A Ukrainian Summer: where to go, what to do...

New edition of "Language and Travel Guide to Ukraine" is published

AMES, Iowa - Since 2000, when the last edition of "Language and Travel Guide to Ukraine" was published, there's been a dramatic upgrade in tourism in Ukraine. Increased public transportation, new hotels, an abundance of fine restaurants and food shops, refurbishment of museums, churches and historic sites, and a profusion of consumer goods and crafts has made visiting Ukraine better than ever.

Now, with a democratic, Western-looking government, the time is right to see Ukraine or to make a return trip, says Linda Hodges, co-author of the 2005 edition of "Language and Travel Guide to Ukraine."

The book provides phonetic pronunciations for Ukrainian words and phrases designed to take a traveler through a range of situations from "How do I get to the train station?" to "Do you accept this credit card?" For those who already understand and speak some Ukrainian, the book serves as a refresher course for reading recognition and vocabulary.

Travelers with language skills have a tremendous advantage in getting around confidently and in taking advantage of the serendipitous moments they'll experience. Ms. Hodges recalled the story of several Ukrainian American tourists driving in the Kosiv area who offered an elderly woman carrying a load of wet wool rugs a ride to her home. She showed them the primitive village "laundromat" where she had washed her newly woven rugs and some unmarked shops that sold them. They bought a couple of multi-colored woven rugs at great prices.

The guidebook's new fourth edition includes an expanded discussion of the major cities - Kyiv, Odesa and Lviv - and of Crimea, plus the addition of numerous smaller cities or towns and significant tourist destinations throughout the country.

It updates the detailed information on planning and arranging a trip to Ukraine. Now much can be done while you're sitting at your computer: you can find a travel agency, reserve a hotel or rental apartment, hire a guide, and even reserve domestic plane tickets online, noted Ms. Hodges.

For those who already know Ukraine well, the author suggests trying something different on your next visit. Here are some of Ms. Hodges' suggestions:

• Go off the beaten path a bit; for example, when in Kyiv, make a day trip to Chernihiv or from Ivano-Frankivsk add a side trip to to Uzhhorod or Chernivtsi. For longer journeys, try the plush, new high-speed trains that link several of the larger cities, or take a domestic flight to another part of the country.
  
  
• While it's difficult to turn down Ukrainian hospitality, make an effort to try new restaurants that feature traditional Ukrainian cuisine. Order out-of-the-ordinary dishes, for example quail eggs wrapped in pork and served in brown sauce (from Café-Bar Count Monte Cristo in Ivano-Frankivsk), or ask about the local specialties.
  
  
• Browse the open markets for clothing and household items and farmers' markets for food. Also, check out the spiffy remodeled department stores for an array of consumer bargains, and check out art galleries and craft markets for one-of-a-kind treasures.
  
  
• For rest, reinvigoration and maybe a cure for whatever ails you, stay at a health resort. Go hiking or try winter sports. To witness modern culture, visit a city during its annual birthday celebration, watch the parade and rock concert, and check out the local craft sellers.

"Language and Travel Guide to Ukraine" gives the wheres, whens and how-tos to help travelers do all this.

About the authors

Ms. Hodges, a food and travel writer based in Ames, Iowa, is a second-generation Ukrainian with an aunt and numerous cousins in western Ukraine. "We never dreamed that relatives who had been separated for 70 years and too old to meet in person, would be able to pick up the phone and talk," says Ms. Hodges.

George Chumak, co-author, is a native of Lviv who came to the U.S. in 1991, and is an internationally known laser spectroscopist and an assistant professor of chemistry at Clemson University. He lives in Greenville, S.C., with his wife, daughter and parents.

The new edition of their travel guide was published in late 2004 by New York-based Hippocrene Books Inc. It may be purchased at your local bookstore for $18.95.

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Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, May 1, 2005, No. 18, Vol. LXXIII

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