Ukraine Hotels

Ukraine is a country of Eastern Europe, just north of the Black Sea. It is the second largest European country, after Russia. The borders in anti- clockwise order, Russia on the east Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova and the Black Sea. We used to call the capital Kiev but not anymore It is now Kyiv after 2004, when the country experienced an "orange uprising"; and now becoming more and more "westerner" every day. Before we start on the history, let's mention the climate quickly. There is of course the Black Sea effect, but its mostly continental. Temperature averages go a bit under 15 in winter and to the top half of 20ies in summer. It should be called moderate and dry, with about 300 sunny days every year. Ukraine is situated in the middle of Europe and Asia, north of the Black Sea. This land has always been popular, especially the region of Crimea which was favored as an important trade port by ancient Greeks, Venetians and Genoese in their times. Ukrainian women should have been as beautiful back then as they are now, because all these foreign nations are mentioned to have made interracial marriages with the locals. Many settlements along the coast, most of which survived to this day, were established. Byzantines stayed here for some time too. Brief period of Mongol Conquest should be mentioned too. Rest of the history, this land was mostly between the influences of Slavic and Russian nations. To this day, while the east is more accepting of Russian culture and language, the western parts are keen on native cultures, Carpathians and Crimean Tatars. Most of the populace is bilingual. The cities of Ukraine is full of culture and heritage from different periods. The famous St Sophia’s Cathedral is decorated with Byzantine mosaics. There are many Russian and Ukrainian Orthodox cathedrals and churches with different and authentic characteristics in almost every region. Mostly in coastal towns, you can observe Turkish architecture too. Throughout the country, there are hundreds of museums, national historical and cultural preserve areas, many monuments of historical importance, archaeological sites and worth mentioning ancient cave cities. The Kyivan Cave Monastery is a wonderful sight. The city itself used to be very important in Russian era and today houses a rich blend of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture. Lviv is another of the most symbolic cities. It features a very well preserved medieval atmosphere. Architecture is typical, streets are still narrow and paved with stones. Odessa is a natural wonder on the Black Sea coast. Carpathian Mountains aka Green Pearl of Ukraine provide some unforgettable sights of green forest and mountains, and then there is the global fame of Crimea region. As we mentioned earlier, its unique characteristics have attracted many people for thousands of years. Today, the heritage is added to the spectacular natural beauty creating a dreamy vacation spot. And if I were to go to Ukraine today, my number one location of interest would be the Chernobyl exclusion zone, the wastelands that emerged after the disaster of 1986. Today it is reported to be safe and has opened to tourism. The cuisine of Ukraine shows effects of the region, quite tasty and definitely not low on fat. Especially in vegetable dishes, a lot of local produce like tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet onions, lettuce are used with good skills. The drink culture as it should be expected, is based on vodka. Horilka is an interesting taste, it is basically vodka with pepper. Also try the "cognac", the brandy of these lands. Crimea region has some very good quality wines too. Those vineyards are known to date back to Greek periods. Ukraine is building a new society and opening up to Europe. The country was the host of Eurovision Contest in 2005 and will co-host the European Football Championships in 2012. Past rules stating necessity of visas for many countries have been changed and it is nowadays, easier for tourists in every way. People, especially shop owners are friendly and well-mannered. There is no reason not to enjoy your stay in Ukraine.