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Ukrainian Language, Culture and Travel Page
Compiled by Linda Hodges
(Last updated March 20, 2004)
Ukraine | History and Overview | Language | Folk and Fine Arts |Folk and Fine Art for sale Folk Traditions and Religion | Food | Travel and Tourism | Destinations and Sightseeing | Current Events | Helping Organizations | Sources of Additional Information | Books | Language Aids |
Updates for those who own the third edition of the Language and Travel Guide to Ukraine
Eggs by Gloria Olynyk
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In 2004, Easter in Ukraine is celebrated on April 11. If you'd like to try to make Ukrainian Easter eggs, check out the illustrated instructions by Olga Kaczmar and Sherry Pogranichniy's informative web site.
And what's a holiday without special food? Here's some Ukrainian Easter recipes.
It's time to plan your summer trip to Ukraine.
- I'd be pleased if you join me on a grand tour, organized by Distant Horizons, of Ukraine's best attractions and destinations. We'll stay at the best hotels and dine at wonderful restaurants.
- Also highly recommmended is Orysia Tracz's popular folk arts tour. Visit artists in their studios, folk art markets, see the best museums, and much more.
- If you're the outdoors type, there's plenty of opportunity to explore Ukraine's two mountainous regions. The Rural Green Tourism Association of Ivano-Frankivska Oblast website tells about the beautiful, unspoiled, Carpathian mountains and lists the homes open to tourists in this scenic region of Ukraine.
- Crimea offers the beautiful Black Sea, spectacular mountains, vineyards, and lovely towns. Check out these tour agency web sites, full of information and great photos of Crimea: JSB Travel and Tours and Travel to Crimea. For outdoor adventurers, a great variety of activities are possible.
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Linda eating borshch in Kyiv; weaver in Kosiv; Carpathian landscape.
Biking in Crimea.
Ukraine
Welcome - Vitayemo. Ukraine is the largest, but one of the least-known countries entirely within Europe. With great natural beauty, a rich culture and warm and hospitable people, it's a wonderful country to visit. However, many visitors to this newly independent, developing country come for business, educational and medical exchanges, charitable works and missionary activities rather than to sightsee. For them, this web site provides background about the country they'll work in, including information onculture, language, and travel. If your purpose is tourism, you'll find lots of wonderful sights and cultural and recreational opportunities in Ukraine, so be sure to check out the Travel and Tourism section below.
Place names on this web site are transliterated from their Cyrillic according to the transliteration system of the U.S. Board of Geographical Names, which is used by mapmakers around the world. Kyiv, rather than Kiev, is the transliterated name of the Ukrainian capital city; Odesa's Ukrainian spelling uses only one s, not two.
Your comments and suggestions are welcome.
Map of Ukraine . . . National Anthem: lyrics and instrumental music and vocal rendition
The Ukrainian flag . . . The tryzub 
The flag represents a blue sky over a field of grain or sunflowers and the trident (tryzub) is an ancient symbol of Ukraine.
Overview and History
Language
- The Ethnologue web site lists ethnic groups and languages spoken in Ukraine.
- The Ukrainian Alphabet is a Cyrillic alphabet.
- Listen to the sounds of the Cyrillic characters.
- Roman Zakharii presents a history and resource list of the Ukrainian language.
- From grad students in Ukraine: fundamental Ukrainian language lessons online.
- A list of instruction books and tapes to help English speakers learn Ukrainian.
- Learn basic Ukrainian phrases (in word and sound) from Zenon Iwasykiw, who also has the Ukrainian Amusement and Diversion Page for readers of Ukrainian Cyrillic.
- From Roman Zakharii, Ukrainian word lists in the following languages: English; Polish plus English; Swedish plus English; Norwegian; Italian and Turkish , which lends many words to the Ukrainian language.
- From Roman Kosarenko on the UAZone web site selections of Ukrainian poetry in Cyrillic and English.
- Language Technology
- Want to add Ukrainian language support to Windows 98? It's easy. Use the mouse to click, in succession, on Start (normally at lower left of the taskbar at the bottom of the screen), then on Settings, then on Control Panel, then on Keyboard, then on Language, then on Add, then find Ukrainian, then click OK twice. You will need to put your Windows 98 CD-ROM in the CD-ROM drive if it isn't all on your hard drive. Now clicking on the little taskbar icon (at lower right) that reads EN will change to UK, and vice versa. If you don't know the Ukrainian keyboard you'll have to practice a lot or else "hunt and peck."
- For other Cyrillic fonts and keyboard utilities, both Windows and Macintosh, go to the Brama web site.
- Looking for computer programs for translating into Ukrainian? Palm Gear has a simple, handheld shareware program.
- The Yevshan Catalog offers some language aids such as electronic dictionaries, translation aids, and tutorials for learning basic Ukrainian.
Folk and Fine Arts
- Scholarly articles about Ukrainian art: its beginnings and art in the 20th century.
- From the UKROP web site in Kyiv a fine discussion with photos of various folk arts, including music, architecture, painting, and costume.
