On September 24 and 25, 2008 the 1st International Conference to promote cruise tourism will be held in Odessa, Ukraine. The ‘BlackSeaCruise 2008’ conference has been organized by the Odessa Commercial Sea Port, the ‘Ports of Ukraine’ Publishing House, the Center for Information and Analytics ‘BlackSeaTrans’, and the International Black and Azov Seas Port Association (BASPA).
This unique tourism conference will be covered by the international mass media and representative of the port authorities and passenger terminals from the countries that surround the Black Sea will be in attendance. The conference is a collaborative effort of all of the port cities that are located on the Black Sea and their respective governments. Maritime agencies, tourist companies, and information agencies will also be at the conference to pass along information regarding the tourism initiative to attendees.
The conference is being in held just in time for the nations to discuss how the 2012 European Football Championships and 2014 Winter Olympic Games can be served by the nations located in the Black Sea region. The Football Championships will be held in Ukraine while the Olympics are slated to be held in Sochi, Russia. Organizations that are attending the conference will discuss how the two events will cause a shift in cruise shipping and passenger carriage development on the Black Sea.
Project development and analysis for a Black Sea cruise market before and after the future events will also be discussed at the conference. The countries that will be the most affected by the development include Bulgaria, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and Turkey. The conference is geared towards improving the entire infrastructure of the tourism trade in the entire region.
For more great info on traveling in Urkaine you can also check out this blog Travel Blog Country Ukraine
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September 17 through 19, 2008 will see Atronic coming back to Kiev, Ukraine for this year’s Entertainment Industry show. The company is a provider of casino games and services on an international level and their offices 
and products can be found in the United States, Europe, Russia, Latin America, Australia, and Asia. A member of the Gaming Standards Association that supports open industry standards, Atronic will be showcasing two of its new top linked gaming products. ‘King Kong’ and ‘Cash and Cash Fever’ are four level progressive jackpot slot games.
Additionally, Atronic will be displaying to the Ukrainian people their line of linked games from the e-motion cabinet, a digital display that shows off some of Atronics popular line. The Cash Fever cabinet will feature classic games such as ‘Time for Money’, ‘Bamboo Forest’, ‘Crystal Lake’, ‘Blastin’ Barrels’, ‘Golden Adventure’ and ‘Wild Fangs’. The King Kong Cash cabinet will offer displays featuring, ‘Tiger & Dragon’, ‘Sun Spirit’, ‘Treasure Cats’, ‘Crimson Fire’ the X-tension game, and ‘Jungle of Gold’. Additionally, Atronic will be demonstrating some of their casino management products and cashless gaming solutions.
Atronic products are currently being operated in over 90 countries throughout the world. They hold 226 gaming 
licenses that include ones for the 25 states in the United States that allow slot machine gaming. This includes 164 Native American Indian tribal casinos. They have over 130,000 machines in place in more than 1,300 international casinos. Dedicating to producing high quality games and products, they also offer linked gaming products and casino management items to all of their customers.
You can also check out more on the gaming and poker happenings in Kiev at this great blog too: Casino Life Magazine Blog
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Vasyl Lomachenko, a boxer from Ukraine, has helped his country take another step towards earning an Olympic medal on Monday August 11, 2008 when he defeated fellow Olympian boxer, Russian Albert Selimov 14 to 7. Selimov is currently the defending world champion in the 57 kilogram featherweight division. This was not the first time the two boxers have faced off. They went head to head at the world championship in Chicago, United State, last year where Selimov won the title and it was a quirky twist of fate that matched up these two men in the first round of the Olympic boxing events.
Lomachencko was considered the underdog in this Olympic match-up with many people looking at Selimov as the favorite and the one who was going to take the title from his fellow Russian boxer Alexey Tishchenko. Instead, Lemachencko came back from a 2 to 0 deficit after the first round to take the next two with 13 to 3 points. Once he got started he never looked back and now Lomachencko will go head to head against Bahodirjon Sultonov of Uzbekistan in the second round. Sultonov beat India’s Anthresh Lakra and is considered a serious medal contender in the sports and boxing world.
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Traveling in another country is always a harrowing experience no matter where you from. When you go to a country where English is not the native language, it becomes even more mind boggling trying to get from to place. When you are traveling in Ukraine – especially in Kiev – you will find that there is a system of efficient and 
inexpensive public transportation available. The transportation includes buses, trolley busses, streetcars, and the subway – called the Metro there. Anyone who needs to travel via public transportation should be aware that they are all crowded and that morning and evening rush hours should be avoided if possible.
As an alternative to the public transportation system in Kiev, travelers can take a taxi throughout the city and outlying areas. Travelers should be ready for a fare refusal if they are not going in the same direction as the taxi driver. A traveler who hails and flags down a taxi should always state their destination first and if the driver agrees, a fare should be negotiated and agreed upon before entering the taxi. Also, travelers should always use a clearly marked taxi instead of a private vehicle, especially at night.
