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Cycling In Ukraine

Victoria — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 07:50:10 +0000

If you are planning on spending some time in Ukraine, you may want to consider forgoing the use of a car and hiring a bicycle instead. Cycling has become a major recreational activity in the country, especially in the rural areas, and now mountain biking has taken off as a fun and enjoyable pastime. Additionally, fancy performance bicycles have popped up in the cities as more and more people are veering away from public transportation and owning their own vehicle. In Ukraine, you will find and can purchase for yourself bicycles from Giant, Specialized, Scott, Kona, and even Univega.

Be forewarned that if you are going to cycle in the city, there is little to no equipments or biking lanes designed for you. Some cities are beginning to accommodate cyclists more, but it is a slow moving effort so biking in the big cities and dealing with heavy traffic, car exhausts and just somewhat rude conditions, should be done at your own risk.

There are many parks and wild areas in Kiev that is bicycle friendly is you are looking for a way to get out and exercise and the rural areas of the country are perfect for a day trip with your bikes. Most bicycle rental firms will rent out bicycles for multiple days at a time.

You can find more information on cycling in Ukraine and other great activities at TryUkraine.com

Record Label Seasons Of Mist Signs Slavonic Band

Victoria — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 05:02:15 +0000

Record label Seasons of Mist, who tend to sign up and coming bands in Europe, has just announced that they have picked up Slavonic heathen metal band Drudkh. The band is best known for incorporating content about nature mysticism, philosophy, season, Ukrainian mythology, legends, and history into their lyrics. They are a folk-influenced and cinematic sounding band and some of their song lyrics are actually derived from the work of 19^th and 20^th century poets from Ukraine.

The band usually does not allow interviews or use the Internet as a promotional platform. The label has graciously accepted the bands policy of ‘no photos, no interviews, no website, no gigs’ policy and the only reason the information about Season of Mist picking up the band on its label was to silence false rumors going around that the band members have extreme political views. Anyone who has heard the band’s music is aware that these rumors are completely off base and do not represent the band, or their unique music. The band praises people’s individualism, self-improvement and estrangement from modern values but their political views are far from extreme.

Drudkh’s new album is due to be release early 2009. The title has not yet been decided. You can catch more about Drudkh’s at blackmetalowesyou.blogspot.com

Chess Match Begins With Fourth Seeded Ukrainian

Victoria — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 04:16:20 +0000

The Bilbao Grand Slam of chess began September 1, 2008, and features world champion Viswanathan Anand facing off with number four seeded Ukrainian Vassily Ivanchuk in the first round. This match will be a test for the world champion Anand as the World Championship match next month will be against Vladimir Kramnik of Russia some time in October.

Ivanchuk is at the top of his game as he recently won the Tal memorial tournament, beating Kramnik. According to the live unofficial chess rankings, Ivanchuk is actually second in points behind Anand who has 2798 points to Ivanchuk’s 2787. Ivanchuk went on to also win a blitz tournament that was observed and enjoyed by guests that included well known celebrities.

Ivanchuk is tied with Magnus Carlesen of Norway, both men standing with 2787 points in the live rankings. Both men are looking to overthrow Anand and take the number position before the grand slam event is over with. Chess aficionados are expecting the Bilbao Grand Slam to be filled with interesting matched with these three men involved. Ivanchuk is considered a Grandmaster of the game, but has yet to win the World Chess Championship, the premier match of the chess playing world.

Beautiful Saint Sophia Cathedral

Victoria — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 03:31:21 +0000

If you only travel to one place in Ukraine, travel to Kiev, and take a look through the multitudes of different buildings and architectural marvels there. One of the simply most breathtaking places is Saint Sophia Cathedral, which, for nothing else, simply hums with spirituality and beauty. Regardless of how your religious beliefs lie, this place is a truly amazing – if a little pricy – architectural marvel.

Much of the original artwork is still exposed and available for the public to view, and what isn’t is being carefully restored and preserved by different restorers. At the risk of making some of these areas seem a little spotty, the ability to see truly original pieces is incredibly moving. You need to make sure that you hire an English guide beforehand, but the actual trip is incredibly moving, making this a must-see spot in Kiev, as well as the rest of Ukraine.

National Philharmonic Hall: A must see sight in the Ukraine

Victoria — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 01:26:19 +0000

There is so much to see and do in the Ukraine but one of the things that you must make time to do is to visit the National Philharmonic Hall. This is a beautiful theater that has several showings every week for you are viewing pleasure.

The National Philharmonic Society in the Ukraine is one of the oldest and best kept theaters in the country of the Ukraine. The roots of this remarkable theater can be traced all the way back to 1863. The National Philharmonic Society building was awarded the pristine statues of an architectural monument. This theater is of a very great importance not only to the musical life and history of the Ukraine but also to the world because of their amazing orchestras and fabulous performances.

One visit to The National Philharmonic of Ukraine will leave you breathless and in awe of not only the beauty of the building, the amazing interior but also from the fabulous performance. This is one site that you must see while you are visiting the Ukraine. You will take the memories with you always.

Ethnic Music, Fun, Games, Food and even Childcare!

Victoria — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 21:36:32 +0000

The Pidkamin ethno festival is happening this coming weekend July 25-27 in the Pidkamin village in the Lviv region. This great festival is just another weekend that will bring about a fun filled dose of Ukrainian fun. You will see live folk music set into the breath taking hills of the Lviv region.

