After first moving to Kyiv some years back, I had to discover things on my own, without any guidance. This included CDs and DVDs, as I am a big fan of music and films.
Soon I found the places that catered to my preferences at that time. In music it was rock, jazz and classics, so I quickly became a regular at Arka CD store on Prorizna Street.
With movies it was harder because the assortment of licensed films in any central shops was very small and my only hope to find what I needed was the Petrivka market, where I also often bought all the needed software for my PC. However, with the appearance of the Eurostar chain, my priorities changed as well.
Walking around the city, you have surely seen Eurostar stores. These “treasure caves” of CDs and DVDs under a shining signboard in the form of a star are located in all big shopping centers – Metrograd, Globus, Arena, Promenada and Gorodok on Petrivka. Eurostar’s prices may be a little higher in comparison to the market on Petrivka or other small shops, but the choice is always wide and the quality is better. I have never come across a defected DVD in any of the shops of the chain.
Naturally, the prices are the same at all Eurostar stores, yet not all shops of the chain offer the same assortment. For example, the one in Arena is dedicated solely to music and is also called a Music Salon. The shop is combined with a cafe, allowing customers to sit over teas and coffees and listen to their chosen albums before buying them. Besides, at Music Salon you can purchase vinyl records as well and of course, its choice of music is very wide. But to shop for films, you’ll have to go to another place.
I finally discovered the ideal CD/DVD store in the far end of Metrograd next to Besarabskiy market. To get to the shop, walk through the so called 12th quarter till you get to the small area that houses Yapona Khata sushi bar on one side, American Nails beauty salon on the other, and in the middle – Eurostar, with its transparent walls exposing the entire variety of music and video-related products. The place simply lures you to come in and check it out.
Once you enter the shop, on your right you will see a stand with toys, followed by rows of shelves filled with various utilities for PCs, computer games, Play Stations, teaching programs, and electronic literature. You can buy paper books on psychology and programming, city guides, maps, stationery, and notebooks at the cashier’s desk as well as original keyboards, mouses, earphones, discs, and colorful cases for your CDs and DVDs.
Turning to explore its selection of movies, you’ll find plenty of new Ukrainian and foreign films, Soviet classics, animation, and arthouse movies. While it is possible to find plenty of latest releases, the selection of old Hollywood classics is rather small. The prices run from Hr 40 to Hr 180 on average, the most expensive being the collections of films by legendary directors, such as Ingmar Bergman, Kim Ki-duk or Roman Polanski. Notwithstanding the high prices, the DVDs quickly sell out.
Audio CDs are in wider abundance then anything else here. Practically the whole room on your left is dedicated to them; the rest of the assortment is given to VHS and audio tapes. What I like about Eurostar is that you can easily find all the albums of such iconic performers as The Beatles or David Bowie, as well as new names like The Dresden Dolls and Yonderboi. Eurostar has the widest collection of jazz, blues, and classical music – my head starts spinning every time I look through the shelves. Sometimes, it seems like the shop assistants themselves don’t know what exactly they have on their stands. My friend, the craziest music fan I have ever met, always manages to dig up something rare at this Eurostar – some record that no one else knows about and which has been lying in the store for ages. Though CDs usually cost around Hr 100-150, their quality speaks for itself.
Eurostar (Metrograd (entrance from Baseyna), 247-5656).
