Kiev From the 14th Floor: TOO COLD

Apparently, it is about -13C-ish right now. According to the weather report, it is supposed to stay that cold until at least this coming weekend, so this week will be a week of doing things inside. I have no plans to leave my apartment today until I go to work at 4, which kind of saddens me. Oh well, I will continue to stare out my window and hope for warm weather (I've heard the rumor of an early spring!), and remember warmer days.
A few weeks ago, myself and a few friends went out on the first really sunny day since I'd been in Ukraine. We took the metro a few stops, got out, and walked along a street that goes along the top of a ridge that looks over the Dniepr River. We walked through a park and looked at a few memorials to the victims of Ukrainian famine, and ended up at the base of the the big Kiev statue, 'Rodina Maat,' which means 'Native Mother.' She is basically a symbol of the motherland, and was erected after WWII to demonstrate the strength and fortitude of the Soviet people. We also stopped at a huge lavra, or monastery, on the way back. This monastery is famous as the "Monastery of the Caves," because you can walk deep underground through tiny little claustrophobic tunnels and see dead priest-saints laid to rest there. After visiting the caves, we stopped for a bite to eat at a monastery kitchen, where we could actually see the ladies who worked there making borsch from scratch in huge pots! Of course, it was delicious.