People may find that travelling in and out of the Ukraine will become easier over the next few months. The country is currently working with the European Union in an effort to easing visa restrictions for Ukrainian citizens who with to travel within the 27 nation bloc that makes up the European Union. The catalyst for this discussion? The upcoming soccer championships that are to take place in co-hosting countries Poland and Ukraine. The country’s Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ogryzko believes that the EU and Ukraine can definitely reach an agreement prior to the first soccer game.
The biggest obstacle on getting the visa-free travel pact put in place will depend on Ukraine. The government will have to bring their level of secure passport issuing and tighter border security up to European Union standards before the final travel pact can be signed. EU justice and home affairs commissioner Jacques Barrot, is also encouraging the government of Ukraine to ensure that they have an independent judiciary in place and to start fighting the illegal migration and human trafficking problems that have been plaguing the country for years.
Currently, travelers from most nations in the European Union and in North America are able to travel to and from Ukraine with a current valid passport and nothing else.
Brothers Vitali and Wladi
mir Klitschko hold four out of five heavyweight boxing titles between them and now they have decided to try for the last one. The brothers have challenged Russia’s Nikolai Valuev to a showdown in an attempt to take his WBA title, the only one the Klitschko brothers have not managed to win. Vitali defeated Samuel Peter to win back his WBC crown after coming out of retirement while younger brother Wladimir holds the IBF, IBO and WBO champion titles.
Says Vitali, “Valuev is the biggest heavyweight champion in history. He’s huge and dangerous, this won’t be easy and I don’t want to underestimate him. It will be a difficult fight, but we have a dream, and we are going to make it come true, by taking the last belt for the Klitschko family.” Vitali stated that he didn’t care whether he or his younger brother took the remaining belt and they also are hoping to have the bout held in large capacity stadium and turning it into an international event.
“My message to Valuev is that this isn’t about size, but internal quality, so let’s see who’s the strongest and the best,” Vitali challenged. A date has not yet been set for the match.
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 22nd of the month to the 10th of the next month. The half passes are good from the 15th of the month to the 2nd 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.
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FC Dynamo Kyiv, the current top doges in Ukrainian soccer, is currently working their way towards a UEFA Champions League knockout phase place with Yuri Semin leading the pack as coach, a patient and demanding one at that who knows his sport. The team who was denied the Ukrainian title last year by FC Shakhtar Donetsk ended the 2007-2008 season with a bad taste in their mouth until Semin showed up to take control of the team. Semin came from FC Lokomotiv Moskva and has managed to get the top in top shape. Their next game is against FC Porto and if they win, they will reach the last 16.
It has been 10 years since the team made the semi-finals and if they can beat the FC Porto team, they will be in. Said team member Pape Diakhate, “Our first Group G game this year against Arsenal at home gave us a lot of hope for the rest of the competition. I think that if we are here, it is a reward for our hard work and we deserve it.” Diakhate is glad to have Semin as coach and he feels that the team is more of a group that has improved together under the man’s influence. He has built a team for Dynamo and they all keenly feel it.
While the team feels that Porto will give them a run for their money this next game, they are preparing themselves and getting ready to work hard towards winning this game. One advantage? Dynamo will be playing at home and they will have the hometown crowd firmly behind them rooting them on.
Ukraine is getting a new food retail chain called ‘Fresh’ thanks to two $15 million investments that have been made into Evrotek Group PLC, the holding company for the new store. This money will aid with Evrotek’s plans to further develop and expand the store and offer Ukrainian citizen’s a wider variety of food choices throughout the country. The first ‘Fresh’ markets opened in a small test area in 2006 and the company is hoping that there will be 58 stores in place and operating by 2010.
The success of the store means a lot to the Ukrainian economy, from the demonstration of successful retail practices to the development of the country’s agribusiness sector to offering consumers better prices and goods in addition to jobs for around 6,000 Ukrainian citizens. One of the investors, IFC out of London, is very interested in supporting the growth of the many sectors of Ukraine’s private sector. They are looking for ways of partnering and developing local companies in an effort to help the country’s economy improve and allow it to be more competitive in the European markets. By doing this, Ukrainian citizens will be able to improve the quality of their lives even more and be able to live under a sustainable economy.
Leaving an artistic legacy behind is the dream of every artists and Ukrainian artist Roman Bonchuk is no exception. Already famous for his large scale painting and murals, Bonchuk is now setting off on his most grand adventure. He is planning on pairing a huge mural that depicts the history of the world, according to Russia’s ‘Novye Izvestia’ newspaper. The 28 year old artists has made headlines in both his home country of Ukraine and on the international stage in December 2007 when he unveiled his 30 meter long and five meter high canvas that was devoted to the history of Ukraine.
The new painting is on an even grander scale. Planned to be 1.5 kilometres long, the mural is going to depict over 2,000 major world events and five million prominent and famous figures in that have had a hand in shaping the world into what we know today. Bonchuk plans on displaying the huge painting at the Avenue of Champes Elysees in Paris within the next five years. In order to meet that deadline, however, he will have to paint at least 2,700 individuals from world history every day without a single day off, a feat Bonchuk has yet to explain how he intends to meet.
