Cathedral, Park and Fruit Stand

On the way back to my apartment this afternoon I chanced to walk by the beautiful Volodymyrska Cathedral on Taras Schevchenko Blvd. Note the interesting way in which stars have been painted on the tops of some of the domes. And see the amazing lettering in the arch above the main doorway. Olga tells me that this ancient Cathedral was refurbished in about 2000. Then I walked through the Park, stopping to see the chess players on the South end, although there was such a large group clustered around one table that I couldn't see anything. Perhaps some Grandmaster was there locked in battle with a challenger. By late afternoon the heavy snowfall was still being dealt with. Notice the huge crew of snow shovelers clearing the walkway leading to the statute of Schevchenko. The public works officials apparently eschew mechanical devices like snow blowers or snow plows. If you click on the picture for enlargment, it looks like the poet is stoically observing the shovelers, his shoulders and front covered in a shawl of snow. The large crew was being marshalled and directed by an imperious looking woman wearing a long apron under her green service parka. Finally, I stopped at an outdoor fruit stand, and bought several oranges. Adjacent stands were offering women's fur coats, bolts of fabric, flowers and hand made craft items.