Brave travelers in Ukraine have the final option of hiring a car and driving themselves around the cities and the countries. However, the roads in Ukraine are sometimes not in the best condition and any winter driving should be done as little as possible. Cars should always be fully gassed before leaving the cities, trips should be planned from start to finish due to the scarcity of supplies, and they should also carry extra fuel, food and water in order to make it to their destination safely. A valid international driver’s license is all that is required for driving. Travelers hiring a vehicle in Ukraine should try to get a front-wheel or four-wheel drive whenever possible to cover the rough and winter treacherous terrain.
A comment came in from Bob and he asked if there was a recipe for a soup he had in both Russia and Ukraine. The recipe he requested was for Solyanka which is a wonderfully amazing soup that you will find in both Ukraine and in Russia. It is a great soup that you will find in many restaurants. It is made with different types of pickles and Sauerkraut which are added to the soup. This is why it is called Solyanka. The Solyanka can be made from a variety of things such as fish, meat, or mushrooms. It is also served with lemon slices, olives or sour cream or a combination of all three. Here is a tasty recipe that is sure to please you.
Ingredients you will need:
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500 g meat for stock (ham, veal, sausages, kidneys, tongue) 
4 pickles (choose any variety of pickles)
2 onions (good size onions)
2 tbsp tomato paste
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp capers
1 tbsp olives
100 g sour cream
1/4 lemon peeled
How to prepare Solyanka
Finely chop the onions and fry them in the oil until they are a light golden brown.
Add tomato paste and butter and then stew this for 30 minutes or so.
Peel the cucumbers and slice them into small junks or cubes.
Cook the meat in water until it is done, then strain the broth from the meat.
Add onions, meat slices, capers, cucumbers and a bay leaf to the broth. Cook this for 10-15 minutes.
Serve in a bowl with sour cream, olives and/or lemon slices. Sprinkle it with greens to add to the appealing look of the soup.
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When traveling to Kiev you will need to know what hotels offer you a great place to stay along with what amenities you can expect to receive while staying at the hotel. Here is a quick list of a few of the wonderful hotels that Kiev has to offer.
Slavutich Hotel
The Slavutich hotel which is located in the left bank offers 400 rooms that are available for rent. This is 
a popular 3 star hotel that offers its guest a phone, television and refrigerator in each room. Superior Junior Suites and Suites also offer air conditioning. One great feature non-smokers will love is that the entire 5th floor of the Slavutich hotel is all non-smoking rooms. There is also a café, lobby bar beauty parlor and a restaurant located within the hotel. If you need to use your computer there is also a Wi-Fi zone with the hotels business center.
Kozatsky Hotel
The Kozatsky Hotel is an inexpensive hotel located right in the heart of Kiev. This is a smaller hotel with only 130 rooms. Each room comes with a private shower, direct dial telephone, a television and a refrigerator. The rate per night also includes a nice continental 
breakfast.
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
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Summer is here and that means one thing when it comes to dining out in Kiev. It’s time to visit the boat and barges that house the restaurants along the DniproRiver. There is nothing better than sitting out in the open air, feeling the cool breeze caressing you skin coming off of the river and have a mouth water meal. This is the sort of thing that you can only do during the summer months in Ukraine. Here are two restaurants that you must visit while you are in Ukraine.
Mandarin
Mandarin is known as one of the city’s best place to eat Chinese food. This beautiful barge is not only a great place to eat but also a beautiful barge to look at. You will see golden dragons standing on both side of the entrance that will lead you inside where you will swear you have just stepped into China. Both the inside and outside of the barge will make you feel as if you are in an emperor’s place. They have an extensive menu that is sure to please anyone who dines where.
Rucola
Rucola is yet another great barge that you should visit while you are dining out. This is a wonderful Italian Eatery that not only offers amazing Italian food but also a great atmosphere. You will be amazed and the beauty of the barge as you walk in and that wont stop once you get inside. This barge offers two floors and no real walls to speak of. All of the walls are made of glass.
While you may know her as a beautiful and soulful singer there is one thing that many of her fans may not know. Before she came into music she was almost lost to the world of sports and music just happened as an afterthought.
When Gaitana was six years old she was passionate about a sport, table tennis as a matter of fact. She played and love the sport right down to the depth of her soul but then she happened upon music or actually music happened upon her.
At the age of 12 she joined a youth musical group only as an afterthought. The director of this youth 
group is the one who made her realized that she was an amazing singer.
Gaitana has always sung ever song from her heart and she loves what she does but how different things would have been had she not tried out for the youth musical group and continued on to be a great sports player at table tennis.
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Beekeeping and honey making is very popular in Ukraine and you can see this because of the many related crafts and other items that Ukraine is famous for thought the entire world. Did you know that Ukraine is officially one of five of the whole world’s leading honey producing countries? Although honey making and beekeeping has always been very popular recently beekeeping has become very profitable.
It is no secret that Ukrainians are huge fans of honey and even connoisseurs. All around the country of Ukraine there are certain times of the year when you can see older ladies on the side of the road selling big pots of honey.
Another interesting fact about honey in Ukraine is the fact that not only is honey sold all over the country there are also many different honey fairs and special markets that sell honey. These fairs are always fun for tourist and Ukrainians alike. There is always music, dancing and of course lots and lots of honey.
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