EASTER IN UKRAINE

Welcome to Lviv – the picturesque western-capital of Ukraine. Lviv is considered to be one of the main cultural centres of the country, and is often called the “Paris of Ukraine”.

Upon arrival, take some time to settle down in your comfortable, character rich hotel and take some time to rest from your journey. Take a stroll through our beautiful city and enjoy the local architecture and Galician cuisine. In the evening, time for a delicious welcome dinner in one of the many restaurants in Lviv. Try traditional Ukrainian “borshch”, or dumplings “varenyky”!

Take the day to explore this stunning city, often called the Paris of Ukraine, got this name for a reason – once a princely state, part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and then of the Polish Kingdom, today Lviv is a modern European city that has, nonetheless, preserved a very special ‘old-European’ feel.

Take a city tour on a retro train and discover more! Walk around old cobblestone streets, taste the best coffee and beer Ukraine has to offer, hide in small authentic cafes and visit the World’s Only Coffee Mine. Lviv truly is a city of a laid-back, café culture where you can pick a spot, relax, and watch the world go by…

We strongly suggest you visit the Lviv Opera House – either for a show or simply to see the stunning interiors!

Naturally, all the main “touristy” attractions of Lviv are centrally located, but this doesn’t mean there aren’t things to explore beyond this realm! We’ll take you on another adventure, on an open-top bus, where you’ll get to visit the famous Lychakiv cemetery. This marvelous necropolis is considered to be one of the oldest in Europe. The Lviv Lychakiv Cemetery is rightfully named an open air museum in its own right!

Afterwards, you have free time to explore the city! Explore the bustling Easter Market, as the city comes alive to celebrate this great festivity. We suggest you to visit the local souvenir market at Vernisage, the High Castle mountain, where you can get a bird’s eye view of the city, or the Grand Opera House. We especially recommend you try some famous Lviv chocolate, or some of its aromatic coffee while you are here! Lviv’s cosy cafes are the perfect place to relax and watch the world go by…

A new day – a new adventure! Today we are off to the sweeping Carpathian Mountains; deep green forests, quaint wooden houses, ancient Hutsul churches and never-ending hills –it’s hard not to feel at-one with nature when you breathe in the fresh mountain air. On our way, we’ll stop in the city of Kolomyia, and visit the world’s only Pysanka (Easter egg) museum. A pysanka is a Ukrainian Easter egg, that is usually decorated with traditional Ukrainian folk designs in a wax-resist method. The word “pysanka” comes from the Ukrainian verb “pysaty”, which means “to write”, because the designs of it are not painted on, but written using beeswax. What better time to visit this museum, than at Easter?!

Then – back on the road. Upon arrival to Kosiv – a picturesque town in the Carpathian Mountains, we’ll get you checked into your hotel, then take the evening to relax, enjoy the breattaking views and fresh, relaxing air.

Today we’ll start preparations for your Easter celebrations, including making your own basket to bless! We’ll begin with a visit to the local crafts bazar in Kosiv, were local craftsmen skillfully produce all kinds of handicrafts, from Easter eggs, to wooden jewellery boxes, pottery, embroidery, leather goods and much more. Here you can buy all that you need to fill your traditional Easter basket, ready for blessing in church that afternoon. Blessings of Easter baskets start in the afternoon on Easter Saturday, and continue right through til the morning of Easter Sunday, but the symbolic foods in the basket are not to be eaten until they are blessed, or until mass has been said on Easter morning! You’ll have to wait!

Today is Eater Sunday! As is traditional for locals, we will attend an Easter Sunday mass in a church in the village of Bukovets.

After, you are cordially invited to a Hutsul family house, to join their Easter Sunday Celebrations!

Ukrainians, upon coming home from church after Easter Sunday mass will open their Easter baskets, as they can now consume the blessed food inside, as “Christ has Risen”! The food put into the baskets is very symbolic, for example, the Easter bread, or “paska”, is one of the most important components, as bread is a staple of Ukrainian life. It is often decorated with ornaments, such as a dough cross, or other Easter symbols. In the basket you will also find Easter eggs, or “pysanky”, different kinds of meat, as meat was prohibited during lent; dairy products; salt, representing Christ as the “salt of the earth”; and horseradish, which reminds people of the bitterness of overcoming the Resurrection.

You will partake in the ancient Ukrainian rituals of Easter, sample delicacies prepared specifically for the Easter festivities and experience real Carpathian hospitality!

Today, we will continue our Easter rituals in the village of Bereziv. Easter Monday in Ukraine is just as big as Easter Sunday! Events on this day include egg rolling competitions, singing “haivky”, and dousing other people with water as part of what they call “Wet Monday”. The dousing water tradition has been around for centuries, and supposedly – the more a girl is sprayed with water, the higher her chances to get married during the following year!

