10th of June 2010

I am so happy… I am going to meet my wonderful lady in Ukraine, but I am also very excited about this trip. I am sure it will be great.

11th of June 2010

I am here … At last I have met the girl of my dreams. She is so beautiful and I am really glad that we are together. I hope that our fairy tale has just begun. She was so happy to see me. So, let me tell you about our adventures.

I was so lucky to have such a wonderful interpreter. She and my honey have showed and told me so many different about interesting things in Ternopil.

I got to know that Ternopil is the center of the region, known for its castles, caves, waterfalls and rivers. The city is situated in the west of Ukraine on the river Sereet. It is the administrative, business and cultural center of Ternopil region.

The major attraction and the special pride of Ternopil is the lake in the very heart of the city. On the embankment of the Ternopil there is forged „Tree of Happiness“. Its leaves have some holes for the newlyweds – after the wedding the newlyweds hang their padlocks on the tree, make a wish, and throw out the keys not to allow anybody to prevent it. This tree is considered to symbolize the eternal happiness and love. We also dreamed that one day our padlock will be on this tree.

12th of June 2010

13th of June

It is impossible to get bored here. Here are so many different places of interest. Drama Theater, where you can enjoy the wonderful world of theatre, and Philharmonic Society, where beautiful music can bring you to the world of calmness and harmony, function in the city of Ternopil. The Museum of Regional Geography can help you in getting acquainted with the history, culture and traditions of the region. In the Museum of Arts old and modern paintings of the prominent European and regional artists are kept. Interesting paintings and drawings can be observed there. At the same time one can buy some paintings in the Art Gallery that is located in the city center.

14th of June 2010

I got to know that there are lots of places in Ternopil region, where one can spend free time in an interesting way.

I have visited Pochayiv - the town of five centuries that is 60 km from Ternopil, or Borshchiv (is 100 km from Ternopil City). The world-known Pochayiv Lavra (the architectural monument of the 18th - 19th centuries) and Pochayiv Monastery (a complex, which numbers 16 churches, bishop houses and a chapel) are situated in Pochayiv.

There are so many different caves. The next time I visit Ukraine I will definitely visit caves of Ternopil region. The largest karts caves in the world are located in the suburbs of Borshchiv. The cave named Optymistychna (Optimistic) is 182 km, and takes the first place in the world for the length among gypsum caves, and the second place among limestone caves. The cave named Ozerna is the sixth in the world for the length among the gypsum caves (107 km). The cave named Kryshtaleva (Crystal) (22 km) is equipped in such way that many tourists can visit it.
15th of June 2010

The most attractive places for visitors are the following: the Kremenets Mountains, the Medobory, the Gypsum Caves, small canyons of the Dnister, the Kasperiv Landscape Reserve, age-old castles in Skala-Podilsk, Koropets, and Galileo's Country-House Forest Reserve, Horostkiv, Germaniv, and Bilokrynytsia arboretum parks. So we decided to spend the day in Kremenets. It was wonderful day. I was enjoying warm sun and light wind, but the most important was that I was with my lady.

Ternopil region is the land of castles. I just couldn't miss the opportunity to visit at least one of them. I saw Ternopil castle on the first day of my trip. I was proposed to visit Zbarazh Castle and the palace-castle complex in Pidhirtsi.

The well known attraction of the city is the Ternopol Castle, the peer of the city. It is one of the most ancient structures, which remained up to nowadays. One can get in there only through the underground bridge over the ditch I didn't really find the castle on our visit because we were looking for a castle and not a palace. If you walk past Hotel Ternopil to the long staircase which leads down to the lake then you will see the palace building on your right and this is the entrance side. On my photo you you can see Ternopil Castle. Zbarazh Castle
The ancient town Zbarazh appeared on the banks of the Gnizna River, on picturesque highland of Podolia. There is the legend which tells us about brave troops that gathered in this place to defend their land. That’s why this place got its name Zbarazh (its previous name Zburazh that from Ukrainian means “to gather”. In casemates of Zbarazh castle a unique museum of weapon was opened. The biggest part of collection is medieval weapons. I was fascinated by its beauty and greatness, which carry visitors into the tempestuous 17th century, when famous architectures Andre dell Aqua and Guillaume de Beauplan constructed this architecture masterpiece by order of Stanislav Konetspolski. The garden that surrounds castle from all sides belongs to the monument of landscape-gardening art of state importance and is one of the oldest in Ukraine. The garden was built in “Italian” style and was the real masterpiece of garden

