My New Favorite Tryzub

Laura and I found this variation on the Ukrainian coat of arms while walking around Kiev searching out Laura's must see spots.  Here are my other posts about the tryzub.  

My Hat

This is the hat that  I've been wearing around Ukraine this winter.  I bought it at one of the tourist stands in Kiev and it has a small Ukrainian flag that looks like this on the reverse side.  I always wear it with the Ukrainian trident/descending falcon turned to the front and I've recently been wondering if by wearing the hat it screams that I'm a tourist or...

...that maybe I look something like the Ukrainian version of this.

I mostly take for granted that when people look at me they know I'm not from here and so I wonder if the hat maybe gives me more Ukrainian authenticity or maybe it does the reverse as a true Ukrainian never be caught dead in a hat bought at a tourist stand.  One thing is for certain though, no one probably cares either way.

The Tryzub

This symbol is called the tryzub and is the Ukrainian coat of arms.  The image is a trident on a blue shield and was adopted in 1992 after the fall of communism.  Another aspect of the trident image is that it can also be viewed as a falcon descending from the sky.  Once this was pointed out to me I always seem to view the image that way.