Kyiv, Podil. Part 2 ~ The Old Bridge, Street Art and War

This post was supposed to be published yesterday, i.e. on Wednesday. But yesterday's night was quite alarming in Kyiv. At night, our air defense system worked loudly, and this time the debris fell within a kilometer of my house. Two night guards were killed. All day people in our area were discussing the nightly news - in stores, pharmacies, and just on the street. So I just couldn't focus and finish my post. I am publishing it today with my apologize.

☀️ So. #WednesdayWalk. I chose last Sunday for my outing. Not the best time for a walk probably, as there were three temperature records reported on Sunday and Monday (27th and 28th Aug). Officially, the maximum temperature reached +35.7 ℃, and as you know, it is measured in the shade. So, you can imagine the situation in the concrete trap of the city, whose architects never bothered how to deal with high temperatures. But in my world there is no good time. Or better to say - any time is good.

The oldest bridge viaduct

I announced searching of Kyiv's oldest bridge in my previous post, so I'll start from it.

I have come across mentions and references to it several times over the past few years. And never once did the author of the material indicate its location, only the name of the area. Well, you know that kind of blogger, they make stories about the subject giving you lots of details except the location, because... Who knows why.

Hints about the location of the bridge sent us to Podil, to the street that is located in the lowlands and where the river once flowed. The bridge was located somewhere up on the old side street that is not currently on the map because it is all overgrown with bushes. Sounds like a real quest. Considering I hadn't been able to get to another cool location the day before, I was determined to go all the way to solve this mystery.

There were two of us - me and my husband. Our first guess was unsuccessful. We didn't find the bridge, but we chanced upon an amazing place in the green thicket of overgrown hills.

Behind the abandoned buildings was something that looked like a garage. Everything was painted with graffiti. The wicket was open, so we entered. No one was visible inside. This small courtyard (or how to call it) looks really cool!

There was another wicket at the far end, and we went there. And there was something totally different...

I don't know what to call it. A secret hiding place from prying eyes. Surrounded by thick trees and bushes. I immediately remembered several children's stories, and games of pirates or robbers.

It didn't look like a place where homeless people gather. No junk, nothing broken. Grill and a covered gazebo. A square surrounded by a semicircle of wooden benches. A separate "stand" and rows of benches for listeners, and a kind of a fireplace.

At the other end of the square (or a glade) were metal stairs that led somewhere high up. Well, since we've gone this far, let's move on.

There was not even a hint of a breeze in the hot atmosphere, but we climbed to the end. It turned out that the path leads to the courtyards of houses located on the hill. That's why we came back.

Okay, the next try was more like a challenge than a quest. From the information we could find there was another hint - an old distillery. The bridge was built just to facilitate access to the distillery. At that time, it produced 600,000 buckets of vodka per year. So we started looking for the building of this distillery. As mentioned, it is in a neglected state.

We had to climb the stairs again, this time much steeper and higher. On the way up, I didn't want to linger for the photo, because the area was completely wild, overgrown and deserted, and besides, we were accompanied by a large black dog that growled from time to time. That's why I took a picture of the stairs from above.

Climbing the hill, we quickly found the factory building.

But the bridge was nowhere to be seen. We went around the perimeter of the factory and finally asked a girl who was coming out of a neighboring house. A local, she showed us the way.

Eventually, the location was quite far from the street where we started and where we dropped our car. And not next to the factory. It turned out that this is actually a different district, and we have been here dozens of times, passing literally at a distance of 10 meters. Damn bloggers.

The bridge was overgrown with trees, and to be sure, someone paved the passage with old tires and poured a pile of sand.

The bridge was built in the 19th century. Its spans are still made of bricks that are more than 100 years old. What else? Height 4m, width 10m. Add to that a lot of sweat and swollen feet.

Phew! Mission completed!

My verdict - not a big deal. We were pleased with ourselves, but that hidden mysterious shelter I liked the most.

Now it's time to hunt a few recent street art. It gonna be much easier.

