Back to Kiev in 2016

The last time I was in Kiev, a revolution was happening; this was in 2014 as I was getting ready to start my first semester abroad in Berlin. This time, the city is a lot more calm, and I am here completing a marketing internship at Dream Hostel before beginning my last semester of undergrad at the Vienna University of Economics and Business as an exchange student (this is the largest university focusing on business and economics in Europe!)

I found my internship by emailing hostels I found through booking websites, asking if they would be interested in having a 4th year marketing student do some pro-bono work for them for several months. Dream Hostel (picture on the left) was the first to respond and I am very excited to spend the next month and a half working with their marketing manager, Elena! She takes English classes every morning, so we alternate speaking English and Russian. So far, I have read over their business and marketing strategy plans, and will be conducting market research for them as they are currently expanding to several new cities!
Dream Hostel has two Kiev locations, but I will be working mainly from the one on Andryivsky Descent, a winding hill with vendors selling homemade souvenirs (including American sport team matryoshki or nesting dolls) . This is in the Podil district of Kiev, one of the oldest ones in the city. It is full of charming old buildings and small restaurants and theaters and even has an incline!




The days I am not working, I go sight seeing with my friend Josh, but we spend the majority of the time in cafes staying warm and using the internet (not breaking any stereotypes here, Kiev winters are brutally cold).

Countless articles have dubbed a post-Maidan Kiev as a "hipster-haven" complete with street art, fancy cocktail bars, and young trendsetters with beards and Nikes--these articles are kind of right. "Hipster bar kiev,""hipster cafe kiev," and other similar Google searches got us exhaustive lists of trendy options for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Currently, the USD to UAH is about 25/1, meaning we can get a huge meal including drinks for under $10 a person; typically, we spend from $3-$5 a meal.

A lot of places we find online are already closed down for good, but we've gone to really cool places such as Dogs & Tails, a bar specializing in hot dogs and cocktails and Alchemist Bar, where we were seated in a secret room only accessible through a hidden door in a bookcase with speakeasy style drinks.