The organizers of this festival are also behind several other festivals that have happened or will happen this summer. These organizers promise that the Pidkamin ethno festival will not only offer the beautiful Ukrainian music but will also hold true to the Ukrainian spirit which will be felt emanating from the stage.

Don’t have a babysitter to watch the children while you attend the festival? No problem! Bring the little ones with you and drop them off at the OpenBabyGarden which will provide child care along with offering the children music and fairy tales that will be told by the well known Ukrainian story teller, Sashko Limyk.

This is a festival you wont want to miss. For more information you can call (8067) 265-7630

Odessa’s Archaeological Museum

Victoria — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 20:58:31 +0000

You don’t have to be Indiana Jones to enjoy a good romp through the Odessa Archaeological Museum. Located in the Ukrainian city of Odessa, the entrance to the museum is marked by a significant statue of Laocoon, although this statue is not as large as the one of Mother Russia standing guard over the war museum in Kiev. That’s a big statue. Anyway, the museum is one of the oldest in Ukraine and any student of archaeology would want to visit it.

Founded in 1825, the museum was developed by the Odessa Society of antiquity and history. This group had been given the right to excavate in the Northern Black Sea Region and over the years they have collected over 160,000 exhibit worth of artifacts. It is one of the largest collections of Northern Black Sea ancient history and it contains relics from primitive and classical culture, relics from ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, and a large, valuable collection of coins and medals. The artifacts from Egypt, Greece, and Rome are a good indication of how far the leaders of these three nations took their ancient conquering of other countries to heart in their own bids for world domination.

Ukraine Born Bond Girl Afraid Of Heights

Victoria — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 17:20:56 +0000

All of James Bond’s women are long legged and sexy, powerhouses of their own, and usually just what the famous British detective likes. Unafraid to dive into adventures with the dashing 007, they tend to not have any weaknesses. Olga Kurylenko, the newest Bond Girl in the new movie ‘Quantum of Solace’ may appear tough as nails on the screen, but is in actuality scared to death of heights. The former Ukrainian model told the press that she was scared while filming some of the movie, but that this did it anyway and worked through her fear.

“You have to do it, you have to jump off the roof and there’s no choice. I was so proud of myself when I did it. It was a big thing for me and thereafter it was like ‘wow, I did it!’ You feel such a sense of achievement,” she told the press after filming a harrowing for the actress scene for the movie. She also likes her character, Camille, who she describes as ‘very strong and very determined’. Olga goes as far as comparing her to a female version or James Bond and enjoyed learning how to fight, shoot, fly, and strip a gun for her role.

You can get even more information about the happenings in Ukraine by visiting My Life in Ukraine

Riding The Ukrainian Subway

Victoria — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 16:35:52 +0000

When traveling in Kiev, Ukraine, you will find that you have a variety of options when it comes to public transportation. The Ukraine Subway/Metro System is the best option, providing you with the fastest, most convenient, and affordable way to get around most of the city. There are still places in Kiev that the subway does not run and you will be required to take additional transportation to your final destination.

In order to ride the subway/metro system in the city you will need a pass or metro tokens. The tokens cost 0.50 to 0.60 Hryvna and can be purchased from the cashier or from a wall mounted dispenser with a few Hryvna bills. Passes are purchased from the cashier and they can be good for 15 days to 30 days depending on the pass you purchase. The full month passes are good from the 22^nd of the month to the 10^th of the next month. The half passes are good from the 15^th of the month to the 2^nd of the next month.

There are three lines operating in the subway/metro system of Kiev. The red line state, named Sviatoshynas’ko-Brovars’ka, was opened in the autumn of 1960 after eleven years of construction work. It is 62km in length, has 44 stations, 3 interchanges and 613 metro cars. It is open from 6am to midnight, give or take twenty-five minutes. The Dnipropetrovs’k Metro line was open in 1995. It has 6 stations over 7.8 km of track with trains running every seven to seventeen minutes. It opens at 5:30 am and shuts down and 11pm. Finally the Kharkiv Metro line was opened in 1975 and has 35.0 km of track with 28 stations. 323 cars run from 5am to midnight daily.

The Kryvyi Rih Metro is a metrotram system with two routes: Kiltseve-Maiden Pratsi, and Kilseve-Zarichna with a branch at Zhovtneva. It was opened in 1986 and has 11 stations, 4 of which is underground and one of which is closed due to lack of passengers. It runs 17.7km and 6.8km of it is completely underground.

You can find out more about Ukrainian travel at little miss moi’s blog

Ukraine President’s Daughter Runway Fashion Model

Victoria — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 15:21:03 +0000

Even though Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko is having some major issues with his government, his daughter seems to be doing well in her new career as a runway fashion model. It seems that Vitalina Yushchenko was spotted working the runway at a Milan show by someone from Russia’s Izvestia newspaper in a showing of some of the newest summer fashions to hit the streets. The collection of clothing was by Ukrainian designer Aina Gase.

This isn’t the first time the president’s daughter has showed up in popular fashion media either. Her modeling portfolio also includes photographs for Russian Vogue and she used to be a pop singer before turning hip fashionista.

Vitalina, 27, is the mother of two and she’s the eldest child of the president from a previous marriage. It seems that both she and her brother Andriy, 23, are, as the media puts it, ‘trying to cash in on their father’s position as president’. They both lead high profile lives and the society pages chronicle their lives including where they live and who they are friends with to the point that another paparazzi nightmare like Diana’s could possibly happen. Yushchenko, like any good father in the public eye has reacted to the media’s scrutiny of his kids and feels they are trying to simply sell newspapers.