For the Sake of Freedom

The idea of this mural was to show gratefulness to our Armed Forces, our fighters for freedom. And to remind us to whom we owe the life we have on our land. The creators of the street art are Dmytro Kasyanyuk and Maryan Motruk, both are part of the Paint Hunters team. "This is our gratitude to the defenders", - Dmytro said.

Street art was created in April 2023. Authors state that the drawing is made with special facade paints, and will retain its colors for many years. I must admit that the place was chosen very well.[source}

The day will end
and the sun will rise.
Birds will fly,
and you will feel it,
no matter what the price.
And the heart will beat more often,
and you will whisper
Ukraine.

---

Zaporizhian Avenger

Another impressive drawing appeared recently - it was opened on June 6th this year. It is dedicated to the National Guard of Ukraine. But it is named after a real person, 19 y.o. guy Roman Glomba (Zaporozhian Avenger), and painted to convey his story through art. Street art depicts the Zaporozhian Avenger stringing downed enemy planes onto a needle.

"A young guy who, at the age of 19, went to military service and since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia shot down 7 enemy planes with the Igla MANPADS and deservedly received the star of the Hero of Ukraine.". [source].

He is actually the youngest person awarded the title Hero of Ukraine.

There is also a QR code on the mural, through which money is collected for strike and reconnaissance drones for the Ukrainian "Offensive Guard". The idea was initiated by the Charity Hub team and the leader of the band Antitila Taras Topolya. Artists Vitaly GideOne and Olena Noina helped to implement it.

---

Posthumous mural of the Ukrainian hockey player

The next mural is located on the wall of the house opposite. It is dedicated to the soldier who died - Oleksandr Khmil.

In the first days of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Oleksandr joined the Kyiv Territorial Defense, and then, as a soldier of the Armed Forces, performed combat missions in hot spots in other regions of Ukraine. He died on May 12, 2023 near Bakhmut.💔 [source]

---

Support

Mural "Support" is devoted to the volunteers. It was created in June 2023 by GoGlobal in cooperation with the communication agency ETER, the author is Andriy Kovtun.

The mural is a picture of a couple frozen in each other's arms. Their bodies are covered by the embrace of many more hands, which symbolize all the charitable foundations and public organizations that have been "embracing" the front lines since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

The sketch of the mural "Support" is based on the work of the famous Canadian artist and illustrator Eric Pause, which has a very symbolic title "Without you there is no me": in the same way, without mutual help and support from the front and the rear, the country would not exist. Eric actively supports Ukraine and gladly volunteered to provide one of his popular works to be embodied as a mural in Kyiv.[source]

Partisans

Another drawing is on the next building. This is a flash mob of the movement of resistance "Yellow Ribbon".

In Ukraine, there has always been a very powerful partisan movement of resistance to both the Soviet authorities and the German occupiers. First in 1918-1922. With the beginning of WW II, it was restored in the form of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. After the victory over Nazism, when the Soviet regime was restored on the lands of Ukraine, the UIA did not stop the struggle until 1954.

A few years ago, I was struck by the story of the last member of the UIA (ukr. УПА), Ilya Oberyshyn. He did not have a Soviet passport and was in hiding until the declaration of Independence of Ukraine in 1991!😲 All his friends died in 1951, since then he wandered and hid in the villages or in the thickets of the forest in the west of Ukraine.

"They smelled that I was alive, and did not stop searching until the last days of the KGB. But when I heard the results of the Ukrainian referendum on December 3, 1991, in the first broadcast of the news on the radio, I realized that it was not their great strength, but me, alone, exhausted, who won. And my comrades who gave their lives for Ukraine won..." (Quotations from the interview of Ilya Oberyshin to the newspaper "Nezavisimost" on May 9, 1997. Translated).

46 years!... A clear proof that Russians did not defeat us then, and they will not defeat us now. Amen!

Well, that's all. I thank you all for your time and attention ❤️

Lots of gratitude and respect to @tattoodjay for hosting this great challenge 🚶‍♀🚶

Take care, and see you around!

@zirochka

^{All photos used in my posts are taken and owned by myself. Nobody can use them without my consent.
The cover image is made using Canva.}