Traces of Kievan Rus in Boyarka?

My husband and I will be spending three weeks in Ukraine this August. So many questions, but this one seems most important right now. Because Vikings!

We'll spend about eight days in and around Kiev.* I've just learned that nearby Boyarka (Бояка) boasts some traces of a Kievan Rus settlement, including an old cemetery. Can anyone shed some light on what and where these traces are, particularly the location of that cemetery?

*I know someone is bound to say that eight days is too much for Kiev, so let me explain: my husband's a contractor with a brutal work schedule in a nasty part of the world. This vacation is as much for him as it is for me, and the man needs some time to rest and relax.

Accroding to Ukrainian Wikipedia, http://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%91%D0%BE%D1%8F%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%B0, the old cemetary is next to St Michael's church.

If you want to search in Ukrainian, look for "Боярка цвинтар" (your transcription misses a р). There's several pictures in google images.

BTW you're not crazy for spending 8 days in Kyiv. Lovely city, great place to relax. Don't miss the hydropark for a cooling swim in the river.

Interesting question indeed! I'll try to find some info and let you know if so. Where do you intend to spend rest of your vacation? Ukraine has so many beautiful places, worth to visit. You should see as much as possible! I wish you a very interesting and successful trip! Enjoy!

I did miss a p in my transliteration. Blame it on a complete lack of fluency in Ukrainian. Thank you for the link and search suggestions; I'm going to get right on it.

I think I could happily spend our entire three-week visit in and around Kiev. I'm almost disappointed to have only eight days. Why must Ukraine be both vast and interesting?

Yudjin, thank you!

We're also planning to visit Odessa and Crimea. I'd like to see Lutsk, as well. If it were up to me, we'd drive all over the country and stop at anything that looks interesting, but that wouldn't be very restful for the husband-man. :-)

Do you live in Ukraine? If so, what is YOUR favorite thing to see?

I think I could happily spend our entire three-week visit in and around Kiev

Don't do it :) You'll miss the most part of nice things of the country.

Do you live in Ukraine? If so, what is YOUR favorite thing to see?

As to me, I live here and MY favorite things are

1) Lviv (architecture, spirit, people)
2) the Carpathians (nature, people)
3) the southern coast of the Crimea (nature, but not people :)

The are of course many other nice places, but mostly local (towns, parks).

Hello again!
I agree with Andrew - he has pointed the best parts of Ukraine. I like whole Western Ukraine, fortresses and castles, mountains and rivers, sunrises and sunsets. I can't pick one or two towns: Lviv, Lutsk, Uzhgorod, Kamenets Podilsky.... small, charming towns like Yaremche, Kosiv... All of them are very much worth to visit.
I like Crimea very much - this is really special peninsula. Not only because the nature, mountains, Black sea but and deep and rich history started at least 2600 years ago. Greek ancient settlements, cave towns, places of Crimean war and WW2, tragic history of Crimean Tatars. There is much to see and to learn.
I've traveled around Ukraine pretty much and my strong conclusion is: the best thing in Ukraine are people. No matter where you are you can meet very friendly, helpful and hospitable people. Perhaps Anrew had a bad experience on Southern shore of Crimea, probably in Yalta. I can understand him: there are you can meet "special kind" of people, like a landlord of an apartment for rent.... But this is subject for separate discussion. :-)

Thank you both for your responses. =0)

We've decided to skip Crimea on this visit--we're going in August and neither of us wants to deal with the high-season headaches--and focus on western Ukraine, instead. I think we're going to go Kyiv->Lutsk->Carpathians->Kyiv, unless I can talk him into adding Lviv to the list.

I study geology, so missing the Carpathians is unthinkable. I hate to miss Crimea, but we can always go back at a better time of year. Andrew, do you have any particular favorite places in Carpathia?

I wouldn't mind hearing more about these "special kind of people" one can meet in Crimea.

Btw, Lobin, you may look at my photoalbums of the Carpathians, to appreciate the beauty of the mountains:

http://www.andrius.org.ua/photo/carpathians-may-2007

http://www.andrius.org.ua/photo/carpathians-june-2009

Btw, Lobin, you may look at my photoalbums of the Carpathians, to appreciate the beauty of the mountains:

Staggering! Thanks for sharing them. They're half Colombian Andes and half my own beloved Appalachians. I can't wait to see them for myself.

I see you climbed Hoverla. I really, really want to do that, but I have horrible knees. I just barely managed 17 km of switchbacks in northern California. How difficult was your hike? Can it be done in one day?

How difficult was your hike? Can it be done in one day?

Well, I am a professional hiker so it wasn't difficult at all for me :) And yes, a climbing to Hoverla can be done in 1 day for sure, but you need to be in good shape. The startpoint of climbing is usually a tour-base Zaroslyak (about 1300 m height) and the height of Hoverla is 2061 m, so nothing impossible.