- Artistic renderings of Ukrainian history, culture, science, folklore, religion, and natural history can be found on beautiful Commemorative Postage Stamps. Also check out The Ukrainian Electronic Stamp Album and Roman's Olynyk's philatelic e-zine.
- Traditional Ukrainian folk dress is among the most colorful costume in the world. A new series of commemorative stamps shows costumes from several different areas.
- Some photos of Ukrainian embroidery designs and clothing and a man's and a woman's early-20th-century wedding costume.
- Pysanky, batik-dyed Easter eggs, are the best-known Ukrainian folk art.
- Music and Dance
- Visual Arts
Folk Traditions and Religion
Food
- Borshch is the great Ukrainian soup, renowned world-wide.
- Vareniky is another quintessential Ukrainian food. Vareniky wit, whimsy, and recipes from Dr. Mryon Hlynka.
- Ukraine is also noted for its bread. Photo of village woman with home-baked bread.
- Several dozen authentic recipes Joanne documented when she visited her relatives in Ukraine.
- Not like mama made: herring a la Kiev, jellied veal roll, and many other authentic recipes direct from Ukraine written both in English and Cyrillic Ukrainian.
- Christmas Eve recipes. More than a dozen traditional meatless Ukrainian dishes, including borshch, stuffed cabbage, and dumplings.
- Traditional Easter recipes: meat, cheeses and breads.
- Photo of Kyivsky torte and two torte recipes.
Travel and Tourism
- Going to Ukraine soon? Check today's weather and the forecast for the next four days for these cities: Kharkiv - Kyiv - Lviv - Odesa
- Need to phone Ukraine? Here's an alphabetical list of Ukrainian cities with their city codes.
- You'll need a visa to travel to Ukraine. You can print out the visa application form from the Consulate of Ukraine in Washington D.C. website. Invitations for private and business visas are no longer necessary. Learn more about the visa process.
- Travel agencies specializing in Ukraine. Check out their interesting and informative web sites.
- Don't be discouraged by the U.S. State Department travel warnings. You will feel safe in Ukraine. Check out the InfoUkes web site for additional travel advisories, some from Canadian sources.
- And for a wealth of vital information, don't miss the Ukraine Factbook and Traveler's Guide.
- Here are some travel tips from Kyiv native Oleg Baranovsky, including useful phrases and a conversion chart for clothing sizes and more useful tips from Lonely Planet.
- UkrainianTravel is a lively mailing list whose members share an interest in travel to Ukraine. Members exchange travel tips and report on their trips to Ukraine.
- Ukraine's currency, the hryvnia, was introduced on September 2, 1996, replacing the temporary currency, karbovanets, at the rate of 100,000 karbovanets = 1 hryvnia. Since then the hryvnia has dropped in value. Use the Currency Converter to check its value today relative to many other national currencies. Learn more about the hryvnia and see photos of old Ukrainian money.
Destinations and Sightseeing
- Going to Kyiv? View the lovely photos at the UAZone Photo Gallery. Check out the Welcome to Kiev web site for listings of restaurants, shopping, entertainment, transportation, medical services, and more. And be sure to study the Subway Navigator for the fastest way to get around the city.
- Kyiv (formerly Kiev), Ukraine's capital city, is known as the Golden Domed City because of its beautiful churches. The new symbol of Kyiv, St. Michael the Archangel, was unveiled in May 1995, replacing the previous symbol, the kashtan (chestnut) leaf. A statue of St. Michael the Archangel was erected in downtown Kyiv, but has since been replaced by newer monuments. Here are a few of our favorite photos of Kyiv. Take a tour of Ukraine's leading tourist attraction, the Pecherska Lavra (Monastery of the Caves), founded in 1051. The Lavra's 40 buildings represent eight centuries of art and architecture. It's now part museum and part functioning monastery.
- Lviv is the charming cultural center of western Ukraine. Some photos from Lviv, including the old -- its Austrian era opera theater -- and the new -- a Holocaust Memorial. The Leo Photo web site shows the beauty and variety of this charming city with a large collection of new images.
- Odesa (Odessa) reminds many visitors of Right Bank Paris. Comprehensive Odesa site includes useful tourist information, lots of photos, miscellaneous interesting and fun stuff.
- Crimea is a beautiful peninsular resort on Ukraine's Black Sea. Discover Crimea from this well-organized UK-based guide to Crimean history, life today, how to get there, with photos of leading tourist sites and a wealth of other interesting and useful information. Here's some scenic photos of the Crimean Mountains from Oleg Barnovsky. Lots more links to Crimea.
- Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine, is the country's second largest city. Once a center of Ukrainian intellectual and cultural life, it became highly Russified. The Kharkiv city web site shows tourist attractions, beautiful aerial views, a subway map of Kharkiv, and lots more. The beautiful Kharkov web site by Konstantin Gredeskoul uses the Russian spelling of the city name.
- Take a tour of Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine's third largest city.
- Vinnytsya is a large, pleasant city in central Ukraine.
- A pretty city in western Ukraine is Ivano-Frankivsk.
- The medieval fortress city Kamianets-Podilskyy is the site of much archeological activity and a wonder to see.