You’ll have the chance to learn hayivkas – traditional spring holiday songs, which are often sang during Easter celebrations in Ukraine. There are a lot of different types of hayivkas: for younger children, for the elderly, for boys and girls, there were also some which the boys and girls used to choose a couple for themselves. Take the chance to dance and sing along!

We will continue our traditional Easter celebrations in the quaint village of Tulova.  Tulova is a small old village, with a rich history and an age-old culture.  Here the locals are keen to welcome you into their village, to show you around, to experience their culture and day to day life –  you will be made to feel like part of this big family! Experience the famous Ukrainian hospitality at its best! Here you will get to meet the very occupants of the village – see inside their homes, try their homemade food, hear their stories, and learn about their Easter traditions!

We will try their home made food, learn Ukrainian haivky, visit the local church and much more. Experience Easter in an authentic Ukrainian village – this will be unforgettable!

Today we’ll head to the capital of Bukovyna –  Chernivtsi! A beautiful multicultural city, and historically a cosmopolitan community, Chernivtsi was once dubbed “Little Vienna” and “Jerusalem upon the Prut”. Chernivtsi is currently twinned with seven other cities around the world, the city is also considered one of Ukraine’s most important educational and architectural sites.

Once you get checked in to your hotel, enjoy a leisurely walk around this beautiful, multicultural city and learn its long complicated history. We will take a guided tour of the historic Chernivtsi University, This Hogwarts-like collection of buildings was the residence of the Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans, and is even on the UNESCO World Heritage List!

The rest of the day is yours to explore, do some shopping, sit in a quaint coffee shop or simply relax at the hotel!

We’re taking you on a time travel today! Not literally, of course, but you’ll get to see how the local princes and rulers lived hundreds of years ago –at the ancient fortress of Kamianets-Podislky. The different types of people that lived in Kamianets-Podilsky each brought their own culture and architecture, meaning that this place is steeped in history and culture. Learn the city’s history on a tour through the ancient fortress, the cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, the City Hall Building and numerous other fortifications.

Take a free day to sit back and enjoy this historic city.  Enjoy a stroll around the city, or just sit and admire the views from a cosy café.

That evening we will take an overnight train to Kyiv.

Welcome to Kyiv – the proud capital of Ukraine. This stunning city is packed from top to bottom with theatres, churches, museums, modern buildings alongside ancient ruins: to many, the city of Kyiv is the very centre of Ukrainian culture…. Upon arrival to Kyiv, time to settle down in your comfortable hotel. After some time to recover from your journey, we will take you on a tour through Kyiv.

Explore the old city district, see the new city centre, and wander down Andriivsky Uzviz, where Ukraine’s artists live and work. Take the day to get settled in and explore this beautiful city, and soak up the Easter atmosphere of this stunning capital!

Today is a chance to get to know this city’s long and exciting history. Your first impression of Kyiv is bound to be a surprise.  Nowadays, Kyiv is not just a city of Golden Domes, exciting and historical museums and memorials. It’s also a cool, up-and-coming progressive city, fast paced in some aspects, as you would expect a capital to be, but, in true Ukrainian style, also a place to sit back and relax as you watch the world go by, in one of its many backstreet cafes…

Visit the world famous St. Sofia and St.Volodymyr`s Cathedrals, and step back in time through the Golden Gates (or Zoloti Vorota), back into the 11th century when these gates once protected the Capital of the ancient Kyivan Rus.

Wander down Khreshchatyk Street (Kyiv’s main street, and shopping district), and around Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square).

Shop for some of the amazingly beautiful traditional Ukrainian clothing – vyshyvanka. “Vyshyvanka” is the name for the embroidered shirt or blouse, that is a part of Ukrainian national costume, and heritage. You can see many of them – modern and antique – on markets all across Ukraine!

Today you’ll have a chance to visit a real spiritual Mecca – the Kyiv Lavra Cave Monastery; an ancient collection of churches and buildings, winding underground passages and stunning golden domes.

After, we will visit the Ivan Honchar Museum of ethnography, which has an impressive collection of embroidery, musical instruments, traditional handicrafts, and ethnographic treasures!

Then, an exciting trip out to the recreated Kozak village of Mamayeva Sloboda – this open-air museum has authentic houses from the Kozak epoch, wooden churches and marvellous windmills, which will make you feel as though you have stepped back in time!

Finally, in the evening, a Zabava and Farewell Dinner of the finest traditional food in one of our favourite Restaurants, with live folk music to sing and dance the night away to!

Sadly, your trip will come to an end here.  After breakfast, the car will be waiting to take you directly to the airport. Thank you for traveling with Next Stop Ukraine – we hope your trip was an enjoyable, memorable occasion, and we will see you again soon!