Hi guys! I hope all of you are doing great after all the celebrations and gradually get back into work schedules. I know that many people prefer to plan their summer trips in advance, especially if you plan flying to another continent or visit some islands. So today I would like to tell you something about traveling to Ukraine, in case you have chosen this country for your vacations or if you wonder what it might be like to visit a country like Ukraine. For making my blog more credible I will use my boyfriend's experience in Ukraine. He spent a month in my country and we did a little bit of traveling during this time too.
First of all, I often hear this question from people: Is it safe to go to Ukraine? The answer is YES. Though you might have heard about the problems we have in the east of our country, our soldiers are doing a really great job and the rest of the country is stable and safe. Although we have such a nasty neighbor that likes to stir its nasty fingers into other countries' business as we do to the east of us we try to support our army, keep our spirits high and love our country. And also we are a very hospitable nation that is always ready to welcome its friends.
So having that big question out our way let's get into another one )) The language. Most Ukrainians are bilingual, but, unfortunately, English is not their second language. Of course, you will run into people that are pretty fluent, but a lot of Ukrainians even if they can speak some English are very shy when it comes to languages. I have been in this weird situation myself when my boyfriend and I went to meet my best friend whom I taught English for 3 years prior to that (since I am an English teacher) and of course I boasted to him about the fact that she had made quite a progress while I had been tutoring her. Well, it all ended up with me translating back and forth all evening long. When I talked to my friend some days later and asked her why she didn't try to practice her English she said that she was afraid of making mistakes. This explanation I hear quite often from my students. Though when they travel abroad and have no other language options they miraculously start speaking English. So you would wonder how to communicate while you're in Ukraine? I would suggest being persistent in using English supported by what I call "show and tell" game. The most popular cities among foreign tourists are Kyiv (our capital city), Lviv in the west and Odesa in the south on the Black Sea coast. They are tourist oriented and you can expect most of their hotels to have English speaking staff, as for restaurants, they might have a menu in English but it does not always mean they will have English-speaking personnel. We had an experience in one of the steakhouses in Kyiv when we were given a menu in English on my request but the waiter didn't speak English so I had to translate our order, that's when "show and tell" can help you out - just point in the menu what you want to order. In Lviv waiters tried to use their English when they heard that we talk English to each other. That was very nice and my boyfriend mentioned it as an advantage of the city.
Next big thing is eating out. In order to understand a new culture better, try their food. Ukrainian food is extremely tasty and nourishing. I know that many people google before coming to a country what food is a must for tasting. I can tell you as a Ukrainian that in case of my country this list can be endless. I would definitely recommend you to try borshch (red beetroot soup with lots of other veggies), varenyky (dumplings with different kinds of stuffing, my personal preferences are the ones with potato, sour kraut, cherries, or blueberries), Chicken Kyiv (that's a meat dish similar to chicken cordon bleu), crepe with all possible kinds of stuffing and all kinds of pastries, cakes, and bread. Our desserts are amazing and I can guarantee that once you've tried them you will miss them. If you visit Ukraine during summer I would also suggest getting seasonal vegetables, fruits, and berries. We grow strawberries, blueberries, apples, pears, grapes, watermelons, melons, plums, peaches, raspberries and a lot more. Most restaurants have seasonal menus and you can enjoy all this variety as part of your dessert. I know it will sound strange but I would also recommend you to go to McDonald's. Yup, your eyes don't betray you, I really meant McDonald's and here is why. Ukrainian McDonald's uses produce grown in Ukraine, so the taste is much better than in the US. Secondly, we have international days menu, for example, Italian menu, where you can get real ciabatta bread instead of a regular bun and really tasty salads, or Georgian menu (I mean Georgia in the Caucasus), that has extremely tasty flatbreads and meat patties cooked with traditional Georgian spices (believe me when it gets to meat and spices Georgians know what they are doing). In addition, coffee in our McDonald's is of pretty acceptable quality (usually they brew Jacob's Monarch). I would also insist on going to McDonald's if you travel to Odesa, for example, and you have to wait somewhere for a couple of hours before checking in into your hotel and grab bite to eat. Instead of roaming around and wondering about the food quality, you can get something familiar right outside the train station in case you don't fly in. There are restaurants in Ukraine that try to imitate traditional eateries from other countries. We went to a restaurant that positioned itself as an American diner, but when they brought my boyfriend's order and he saw a miniature burger on a big plate and three french fries in a shot glass (for some unknown reason) he smiled. Well, after eating out in a real American diner a couple of times as of today, I smile too when I remember that place in Kyiv. To my greatest pride and joy, the Ukrainian cuisine diner Puzata Khata (Chubby House if to translate) scored pretty high according to my boyfriend and believe me, he is a visual eater and has a really good palate. It might be not very easy to make your way through it since it is organized as a food service counter, but the variety of dishes is great as well as their quality. You can find restaurants of this chain in most of the big Ukrainian cities. Kyiv has a bunch of them located in very convenient touristic spots. I could tell you here a lot more but it's high time to move to the next big question.