- In the beautiful, unspoiled, Carpathian mountains, you can spend a vacation with a family. Check out the Rural Green Tourism Association website to learn all about this scenic region of Ukraine, and a list of homes to stay in.
Personal Voyages
These personal travel stories give an immediacy to Ukrainian destinations, but it's important to realize that Ukraine is a rapidly-changing country and some of the experiences and sights described may be outdated.
- A photo journal of my May 2003 trip to Ukraine.
- Here's a photo album of our July 2000 vacation in Ukraine. Places shown are Cherkasy, Lviv, Karpaty Mountains, and Kyiv.
- Some impressions of Kyiv by Peter Roetzel.
- Interested in western Ukraine? Don't miss Gerry's photos and Jerome's detailed traveller's diary.
- Read Joseph's advice about hiking in the Carpathian Mountains.
- Read about Frank's visit to Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Chernivtsi.
- Read Joanne's story about her trip to Ukraine to meet her relatives.
- A wonderfully detailed account of Kathy and Bill Clark's trip to western Ukraine and Kyiv in 1997.
- Bob's story about going to Dnipropetrovsk to visit his pen pal.
- The Peace Corps is active in Ukraine. Read a volunteer's story about her experiences in Nizhyn, in the Chernihiv oblast.
- Tour leader Orysia Tracz tells of wonderful cultural and arts discoveries in Ukraine.
Current Events
- New! Public Radio , a news and current affairs site based on the principles of western journalism, is one of 30 Ukrainian internet-based news sources and the "first internet-radio in Ukraine."
- The Kyiv Post,an English-language newspaper based in Kyiv, features diverse news stories. It also links to other publications in Ukraine.
- The Ukrainian Observer, a weekly English-language Internet publication from Kyiv offers fresh and sometimes cheeky commentary on events in Ukraine.
- The Kiev Day is a publication of the Ukrainian Press Group.
- Brief summaries of today's leading news stories from Ukraine in The Eastern Economist. "Ukraine's first business and investment weekly."
- News and issues from a Ukrainian-American publication, the Ukrainian Weekly.
- Yahoo News presents a compilation of important stories from leading news sources around the world, updated daily.
- The Central Europe Review covers the top stories in Ukraine.
- Games and Sports News
- The 2002 FIDE (World Chess Federation) World Chess Championship in Moscow, which started with 128 of the best chess players in the world - almost all of them grandmasters - came down to a head-to-head 8-game match between two Ukrainians: Vasily Ivanchuk (who defeated the previous world champion, Viswanathan Anand of India, to make the finals), 32, and Ruslan Ponomariov, 18 (who at 14 had become the youngest grandmaster in history, although the record is now held by Bu Xiangzi of China). Ponomariov won the title in 7 games by a score of 4 1/2 to 2 1/2, winning two games and drawing the other five. Along the way Ponomariov defeated one chess player from China, one from Bulgaria, one from the Netherlands, and three from Russia. You can read about the championship at the FIDE web site or go to the Ukrainian Chess Online web site or to Ruslan Ponomariov's own web site.
- Summary of how Ukraine did in the 1996 Summer Olympics.
- Ukraine won 23 medals (3 gold, 10 silver, 10 bronze) at the 2000 Summer Olympics, in 13th place. Check the list of medals
- 2002 Winter Olympics. Ukraine sent 70 athletes to the Winter Games, who competed in 11 of the 15 winter sports. Ukraine won no medals at all, compared to two in 1994 and one medal in the 1998 Winter Games.
Helping Organizations
- Help Us Help the Children is a well-established, volunteer, non-profit organization designed to improve the lives of orphans in Ukraine. In Canada, Help Us Help the Children is affiliated with the Children of Chornobyl Canadian Fund.
- Many visitors to Ukraine return with a desire to help. Two organizations established by Americans to help disabled Ukrainian children are Rockinghorse_Foundation and For_Children's_Sake.
- OSVITA, a project sponsored by a Canadian medical organization, helps mothers and children in Ukraine.
- Chernobyl (Chornobyl) Charity On-line tells about the world's worst nuclear disaster and solicits funds for helping the victims.
- Interested in adopting a child from Ukraine? Regulations are posted on the Embassy of Ukraine web site. For more information check out these links.
DO YOU STILL NEED INFORMATION? CHECK HERE
Rick Delong took this wonderful photo that resembles the Ukrainian flag. Check out other lovely photos and cultural information on Ukraine on his website . Click below for a diverse listing of and links to outstanding web sites on Ukraine.
The third edition of the Language and Travel Guide to Ukraine was published by Hippocrene Books in 2000. Click on the images below for enlargements of the front and back covers.
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It's found in the travel section of most large bookstores, and any bookstore can order it for you - or you can order it over the Internet from Amazon.com. The list price is $16.95 but amazon.com and many bookstores will discount it.
Introducing the Webmaster.
Goodbye! Come Again. - Do pobachennya! Prykhodte Znovu.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to all who contributed personal stories and recipes, useful information, and corrections. Special thanks to Zenon Iwasykiw for the tryzub design. Also special thanks to Laurent Hodges whose computer expertise makes this site possible.
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(My old site on prodigy.com had counted over 74,000 visitors when it closed on October 1, 1999.)
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