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It’s not every trip abroad you have the chance to visit the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident, is it? The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is only about a two-hour ride north of Kyiv. Many tourist offices in conjunction with a government agency offers a day trip to the region, wisely deciding that the market for overnight stays is not great. Russian-speaking driver will pick you up at 09:00 in a Russian Lada car - maybe you’ll even listen to Russian music while motoring through the countryside. They also shrewdly advise that the absence of roadside cafes makes both water and fruit good things to bring along with you, althugh lunch is provided. Once you actually enter the contaminated zone, you’ll be joined by your English-speaking guide, who will show you the fateful reactor N°4 from a safe distance. You’ll also visit the nearby ghost town of Pripyat - where some apartments still bear witness to the haste in which 47,500 residents were made to leave their homes - and have a chance to converse with residents of surrounding villages. |
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The national currency is the hryvnia (hr), which replaced the transitional karbovanets on September 2, 1996. Don’t be confused if your amount is given in roubles. You haven’t been transported to Russia or taken back in time to the USSR - some people just have trouble letting go of the past! Paper bills carry denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 200 hryvnias. Another word to the wise: two versions exist of the 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 hryvnia bills, and both are accepted everywhere. There are 100 kopecks in a hryvnia, with 1, 2, 5, 10, 25 and 50 kopeck coins. If you’re lucky, you may become the proud owner of the recently-issued and still rare 1hr coin. You’ll have no problem finding currency exchange points, but rates are better from central street kiosks. If it’s traveller’s checks you need to cash, look for a big respectable-looking bank. ATMs have become plentiful in Kyiv, and many hotels and restaurants now take Visa and MasterCard - American Express is not very popular. There have been scattered reports of credit card fraud in upscale restaurants, though, so you may want to think twice before charging it. |
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The effects are still being felt 18 years later. The disaster occurred at 1:23 am on April 26, 1986, when a safety test of reactor N°4 went horribly wrong. Two explosions blew the top off the reactor, and radiation at least 100 times that of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs combined was released, in time spreading over the whole Northern Hemisphere. Belarus, only 12km north of Chernobyl, was worst hit. But in Ukraine 35,000 km2 of forest, or 40% of the country’s total forest area, was contaminated by fallout. Today six per cent of Ukraine’s overall territory remains contaminated. Of the current state budget, 5% still deals with the consequences of Chernobyl. By 2015, it is said that the disaster will have cost the Ukrainian economy $201 billion. |
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This wonderful city on the Black Sea coast is often called the "Pearl of the South." It has a special architectural style and a special ambiance. Fortunately, most of the marvelous buildings that went up in Odessa during the 18th and 19th centuries were only partially destroyed during World War II. That means the city retains the charm of yesteryear. Odessa residents are known to be hospitable, warm-hearted, independent, proud - and to possess a sophisticated sense of humor. The city holds festivals of humor and satire every year on 1 April. And when the festivals are held, local businesses give their employees the day off. |
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Ukrainian dishes show a sophisticated simplicity based on pleasing combinations of fresh, pickled, and smoked ingredients. While cooking techniques are not complicated, dishes may contain a great number of ingredients and unusual combinations, such as shuba salad which combines pickled herring and beets. Food is neither highly spiced nor bland, but skillfully seasoned to perfection. Bread, is of course the mainstay of the Ukrainian diet. The country’s reputation as the “breadbasket of Europe” is well deserved. |
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Successfully having written about the deep seas, I have decided to find out what sea the fineest. The manual approves(confirms), that the fineest sea - Yellow (it in Pacific ocean near to China). Its(his) depth does not exceed 106 meters. On the second place there was Baltic sea - only 470 meters. Karskoe and the seas Barentsevo with 600 meters of depth divide 3 place in a rating of the fineest seas of the world. |
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It’s not every trip abroad you have the chance to visit the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident, is it? The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is only about a two-hour ride north of Kyiv. Many tourist offices in conjunction with a government agency offers a day trip to the region, wisely deciding that the market for overnight stays is not great. Russian-speaking driver will pick you up at 09:00 in a Russian Lada car - maybe you’ll even listen to Russian music while motoring through the countryside. They also shrewdly advise that the absence of roadside cafes makes both water and fruit good things to bring along with you, althugh lunch is provided. Once you actually enter the contaminated zone, you’ll be joined by your English-speaking guide, who will show you the fateful reactor N°4 from a safe distance. You’ll also visit the nearby ghost town of Pripyat - where some apartments still bear witness to the haste in which 47,500 residents were made to leave their homes - and have a chance to converse with residents of surrounding villages. |
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The Black Sea area is 422 000 sq. kilometers. The Kerch Strait links it with the Sea of Azov and the Bosporus with the Sea of Marmara. The length of the Black Sea coastline within Ukraine is over 1500 km. with the beaches predominantly sloping (except in the region of the Crimean Mountains). In the northeastern part of the coast, numerous estuaries and lakes had formed separated from the sea by narrow sandy strips. The Black Sea is over 2000 meters deep in the center, but within the zone adjoining Ukraine the depth of 100 to 120 meters prevails. Considerable deepth is found only in the region of the Southern Coast of Crimea. |
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Tourism Library 
