What is a tourist coming to Ukraine looking for? Exotics! And he is going to get it with the unfamiliar tuneful language he hears on the street, the girls that look as if they’ve just came from a beauty pageant, the tasty food in the restaurants, and the cozy hotels. However, there is still something missing, something you need to help you understand the soul of the people. If you agree, then it’s the right time to try the thing called “the green tourism”.

At last you’re heading for a Ukrainian village. It doesn’t really matter what season it is now; the spring with its motley flowers, the summer smelling of mowed grass and fresh milk, the fall with its morning mists and the sweet scent of apples, or the winter that covers everything around you with a heavy blanket of snow and the time when it feels so good to sit inside a heated house throwing little billets into the furnace. Any season will uncover its magnificent views for you.

It doesn’t matter which house you are standing in front of – a new cottage or an old picturesque hut with a thatched roof. The only thing that matters is the way the hosts are going to welcome you.

The Ukrainians are always happy to see guests. It’s possible that the whole family will come out to welcome you. A beautiful girl will approach you carrying a karavai (you should pinch off and eat a little piece of it) and after that you should start getting ready for dinner! And don’t try to refuse the hosts; it may be a great offense for them if the guest refuses to eat. Therefore, it’s well-advised to go visit the Ukrainians on an empty belly.

The table is already covered with numerous tasty-smelling dishes. You’ll get borsch, uha, and the galushka soup if you want. However, it will to appear on the table a little later when the hostess cooks for you (with pleasure and care since all hospitable hosts really want to please their guests) – so for now just help yourself to a small appetizer. They’ll bring a shot of cold gorilka and you can have it with a pickle, kruchenyki, or with a piece of fried lard oozing with grease. However, the host is already offering you a taste some home-made moonshine (samogon) which is drawn on herbs or some nalivka which is easy to drink but may make it hard to stand from the table! At the end of this feast you will definitely be offered a dessert with tea or coffee.

Now when the guest is full (the degree of fullness is defined by the glitter in your eyes and the specific protrusion of your belly), the hosts will relax a little bit and start a slow Ukrainian song. Just when you’re beginning to get tears in your eyes from “Galya” (it’s hard to understand what the song is about – but it’s a very sad one), the hostess unexpectedly starts singing something that would definitely make you dance! Although you might afraid to lose your pants which you just might have unbuttoned after the large feast. It would be good to sing along with them or to tell an interesting story in response, but everyone understands that you may want only one thing:

The bed is made already, and a soft pillow is waiting from your long road trip and the generous hospitality of the Ukrainian hosts. However, you won’t be able to sleep for too long: inexplicable scents will get you out of bed and guide towards the table once again.

At last you’re done with breakfast. If you want, the hosts can give you a ride in a cart or let you ride a horse. Or if you want to try something really extreme, just help the hosts do the routine work – dig out some potatoes, milk the cow, feed the piglets, or make a dozen of vareniks. Don’t be afraid to ask for anything – a guest is a pleasure for the Ukrainian family. They will be so glad to show you everything, tell all they know about it, and let you try it for yourself.

When the farewell time comes, you’ll definitely want to stay there a little longer – maybe for even another month because these people have managed become like family to you. Later in the airport, while finishing the pies that the careful hostess forced you to take, you will fondly remember that sad melody that you heard in the Ukrainian house.