"Palette of Colours" Ukraine by Romanian_Bat

Ukraine Travel Guide: 6,998 reviews and 25,880 photos

Music Man: Stepan Scherbak, bandurist and kobzar

Paint and Music

Ukraine is a land of a unique diversity, where old cities, secluded villages, busy harbours, fancy seaside resorts, superb palaces, so beautiful churches and, most of all, warm and hospitable people join to create a unique experience. It is a land (I prefer this term instead of "country") where life is grabbed when it bumps into you, where one buys a salted, dry fish when the old woman comes to one's wagon window, for there won't be any other similar offer for hours. It is a land where one either accepts life as it is or stays at home, a land of live and let live, where one has to know the answer before asking the question.

Bugging Generosity

The Last Couple, L'viv

I am offered a cup of vodka, a piece of polenta-filled chicken roast, the beginning of a conversation where my English mixed with Serbian and Slavic-originating Romanian words meets the other's Ukrainean. Beyond everything and anything, these are things which bring up to the surface the superb nature of these people, their so natural, so appealing, so sincere profile. They won't come again if I refuse, but refusing them would make me only see places and get stamps in my passport, which is sad and useless.

Contrasting Events

Paint from Heavens: Mikhailovska Church, Kiev

Beyond anything else, one of the happenings I shall never forget about Ukraine took place in L'viv, some years ago. First, I was almost robbed by a gang, however their human nature got to the surface like oil in water, as they eventually let me go. And the following day, not far from that place, an old man came and started talking to me, just out of the blue, telling me it is unhealthy to sit on the bare ground. Things that tell me more about a country than any superb church or palace (which Ukraine anyway has plenty of).

Find more details on my trips to Ukraine in the travelogues down here.

Pros and Cons

Pros:A so diverse country, which means far more than a coastline and some former Polish or Hungarian cities or towns.
In a nutshell:A human experience which is more and more rare in Europe.

Last visit to Ukraine: Sep 2003
Intro Updated Jan 12, 2005
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Travelogues (4)

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Comments (5)

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craic Oct 24, 2007 at 7:25 AM

marvellously interesting page - thank yu so much
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Dialing Apr 2, 2005 at 7:22 AM

Hej that was quite a journey at the diverse Ukrainian places, and especially al over Crimea! Very interesting to read about your impressions! So, "what's next"?! :) Bud'mo! Anna
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zaffaran Feb 6, 2005 at 1:33 PM

A really GREAT page- thank you for sharing - detailed information and personal comments. :-))
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catnl Feb 3, 2005 at 11:18 PM

fantastic info and so well written ill come back for more
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lotharlerch Feb 23, 2004 at 10:24 PM

A great writing - honestly, I prefer in VT the pages with good texts to the ones with almost only pictures. I shall come back to your pages again!