The people. If you are an American or you have traveled to the States you know that people are pretty friendly and even if they don't know you they will still say "Morning!" or "How are you doing?" to you in a supermarket, bank, gas station, bookshop or even in the street passing you by. That's why you might think that Ukrainians are unfriendly and gloomy people when you first see them. Don't worry! You will get used to it ))) We are not unfriendly or gloomy, but we don't greet people we don't know, we don't smile to strangers in the street or have small talks. I don't know whether it's bad or good, but that's how we are. Don't take it personally. I guess it's part of our post soviet heritage when people didn't trust even their own family members not mentioning strangers. I hope that the more Ukrainians travel the more open they will become with time.
Transportation. Ukrainians rely on public transport. We have a pretty developed system of railroads, bus connection, and airports. If you plan to come to Ukraine and rent a car I would suggest doing it in case you have been to Ukraine before and know peculiarities of driving in the country as well as feel comfortable communicating with police. I'm not trying to say that you will run into a lot of troubles, I'm just trying to say that after visiting a couple of countries I've come to a conclusion that driving habits are very different and I, personally, would need time to get comfortable driving in another country especially if I don't speak the language. Over recent years, train connection between many big cities has improved dramatically, Ukrainian trains are always on schedule and train stations are usually located close to city centers. I am not the biggest fan of buses but in order to get to more remote locations like Ukrainian Carpathians (a chain of mountains in western Ukraine), you will need to figure out how our bus system works.
At this point, you already think that there is a lot of "bla-bla-bla" going on in today's blog. Well, I decided to keep the kicker for the end )) What for to bother and travel to Ukraine? To have some food? To experience the Ukrainian train system? To go to Ukrainian McDonald's? Well, I can tell you that Ukraine is bigger than that and I want to add here a couple of photos that might interest you or even inspire to come to Ukraine!
Enjoy the photos and behave!
Kamyanets-Podilskyi Fortress, 14th century (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamianets-Podilskyi_Castle)
Pyatnytska (St. Paraskeva) church, Chernihiv, 12th century
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyatnytska_Church_(Chernihiv))
Lubart's castle, Lutsk, 14th century
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lubart's_Castle)
Palanok, Mukacheve, 14th century
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palanok_Castle)
Gunpowder Tower, Lviv, 16th century
Lviv, the view from the City Hall tower. Since 1998 the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) lists Lviv's historic center as part of "World Heritage
St. Sophia Bell Tower, Kyiv.
St. Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv, 11th century.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Sophia%27s_Cathedral,_Kiev)
St. Andrew's Church, Kyiv, 18th century
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Andrew%27s_Church,_Kiev)
Khotyn Fortress, Khotyn, 14th century
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khotyn_Fortress)
Ukrainian Carpathians (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Beskids_and_the_Ukrainian_Carpathians)
All rights reserved.
First of all, I often hear this question from people: Is it safe to go to Ukraine? The answer is YES. Though you might have heard about the problems we have in the east of our country, our soldiers are doing a really great job and the rest of the country is stable and safe. Although we have such a nasty neighbor that likes to stir its nasty fingers into other countries' business as we do to the east of us we try to support our army, keep our spirits high and love our country. And also we are a very hospitable nation that is always ready to welcome its friends.
So having that big question out our way let's get into another one )) The language. Most Ukrainians are bilingual, but, unfortunately, English is not their second language. Of course, you will run into people that are pretty fluent, but a lot of Ukrainians even if they can speak some English are very shy when it comes to languages. I have been in this weird situation myself when my boyfriend and I went to meet my best friend whom I taught English for 3 years prior to that (since I am an English teacher) and of course I boasted to him about the fact that she had made quite a progress while I had been tutoring her. Well, it all ended up with me translating back and forth all evening long. When I talked to my friend some days later and asked her why she didn't try to practice her English she said that she was afraid of making mistakes. This explanation I hear quite often from my students. Though when they travel abroad and have no other language options they miraculously start speaking English. So you would wonder how to communicate while you're in Ukraine? I would suggest being persistent in using English supported by what I call "show and tell" game. The most popular cities among foreign tourists are Kyiv (our capital city), Lviv in the west and Odesa in the south on the Black Sea coast. They are tourist oriented and you can expect most of their hotels to have English speaking staff, as for restaurants, they might have a menu in English but it does not always mean they will have English-speaking personnel. We had an experience in one of the steakhouses in Kyiv when we were given a menu in English on my request but the waiter didn't speak English so I had to translate our order, that's when "show and tell" can help you out - just point in the menu what you want to order. In Lviv waiters tried to use their English when they heard that we talk English to each other. That was very nice and my boyfriend mentioned it as an advantage of the city.