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If you are looking for the ultimate experience while visiting Ukraine and want to be less a tourist and more a guest in the country, then you need a Ukraine tour guide. By working with a tour guide, you will have the chance to see this wonderful country the way the people who live there see it and you’ll be able to experience Ukraine by getting to know some of the places that most tourists don’t usually get to see. The question becomes, can you find a Ukrainian tour guide that not only speaks your language but can show you what everyday life is all about?
The answer is yes you can but you may have to be a little more flexible than you planned.
The most traditional type of tour guide in Ukraine is called an escorted tour. This is a tour planned through a touring operator where you and a group of about 20 people are escorted throughout the area of Ukraine you happen to be with. These are the usual tour groups that you see everywhere throughout the world and you know that they have their own unique advantages and disadvantages.
Package travel offers you a fixed itinerary that includes all of your ground transportation and hotel accommodations booked in advance. You can schedule your time within the fixed itinerary time frame and see what you want to see in whichever city you are in. These types of tour packages are very popular and inexpensive, but there are not the best if you want to travel off the beaten track because you will be limited on time.
Finally, you can hire your own personal Ukraine tour guide. This is the best way of experiencing the country through their eyes and seeing things you normally wouldn’t get to see. They are your interpreter, driver, adviser, and local history buff all rolled into one and if you can afford to hire the services of a personal tour guide, you will have the most unique experience while in Ukraine.
Kolachi – also known as nut rolls – are a favorite food around the holidays. Many Americans enjoy them with the Thanksgiving meal as well as during weeks before and after Christmas and New Years. Nut rolls are a great desert that can actually be enjoyed any time of the year. If you want to try your hand at making this delicious pastry, here is a recipe for you – in true Ukrainian style.
5 cups of flour
½ cups of margarine
½ cup of Crisco
½ cup of sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 package of dry yeast
1 cup evaporated milk, warm
Mix the flour, sugar, salt, margarine and Crisco as if you were making a pie crust. Dissolve the package of yeast in the warm evaporated milk and then beat in the eggs, mixing thoroughly. Add the vanilla. Once it is mixed thoroughly, add it to the flour mixture. Knead the flour mixture as if you were kneading bread dough.
While you wait for the bread mixture to rise, make the filling from the following ingredients:
1 pound of chopped walnuts
½ cup of brown sugar
½ cup of sugar
½ stick of melted butter
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon of vanilla
Cover the bowl the bread mixture is in and let it rise for one hour. Cut the roll into six portions and roll each portion out on a lightly floured counter or rolling board. Spread the filling lightly onto the bread mixture, adding a little bit of milk to the filling to help it spread easier. Roll the portions and place them on a greased cookie sheet. Prick the portions with a fork, brush with milk, and sprinkle with sugar. Bake the nut rolls at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until golden brown.
You can use whatever filling you like, such as poppy seed, apricot, or anything else that tickles your fancy.
Considered to be one of Russia’s most well known avant-garde painters, Kazimir Malevich, born and raised in Ukraine to Polish parents is still making a name for himself. A painting done by Malevich in 1916 called ‘Suprematist Composition’ sold at auction in New York City for $60 million, showing that people still appreciate their culture even during a global financial crisis. The painting had been displayed in Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum for years and was eventually returned to Malevich’s family before being sold at Sotherby’s for the highest amount ever paid for a painting out of the area formerly known as the Soviet Union.
The painting was originally unveiled at a 1919-1920 exhibit in Moscow. In 1927 the painting with the artist in tow travelled to Warsaw and Berlin to other exhibitions and Malevich introduced the world to his art. The painting was left in Germany when he returned to the Soviet Union in 1927. He was prevented from leaving the Soviet Union and the painting – with all of the others Malevich left behind – eventually made their way to the museum in Amsterdam before eventually being returned to the family. Other well known works by Malevich include ‘Black Square’ and ‘Black Cross’. Malevich died in 1935.
If you are looking for an outdoor excursion while in Ukraine and enjoy learning about the flora of the country, you can visit the Seaside Park in Nikita. The park is the most well protected of all thanks to the mountain crests that surround it. The climate in this little corner of Ukraine is mild and the evergreen trees in the garden love the warmth. Additionally, visitors to the park can see cedar, osmantuses, mastic pistachio-tree, various palm-trees, and a wide variety of bright flowered blooming subtropical shrubs. Myrtle, pheyhoa, haerops – also known as palmetto – and orchidaceous trees can also be found at the Seaside Park.
If you start your trip to the gardens in the Upper Park, you will get the opportunity to wander through carefully manicured paths into the plantations, the area of the gardens that contains plant species from the world. Bamboo from China, Silver Fir, Plantain, Evergreen Stone Oak, and gigantic sequoiadrendron can be found here. There are also 500 year old yew trees in this part of the garden, a throwback to the local forests that are long gone.
To the east of the park visitors will find Cape Martyan, and area where rare shrubs, tree, and grasses in over 500 species grow in 120 hectares of dry land reserve of virgin conditions. This area is used by Ukrainian scientists on a regular basis and it is only open during certain times of year.
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