at the Dnipro and Kozatskiy hotels. Wandering down St. Andrew’s Uzviz past the seemingly unending line of kiosks selling Ukrainian arts, crafts and chintzy souvenirs, one can still frequently hear the sounds of English, Spanish, Italian and Arabic tongues.  It seems the world has finally discovered Ukraine as a tourist destination, and it is now squarely on the sightseeing calendar in the fall, with its off-season rates.

So, for a few more weeks, at least, until the first snowflakes fall and the skies turn grey for the duration of the Central Ukrainian winter, I will continue to enjoy what the locals here call Babyne Lito or Grandmother’s Summer.