Next big thing is eating out. In order to understand a new culture better, try their food. Ukrainian food is extremely tasty and nourishing. I know that many people google before coming to a country what food is a must for tasting. I can tell you as a Ukrainian that in case of my country this list can be endless. I would definitely recommend you to try borshch (red beetroot soup with lots of other veggies), varenyky (dumplings with different kinds of stuffing, my personal preferences are the ones with potato, sour kraut, cherries, or blueberries), Chicken Kyiv (that's a meat dish similar to chicken cordon bleu), crepe with all possible kinds of stuffing and all kinds of pastries, cakes, and bread. Our desserts are amazing and I can guarantee that once you've tried them you will miss them. If you visit Ukraine during summer I would also suggest getting seasonal vegetables, fruits, and berries. We grow strawberries, blueberries, apples, pears, grapes, watermelons, melons, plums, peaches, raspberries and a lot more. Most restaurants have seasonal menus and you can enjoy all this variety as part of your dessert. I know it will sound strange but I would also recommend you to go to McDonald's. Yup, your eyes don't betray you, I really meant McDonald's and here is why. Ukrainian McDonald's uses produce grown in Ukraine, so the taste is much better than in the US. Secondly, we have international days menu, for example, Italian menu, where you can get real ciabatta bread instead of a regular bun and really tasty salads, or Georgian menu (I mean Georgia in the Caucasus), that has extremely tasty flatbreads and meat patties cooked with traditional Georgian spices (believe me when it gets to meat and spices Georgians know what they are doing). In addition, coffee in our McDonald's is of pretty acceptable quality (usually they brew Jacob's Monarch). I would also insist on going to McDonald's if you travel to Odesa, for example, and you have to wait somewhere for a couple of hours before checking in into your hotel and grab bite to eat. Instead of roaming around and wondering about the food quality, you can get something familiar right outside the train station in case you don't fly in. There are restaurants in Ukraine that try to imitate traditional eateries from other countries. We went to a restaurant that positioned itself as an American diner, but when they brought my boyfriend's order and he saw a miniature burger on a big plate and three french fries in a shot glass (for some unknown reason) he smiled. Well, after eating out in a real American diner a couple of times as of today, I smile too when I remember that place in Kyiv. To my greatest pride and joy, the Ukrainian cuisine diner Puzata Khata (Chubby House if to translate) scored pretty high according to my boyfriend and believe me, he is a visual eater and has a really good palate. It might be not very easy to make your way through it since it is organized as a food service counter, but the variety of dishes is great as well as their quality. You can find restaurants of this chain in most of the big Ukrainian cities. Kyiv has a bunch of them located in very convenient touristic spots. I could tell you here a lot more but it's high time to move to the next big question.
The people. If you are an American or you have traveled to the States you know that people are pretty friendly and even if they don't know you they will still say "Morning!" or "How are you doing?" to you in a supermarket, bank, gas station, bookshop or even in the street passing you by. That's why you might think that Ukrainians are unfriendly and gloomy people when you first see them. Don't worry! You will get used to it ))) We are not unfriendly or gloomy, but we don't greet people we don't know, we don't smile to strangers in the street or have small talks. I don't know whether it's bad or good, but that's how we are. Don't take it personally. I guess it's part of our post soviet heritage when people didn't trust even their own family members not mentioning strangers. I hope that the more Ukrainians travel the more open they will become with time.
Transportation. Ukrainians rely on public transport. We have a pretty developed system of railroads, bus connection, and airports. If you plan to come to Ukraine and rent a car I would suggest doing it in case you have been to Ukraine before and know peculiarities of driving in the country as well as feel comfortable communicating with police. I'm not trying to say that you will run into a lot of troubles, I'm just trying to say that after visiting a couple of countries I've come to a conclusion that driving habits are very different and I, personally, would need time to get comfortable driving in another country especially if I don't speak the language. Over recent years, train connection between many big cities has improved dramatically, Ukrainian trains are always on schedule and train stations are usually located close to city centers. I am not the biggest fan of buses but in order to get to more remote locations like Ukrainian Carpathians (a chain of mountains in western Ukraine), you will need to figure out how our bus system works.
At this point, you already think that there is a lot of "bla-bla-bla" going on in today's blog. Well, I decided to keep the kicker for the end )) What for to bother and travel to Ukraine? To have some food? To experience the Ukrainian train system? To go to Ukrainian McDonald's? Well, I can tell you that Ukraine is bigger than that and I want to add here a couple of photos that might interest you or even inspire to come to Ukraine!
Enjoy the photos and behave!
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyatnytska_Church_(Chernihiv))
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lubart's_Castle)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palanok_Castle)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Sophia%27s_Cathedral,_Kiev)
St. Andrew's Church, Kyiv, 18th century
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Andrew%27s_Church,_Kiev)
Khotyn Fortress, Khotyn, 14th century
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khotyn_Fortress)
Ukrainian Carpathians (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Beskids_and_the_Ukrainian_Carpathians)
All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment