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Bradt Guide Ukraine
Ref: BRA078
The new Bradt guide to Ukraine is a travel manual to read before, during and after a trip; it features comprehensive practical information, while revealing the country's personality through in-depth exploration of its history, culture and natural beauty. Traditional churches. monasteries and sacred sites provide a contrast to the notorious, but compelling, landmark of Chernobyl. Andrew Evans shows how Ukraine can easily be explored by rail, river cruise or sea ferry, and also on foot, the ideal way to take in rustic villages of old-world Eastern Europe.
this Destination
Ukraine is something of an enigma for the visitor. The largest country in Europe, it remains one of the least visited, yet it has retained the rustic beauty of old-world eastern Europe, and its place names are heavy with historical significane: Kiev, Crimea, Sevastopol, Odessa, Chernobyl.
Author's Note, by Andrew Evans
When I first set foot in Ukraine, there was no such country in my world atlas, let alone anything like a travel guide. My first impressions were stringent and few: the streets were too dark and the cars didn’t run. Public payphones were free (if they worked) and you could buy bread and milk with subway tokens. In winter there was no heat, and in summer, no water. One chose to eat cabbage, potatoes, bread and mustard, or nothing at all. I stayed two years and cried when I left.
Ten years later, hope has overcome despair and I have witnessed remarkable changes towards a secure society and better lifestyle for Ukrainians. Yet, it is the memory of the darker years that keeps me returning to this country again and again. Few countries boast a history so imminent as Ukraine’s, and every little place bears such deep human meaning. The timeless exercise of daily survival allows little room for show, and that is why I love the bunches of dogs that roam the streets, the bundled-up grandmothers selling pails of bruised apples and the silent white blocks of apartments lined up in a row.
Ukraine is a land made from the simplest ingredients: wheat fields and wide skies, green mountains and rippling rivers. The resilient Ukrainian people complete the panorama, so that the child pulling weeds in a potato patch matches the splendour of the lofty gold domes of so many painted cathedrals. When I consider the famous sites people know and visit in Europe, I can only think what they are missing in Ukraine: hidden monasteries, picturesque mountain villages in the Carpathians, the rocky shores and sunshine of Crimea, the inland beauty of the Ukrainian steppe and the most undisturbed bits of old-world eastern Europe.
While most of central Europe gets swept into the backpackers’ circuit, and the avant-garde start to ‘discover’ Russia, Ukraine remains a sort of secret, in-between no man’s land. There are still not enough beaten tracks near Ukraine to place it ‘off the beaten track’, but foreign tourists are scarce enough that you should feel special having made it this far. Ironically, Ukraine supports all the infrastructure needed for trouble-free travel: a stable hospitality industry has emerged and efficient trains, buses and planes allow travellers to go anywhere they choose with ease. In fact, the Ukrainian landscape engenders a mood for overland travel with its bustling stations and mesmerising views laid out between destinations. I have never experienced anything quite like that feeling of gazing out across the everlasting plain from a bus window, or staring at a white moon from a slow night train. Hopefully, many others will get to know the beauty and simplicity of this land that is ‘on the edge’. May all your adventures be happy and unusual. Schaslivoyi dorohy.
Additional update (12 April, 2005)
And there’s never been a better time to visit Kiev! Not only is the city still reeling with the positive energy from Ukraine’s exuberant Orange Revolution, but the whole town is about to host Europe’s biggest party—the Eurovision Song Contest. In anticipation for the big event, and in a show of traditional Ukrainian hospitality, from May and through the summer, visas will not be required for citizens from the European Union, United States or Canada. It’s a great opportunity to come and see Kiev’s famous chestnut blossoms, visit a myriad of gold-domed churches and stroll though the historic streets of this beautiful, ancient city.
Andrew Evans is a writer with a significant background in Ukrainian culture, history and politics. He has lived in Ukraine and continues to travel there regularly.
£13.95
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