Why Ukraine is one of the best travel destinations in Europe
Since 2014, when the nationalist Maidan revolt and the conflict with Russia, Ukraine has suffered the “curse of the headlines” . Perhaps never before had so much been said about it, but the focus -as is the case in many countries in conflict or geopolitically key- rarely strays from politics . Y Ukraine is much more than that . In fact, it is one of the best and most surprising visits that one can do in Europe.
KYIV: AN AMBIGUOUS CAPITAL
let's start with Kyiv , the capital. Obviously we will find there the popular Maidan square , scene of the famous protests, where there are still posters and “memorials” in homage to them -despite being an event that, politically, has almost as many detractors as support among Ukrainian society-. But if we go down the great Khreshchatyk avenue , we will find a double and pleasant sensation that runs through the entire capital.
Kyiv architectures
On the one hand, we will see vibrant kiev , of the young people playing music in the street, the couples drinking a glass of wine, the student in a hurry who buys a coffee or an ice cream in one of the dozens of stalls that fill the avenue. Secondly, a local kyiv that roots the city to the country, that does not make it a great “world city” anymore . On the avenues of kyiv there is plenty of room to stroll slowly, as the Soviet-style grandmothers returning with a couple of shopping bags . In kyiv they can flourish the hipster cafes similar to those in any other part of the world, but there is a provincial force that reminds us that we are still in the Ukraine.
The contrasts are fascinating. On one street one comes across several strip clubs -in front of which a Ukrainian woman dressed in black leather and whip in hand tries to attract customers-, while on another a robust war veteran tries to sell us a bracelet with the national flag.
When one visits the impressive Pechersk Lavra monastery , a set of churches and tombs of Ukrainian Orthodox Christianity from the 11th century , in their gardens they usually chat monks with very long Tolstoyan beards with young pilgrims in black veils, perfect makeup and high heels . They both have those blue or green, penetrating and very intense eyes of many Ukrainians. Beneath the churches of this monastery we can access the dark caves where there are dozens of tombs of Orthodox saints -and where many parishioners pray while crying their eyes out-. There are not so many places in Europe where one can experience this religious fervor.
Pechersk Lavra monastery
LVIV, STUDENT TERRITORY
From kyiv we can go to the east, to old Lviv . best method is the train , where sitting in small padded compartments we can see the beautiful pictures of the ukrainian countryside : a lonely horse, an old woman plowing the field, a child on a bicycle, long sunny forests...
Arriving in Lviv, we will be surprised by its imperial architecture , so similar to that of Central Europe, almost taken from a textbook Stefan Zweig . Lviv has been baptized as the cradle of Ukrainian nationalism, but it's also a city of students and great cafes . If we go up to the tall tower of the Town Hall we can see the colorful roofs, which alternate between sea green, ash gray or dark red. Its proximity to the poland border makes it one of the most attractive cities in Central and Western Europe, in contrast to the Eastern Ukraine, closer to the Russian sphere.
Lviv, we will be surprised by its imperial architecture
ODESA, THE 'UKRAINIAN IBIZA'
Taking another train we can get to black sea shores , to the imperial Odessa . The marine white of its buildings gives it a touch between military and old tourist resort . In fact, the city is one of the most popular destinations in the country -for a reason there is a certain area of the city that is nicknamed “Ukrainian Ibiza” -. Its Russian past is seen through the large statue of Catherine the Great that stands in the middle of the city -and also because of the imperial motifs of many buildings-.
One can take advantage of his arrival in Odessa to quietly sip a local wine while tasting some of the typical dishes of Ukrainian gastronomy: the essentials would be the intense borsch -beetroot soup-, the tasty varenyky -ravioli stuffed with mashed potatoes or cottage cheese, mixed with sour sauce- or the blunt ones deruny -pancakes with a taste curiously similar to the Spanish potato omelette-. Fortunately for the traveler, ukrainian prices are much more affordable than those in Western Europe, so gastronomic whims they can be repeated without fear for our portfolio.
Odessa, party and Ukrainian spirit
ZAPORIJIA: UKRAINE ON A COSSAK ISLAND
Our next destination will take us for a walk through the mythical history of Ukraine: the Cossack island of Zaporizhia , in the center of the country. There the locals explain, with a certain military pride, that many young people are still taught the warrior techniques of the old Cossacks.
These almost mythological figures condense a mix between libertarian and violent -something similar to pirates or cowboys in the West-, which has left for history national heroes such as the leader Bohdan Khmelnytsky . Luckily, the descendants of these cossacks they are much more peaceful, so we can chat quietly with them to explain their tradition, which they usually do enthusiastically.
Zaporozhye
THE 'RUSSOPHILA' UKRAINE
From there we can go to the east of the country, although, yes, not too much. The civil war and conflict with Russia in the easternmost parts of Ukraine - the so-called donbass - are reason enough for us not to think of traveling to that end of the country. But that does not mean that we are left without seeing the most russian ukraine . A good option may be to visit the Kharkiv city , the second largest city in the country, halfway between kyiv and the eastern border.
There we can make a “soviet ride” , first because of the forceful architecture of the socialist period that populates a large part of the city and, on the other hand, because of the old gorky park , large and fairly well maintained. It is not strange that, in countries of the ex-Soviet orbit, there are still these huge parks, quiet and pleasant, from the communist era , where they still old people are going to chat , or families go for a stroll with the baby stroller. It is a meeting point where a halo of tender communitarianism still revolves around it.
Kharkov Orthodox Church
As a final climax, the traveler should get an invitation to the center of intimate Ukrainian life: the kitchen table of a private house . Around that piece of furniture, families, couples, students or friends spend hours and hours talking, while the glasses are filled with tea and an assortment of vintage design cookies accompany the words and laughter. When the night draws near the cold lurks and the glass of tea warms the hands more than ever , one can feel that comfortable home spirit, so simple, important and revealing of the Ukrainian soul.