16th of June 2010

Ternopil people are so religious, almost all of them are Christians. There are a lot of churches in ternopil. I want to tell about some of them which I was so lucky to visit. There are lots of churches in Ternopil. Each of them is unique.Cathedral Greek Catholic Church and the Church of Christmas (Ukrainian Orthodox) are located downtown of Ternopil. The Church of Christmas is from 17th century and the Cathedral Greek Catholic Church is from 18th.Today The newest one is the Roman Catholic Church on Stepana Bandery Ave. It is only Roman Catholic Church in Ternopil; the building was finished in 2008.
The Saint Peter's Church is new in Ternopil too; it was built in 1998-2005, architect Serhiy Hora. The Church is located on Volodymyra Velykogo Street 17th of June 2010 There is a beautiful fountains in Ternopil! The fountain located by the "Ternopil" hotel; the stairs taking you to the Ternopil Lake. The official name of the fountain is “The Cascade”and its urban legend’s name is “The Tears of Gronsky”.The fountain was created in 1972 by Edward Gronsky (born in 1929) the main architect of Ternopil that time. In 1973 Gronsky was thrown into jail by Soviet regime (released in 1980). The case was fabricated, as many cases that time. That’s why people gave a name “The Tears of Gronsky” to the fountain.
In spite of his sad nonofficial name, the fountain gives lots of joy to the habitants and guests of Ternopil, especially to the young generation :) (Take a look at the picture below!) The fountain has a lightening at night time, what creates a very romantic atmosphere around.

Dandelion Fountain is located by the main Post Office of Ternopil, not far from railway station (actually, couple minutes to walk). This is the one of the oldest and nicest fountains of the city; it was installed in 1968 and was restored in 2008. Here is a picture of the Dandelion Fontain before the restoration and here is after the restoration. 18th of June 2010

It was very interesting for me to try some Ukrainian food. So, we went to some Ternopil restaurants. Borshch and varenyky are very tasty. Ternopil restaurants
One can see the rich collection of the subjects of the national life and taste in full the Ukrainian national cuisine in Ternopol.
There are two cuisines that are represented in Ternopil restaurants: European and Ukrainian. If European cuisine is known to everyone, Ukrainian cuisine is not that discovered yet, as for example, Italian or Greek ones. Besides, the same popular Ukrainian dishes such as borshch (beet soup) or varenyky (Ukrainian dumplings) are made differently in various areas of Ukraine. For example, in Ternopil which is located in western Ukraine, borshch tastes not the same as in eastern or southern Ukraine. Very cozy restaurant in northern part of Ternopil (on the road to Zbarazh, Kremenetsand Pochaiv cities). Wooden interior made in Hutsul style. Delicious Ukrainian, European cuisine. Comfortable parking.
After a good meal you can relax in gorgeous backyard of the restaurant, with lots of flowers and little lake with couple of beautiful swans. Or you can ask to serve your dinner outside. 19th of June 2010 The Halych restaurant is located in the eastern part of Ternopil.The restaurant's specialy is Ukrainian cuisine. You can enjoy a meal prepared under old Ukrainian recipes and modern recipes as well. The taste is just great!

Interior of the restaurant is made in old Ukrainian style, it looks like you inside West Ukrainian house 16-19 centuries.
Old Mill - is probably the only institution in ethnographic Ternopil, reflecting the culture of our people, can tell about life, customs and traditions of Ukrainian and most important thing is that they treat with authentic Ukrainian dishes, prepared according to old recipes and techniques. Old Mill - is not just a restaurant, a real museum, the Museum cafeteria. 20th of June 2010 If you are in Ternopil and you are looking for some very special place for your dinner, the Winter Garden restaurant and bar is just what you need, take a look.

The Winter Garden restaurant is located in Zbarazh city, which is only 20 kilometers from Ternopil (you can easily get there by taxi). The Winter Garden restaurant is unique because it is only place in Ukraine where you can dine in a shade of these gorgeous tropical plants: There are plants like palm trees which are not compatible with Ukrainian climate outdoor, so the staff of the restaurant keeps a special temperature for tropical plants all year around. If to visit this restaurant in a winter time, and it is something really special and enjoyable: all of sudden, from all the snow and frost just right outside of the restaurant, to get in to these tropics, like to a totally different world. And food… oh, food in the restaurant it was a triumph of the Ukrainian deliciousness! For example, a cod liver salad (cod liver is a delicacy item in Ukraine): cod liver pieces with chopped green onion, sliced fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, black olives and mayonnaise dressing. Another appetizer worth to try in this restaurant is a sliced cold meat: they bake different kinds of traditional Ukrainian deli like ham, meatloaf and bacon locally, in the Winter Garden, so they are not like other restaurants which are buying meat deli for cold meat platters in the stores (sliced cold meat platter it is one of the “must to be” at Ukrainian party table). Speaking about main entrees, the potato pancakes stuffed with meat and wild mushrooms sauce on a side is a real hit, at least it was for our party.

21th of June 2010 "Podolyany" is the biggest trade-entertainment center "Podolyany" in western Ukraine. The area of the center is 49 100 thousands square meters. There are lots of shops, boutiques, cafes and restaurants. You can find here such famous brands as Brocard, Zepter, Madoc, Nissan, Luciano Carvari. There is a hypermarket “Si'lpo” where you can find a huge choice of different goods. On the territory of the trade-entertainment center there are also – ice-skating rink, pub, sushi- restaurant, bowling, pizza-cafe, 3-D and 5-D cinema. We decided to go to the sushi-restaurant and then we went to 5-D cinema. It was really exciting. I felt everything as if it was not the movie, but real life. So, I felt myself to be racer. I have got so much satisfaction and a lot of pleasant memories.

22th of June 2010

My wonderful trip is almost over. But I won't say "Good Bye", I will say "See you soon".