Interesting places:

Crimea’s claim to fame

Crimea is the name of the Ukraine’s diamond-shaped peninsula that juts out into the Black Sea. Crimea is one of the most fascinating corners of Ukraine, with the most varied scenery and climate, the most ancient history, and the greatest opportunities for tourism. The climate of the Crimea’s South Shore is near- mediterranean, making Crimea’s beaches a prime vacation destination for millions of Ukrainians and Russians and growing numbers of foreigners each year. Health resorts abound on the peninsula, which is famous for its mineral waters as well as wines. Just a few kilometers from the Black Sea, the Crimean Mountains rise to 1500 m above sea level.

Swallow’s Nest (Crimea)

Lastivchyne hnizdo (Swallow’s Nest) can be treated as a symbol of the Autonomic Republic Crimea, Ukraine.

It is an emblem of it the same like the Eiffel Tower is emblem of Paris. A lot of people suppose it to be a medieval castle. Its beauty is amazing and location right on the edge of the rock, makes it look fearless and inaccessible. Everyday it attracts millions of tourists.

Present from Ukraine:

Varenyky: a must for any foreigner to try!

Ukraine is famous for its traditional cuisine. Varenyky are those little, square-shaped dumplings — that taste exquisite on the lips, just not so pleasant when they make it to your hips — that can be stuffed with potato, cabbage, meat, cheese or fruit.
They are boiled and resemble greatly their cousins over the border: the Polish Perogy, the Russian Pelmeni, the Italian Ravioli, the Jewish Kreplach and the Chinese Wonton. Varenyky are typically topped with fried bits of salo (shkvarky) and onions and accompanied with a whole carton of sour cream. The sweet, fruit-filled sort are served with sour cream and sugar and raw varenyky (uncooked) can be stored in your freezer and thrown into a boiling pot of water for 3 minutes -which makes them a very easy side dish to any meal.
These little morsels have become so well-known for their down-home deliciousness that memorials have even been erected in their honor. In 2006 in the city of Cherkasy, a monument to Varenyky was erected at the entrance to one of the hotels there. It depicts one of the Cossack Mamay (Ukrainian folklore heroes whose fondness for the pastry have been written about by both writers Shevchenko and Gogol) eating varenyky from an earthenware pot with a huge crescent-shaped varenyk behind him.

Interesting events:

St. John’s — Ivana Kupala festival,

this is the original pagan midsummer night. In pre-Christian Ukraine, the festival was really a fertility rite that was supposed to assure a good harvest. Kupalo was believed to be the god of Love and of Harvest. He was personified as the earth’s fertility.
It is a feast for young unmarried people. They gathered together outside the village in the forest or near a stream or pond, where they built bonfires. The fires were not allowed to go out. They were also used to burn herbs and various items that were blessed.
The girls float flower garlands on the water and tell their fortunes from the behaviour of them. Both boys and girls jump over the bonfire, again to tell fortunes.
The most adventurous go into the forest in search of the "tsvit paporoti" — the magic flower, which blooms only on that night. If found, the finder gets untold riches and happiness. But beware! On that magic night the forest is of full of demons and other scary beings (nechysta syla), which are out to get the unwary. In particular, there are Rusalky, the water nymphs, who are the souls of those drowned. They try to entice you into the water, so that you would join them in death.

Restaurants:

Kozachok

This restaurant comprises several halls featuring many symbols that one would typically find in a Ukrainian kitchen. On the walls for example, there are embroidered towels, called «rushnyky» and in the corner one can find a traditional Ukrainian oven, called a «pich» where bread is baked. Every day you can hear traditional live music and while you’re enjoying the tunes, you can dig into the numerous Ukrainian dishes that they serve: dumplings, roasted potato (rural style), numerous kinds of salo and meat, halushky, deruny as well as our adored varenyky.

http://www.2k.ua/

Hotels:

«Palmira Palace»

The form of modern business life and desire of businessmen to conduct business not only in their offices but also in places prepossessing to communication «without ties», gave an impulse to industry of hospitality to create the proper terms. Hotel «Palmira Palace» is a place for comfortable rest and at the same time a real business-center. The hotel guest can communicate with a whole world by means of telephone and Internet straight from the hotel room, «Palmira Palace» has a business-center which provides all necessary services to the business man. In addition, the hotel «Palmira Palace» provides possibility for conducting negotiations, seminars, conferences of any type.

www.palmira-palace.com