Ukrainian Summer
Ukrainian Summer Holiday
This was my first visit to the Ukraine and I was with my son and his wife, Olga, who comes from Sverdlovsk, which lies in the eastern part of the country, in the Lugansk region. Our plan was to spend the first half of the holiday with her parents in Sverdlovsk and then travel
to the Crimea for the remainder. Our itinerary was Kiev, Sverdlovsk, Sevastopol, Kiev. The whole time proved to be a memorable one for me, due in no small part to the very warm hospitality provided by Olga's family and friends in both Sverdlovsk and the Crimea and also
to Eugene's efforts. We were met by Slava and car on arrival at Kiev(c)Borispol who with his wife provided us with overnight accommodation as well as a guided tour of Kiev. Slava took
us next day to the station and saw us off on the train to Lugansk. This journey was an 18 hour one and I had been a little apprehensive about being cooped up for such a length of time. However we had a sleeper compartment, the train ran to time and my earlier concerns proved groundless.

We were met at Lugansk by a family friend who drove us the 1 hour journey to Sverdlovsk where we were to stay with Olga's parents in their apartment. The highlight of this first week was a birthday party for Olga's mother held at a local restaurant.
Her birthday had been earlier in the month but the party had been delayed so that we could be present. During this week we had more parties and a BBQ by a lake, in a very attractive countryside setting, with family and friends. We also visited Olga's father's orchard which Olga's brother Yura helps to manage. There was an abundance of soft fruits, cherries, raspberries etc but the centrepiece for me was the huge, by UK standards, bed of strawberries. There were vegetables as well from this obviously very fertile black soil and everything, as a matter of pride, was organic! Yura and his 13 year old son, Dima, both spoke English and we had many enjoyable conversations over many topics. Dima's facility with spoken English I found quite impressive considering his age. The later stages of the World Football Championship also coincided with our visit to the Ukraine and we enjoyed watching the England vs Brazil match with Olga's family and friends, who are really passionate about football. Our week or so was soon up and it was time to leave for the Crimea. Needless to say perhaps, but so far, we had had wall to wall sunshine. The return to Lugansk to get the train to Simferopol was made via one of Olga's family friend's car. The train journey was again an 18 hour one and this time I had no qualms and we arrived in Simferopol on time the next day. We were met at Simferopol by Eugene's cousin who took us on by road to our hotel close to the waterfront in Sevastopol. This is where I first met Eugene who was with us for the rest of our time in Sevastopol. Olga and Tim had made friends with Eugene two years ago. He proved to be very patient, relaxed, have a nice sense of humour and concerned to use his knowledge of the area for our benefit. There was no need for Olga to act as an interpreter as Eugene's English is very good. We were able to see and visit many places that would have been very difficult if not impossible to do without him and his Ford Sierra. These included the Crimean war battle sites, exploring the mountain range bordering the Black Sea coast, hiring a boat in Balaklava harbour in order to reach otherwise inaccessible coastal swimming beaches. As in Sverdlovsk we met up with a number of Olga's friends and former colleagues to enjoy beach swimming parties and evenings together. One highlight was an invitation by some of Olga's former colleagues (all female) to join them for an evening BBQ some distance from Sevastopol at a remote chalet
style camp site located in forest and at a height of something like 500 m. As this had come as a surprise we were quite unprepared (or at least I was) for the coolness of the evening and, because of concern for my advanced years, our very kind hostesses engulfed me in a fur coat. One evening in Sevastopol we were strolling back to the hotel after dinner in a restaurant by? The waterfront when we came across an open air concert by a Chinese navy brass band playing some German oompah music to a Crimean audience and they were good. I hadn't realised that such music would travel, especially to the Far East. An unusual and, for me, pleasing mixture. Another memory that will stay with me. I would have loved to have stayed longer to see and explore more of Kiev and the Crimea:
there is so much to see of historical and visual interest. However our time had run out and we said our farewells to Eugene at Simferopol. Slava was waiting for us at Kiev station and there was time to see a little more of Kiev, in particular a fascinating spacious open air museum of authentic village buildings from yesteryear collected from various regions of the Ukraine. Overnight accommodation was again provided by Slava and his wife in their apartment. Early next morning Slava took us to Borispol airport for our flight back to the UK. I think it is only in retrospect that I came to really appreciate Eugene's unobtrusive and
seamless arrangements for our time in Kiev and the Crimea. At the very least he enabled us to avoid much wasted time and hassle which was in itself a huge help towards the success and enjoyment of the holiday. Eugene is someone that I have complete confidence in, I enjoyed his company and I look forward to meeting him again next summer. Above all though my lasting memory of this visit to the Ukraine is the warmth and friendliness shown by Olga's friends and in particular her family. Sadly there was just one blemish to the holiday: I didn't get to down a glass of vodka in one gulp. Next year maybe.

Derek Shaw, East Yorkshire, UK (June/July 2002)