So I have been to many countries around the world. They have included such well developed Western countries as Finland, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, not to mention London, England. However, I was never impressed with any of them. They all seemed like major big cities that you could find in the U.S., all be it with very pretty buildings. Anyways, while in college I decided to do research on a country called Ukraine. My parents are Ukrainian, and I was raised to know my Ukrainian culture, but I never traveled to Ukraine. It was a soviet satellite, and was known for corrpution and danger. When they had the Orange Revolution though, I decided to get in touch with my roots and travel there. At school, I came up with a research proposal to study the role the diaspora played in the Orange Revolution, and to do complete the research, I had to go to Ukraine.
It was one of the best travel experiences in my life! The cities are gorgeous and the people were surprisingly hospitable, welcoming, and plain fun. I did not feel as if I were in danger at all. The country itself has so much to offer tourists. I traveled to every region. In the west is the very nationalistic city of Ukrainian, dubbed the gateway to Europe. The architecture was old fashioned and straight out of Vienna it seemed. The theater was amazing as well, and they had this great outdoor shopping mall. It was huge with soooooo much clothes! I then went even further west to the Zakarpaty. The whole area is known for its Bukovyna culture of wooden huts and beautifully embroidered costumes. I was up in the hills, which look like the Catskill Mountains and there was rock climbing, hiking, and traditional Hutsul parties. Now, in the center of Ukraine is the capital, Kyiv. Phenomenal! That is where the Orange Revolution occurred. I got to go to the plaza where thousands of people blocked the streets to protest over the corrupt presidential election. To be able to witness history like that...wow. In Kyiv there is also Pecherska Lavra, an underground monastery with hundreds of monks, bishops, etc buried. You can go on a tour to see their bodies which shcockingly are preserved. I saw actual flesh on some of the bones that are hundreds of years old! Kyiv also has fabulous operas, ballets, and theater, and awesome night clubs. Plus the guys and girls are really hot. There is even a beach in the city next to the Dnipro river called the Hydropark, the Golden Gate which is the remnants of the original city wall dating to early 800s, and the most magnificient churches to ever exist. Their style is so unique compared to the traditional Gothic, Roman, Greek churches. It is very Orthodox in origin, but the ceilings are painted blue and gold with tons of murals and those egg domes. In the East are lots of great cities too including Odessa, another big beach resort tyype city and the place where Esenstien shot Potemkin, and of course the Crimea!
I didn't even have family or friends to travel with, and I still enjoyed the experience. I also did my research before hand so I knew the local customs that my parents didn't even remember. Everyone should go to Ukraine. And just don't go to the capital but go everywhere. There is even this great place called the center of Europe that runs through Ukraine in the Zakarpaty. There is a small place where you can take pictures with the sign and a fake bear. And also check out all the old castles spread throughout Ukraine. They are phenomenal!
However, I must warn you. The travel books published on Ukraine are very bad, including Lonely Planet. If it hadn't had been for http://www.traveltoukraine.org
TraveltoUkraine
I never would have known where to go and what to see. Really plan your trip though them. They are also Ukrainian and know what they are talking about.
