Kyiv - starting point to explore Ukraine

Kyiv (Kiev) usually is the first place you arriving to in Ukraine and Majdan Nezalezhnosti is the central place of Kiev, its focal point and start for every tourist rout. This is a huge square crossed by Kreshchatyk street. Centuries ago, mongolian khan Batyj installed his trebuchets here and succeeded to destroy Kiev's walls and seized the city. There is a monument of Mikhael Arkhangel (city protector)  standing on remaining  substructure of ancient walls now. Another noteworthy - 3-level underground mall under the square surface with shops, cafes and restaurants. This design of Majdan was created just 10 years ago and disliked by many people. We believe this reconstructure was needed only for one purpose: to build huge underground mall. Former (soviet) design of central square was more attractive and beautiful. Due to a lot of glass in compositions inhabitants compare Majdan with glasshouse.
Living near Majdan Nezalezhnosti is prestigious and a lot of apartments around are for let. You can rent apartment in Kiev at reasonable price for any period you need. Rental agencies are numerous and friendly.

 

the flower clock

 

central post office

 

Majdan is closed for cars on weekend

 

"Glasshouse" on Majdan. Nice place to make photo as well.

Travel by car to Kamenets-Podilsky

I think it is the best way for foreigners to travel in Ukraine is by car. Due to language barrier buses and trains are rather complicated to find and shedule proper itinerary. Moreover, Ukrainian cities are huge and uniform (our heavy soviet heritage and aftermath of WW2 when almost all of cities were buried under ruines) - it means you have to pass kilometers to find something worth to be seen. On the other hand, car hire costs about 40-80 USD, fuel about 1.2 USD /liter. Yes, roads are bad often but still passable for cars. Highways between principal cities like Kiev, Odessa, Lviv, Kharkiv are already renovated and comfortable.
So just 5 hours or 500 km relaxed driving from Kiev towards Carpathyan mountains and you are in Kamenets-Podilskyi. This place endeed  looks like lost paradise or background for romantic novel.  Located on high unapproachable rock and surrounded by  Smotrych river, Kamenets was stronghold from the very beginning of its existance. Slovians, polish, turks left here particles of their souls. Particular attention is attracted by Kamentes fortress - locacted aside and connected with city by stone bridge. 

Smotrych river surrounds the old city center of Kamyanets-Podilsky. Rocks are about 100 meters in height

The fortress and stone bridge. Left tower - the one where Karmelyik (ukrainian legend hero) was imprisoned.

Former turkish minaret and now catholic church

narrow streets of Kamyanets

Planning your trip on the western Ukraine include Kamenets-Podilskyi to your itinrary and necessarily bring camera with you. This corner of beautiful nature of Ukraine will delight you.

Odessa ( Ukrainian : Одеса , Russian : Одесса ; also referred to as Odesa ) is the fourth largest city in Ukraine . It is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast ( province ), and is designated as its own separate raion (district) within the oblast. Odessa is a major port on the Black Sea .

The 2001 population was 1,029,000, and estimated to be around 1,012,500 in 2004.

An ancient Greek colony had once occupied the site of the city. Numerous monuments of antiquity confirm links between this territory and the Eastern Mediterranean . In the Middle Ages these lands were a part of the Kievan Rus , Galich and Volyn Principality, the Golden Horde , the Great Lithuanian Principality , the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman Empire . Crimean Tatars traded there in the 14th century . In the course of Russian – Turkish wars these lands were captured by Russia at the end of the 18th century.
A colony from ancient Greece may have once occupied the site of the city, and Crimean Tatars traded there in the 14th century. Odesa itself was founded in 1794 as a Russian naval fortress on territory annexed from Turkey in 1792. By the early 19th century the Russian settlement had become an important grain-exporting port. During the Crimean War (1853-56), Odesa was bombarded by joint French and British naval forces. In 1905 the city was the site of a workers' uprising, supported by the crew of the Russian battleship Potëmkin.

From Kiev to Sumy

Sumy is comparably big city (200.000 people) located on north-east of Ukraine about 320 km from Kiev. I travelled there by car using the next route: Kiev - Gogoliv-Priluky- Romny - Nedrigailiv- Sumy.
This road appeared to be the one of the most picturesque ways that I ever seen. Almost feary-tale nature with wild forests, pure lakes and lovely hills has being following me during all the trip. I placed here a couple of picturs as example. By the way, it was a little surprising thing but the road quality was quite acceptible: no holes, no protuberances and rare villages - so it was a real plesure for me and my car.
Priluky -120 km from Kiev - an old kozak town now it is just a big village in Soviet style with no sign of any development and improvement, however the road doesn't go through this town, just passes by. There are two remarkeble places around Priluky - Kachanivka with preserved castle and amazing park that attracts people from the whole Ukraine and Gustynsky monastry - medieval architecture on a lovely island on cranky river. This monastry is well-known among religious people and have plenty of pilgrims each year not only from Ukraine but from Russia and Belorus as well.
Next small town is Romny (220 km from Kiev) - known from early slavic history place on hill upon a river. You have to go right through the center of the town, wich is not very nice but is just like other 1000 small towns in former USSR with no face and filled with standard grey blocks.
About 40 km from Romny towards the Sumy situated Nedrigailiv village. Remarkable thing about the village is that there are elefants pictured on Nedrigailiv'c Coat of Arms. I wondered what does it mean but got information that mammoth excavations where here and it is not an elephant but mammoth on the coat of arms.

Bahchisaraj

Bahchisaraj is a small town about 40 km away from Sevastopol and from the sea cost. Town itself is not very nice and very similar to majority of Soviet villages and towns with poor highways but the center of Bahchisaraj is really amazing place where old blocks and streets lead to beautiful khan Castle-Palace. Now it is impossible to believe that just 200 years ago it was the capital of huge Crimean Tatar Khanate. This is the place of attraction with a number of tourists and visitors.
After passing through castle bridge above the moat and stone defensiv walls you will find Khan's Palace working as museum with a lot of exhibitions. It is made of stone and wood with distinguished architecture in mongolian? style. Builded over 500 years ago palace has numerous fountains and parks, it seems this is the only one tatar palace in Europe that preserved untill now.
You will find a lot of small tatar cafes around with original tatar dishes. To resume - this place is worth to come over 900 km.

Travel to Crimea, ancient Chersonesos

Chersonesos town-museum is located on the shore of the Black Sea, right on the water,
and is a cross between Sevastopol and Balaklava. This is one of the most remarkable and beautiful places in Crimea. Not too crawded with tourists, possibly because of poor advertisment and difficulty to find (it impossible to find this place on a map or looking for road signs, only local people can advise) the place itself is amazing.
Greek word "Chersonesos" means "peninsula", and exactly describes the place on which the colony was founded about 2500 years ago . Kiev kniaz Vladimir the Great was baptized here in 988, and from this town Christianity was spread to all Kiev Rus (Contemporary Ukraine, Russia and Belarus)
Huge territory of peninsula with preserved streets and partially excavated buildings, greek columns and temples, military walls , gates, and stronghold.
The defensive wall is hundreds of meters long. Buildings include Roman amphitheatre and a Greek temples.
So it was a great pleasure for us to walk among abandoned and half-destroyed streets inspite of incredible heat (+35 C).
But do not hope to have a good meal near this place, you can find only coca-cola bottle and nothing more, this is usual situation for Ukraine, where tourism is not developed at all.