Ukraine in glorious fall color

October 4-16   2010

This trip will be a fascinating blend of cultural & historical travel.
We start in beautiful Kiev and end up in the city of Odessa on the Black Sea.  In between, we'll visit some of the important Mennonite heritage sites ...and get to know & enjoy a few of the unusual people behind the creative ministries sponsored by FLN in Ukraine.

 

 

 

Important features of this trip:

• We will celebrate and encourage FLN staff and volunteers in their creative work. Also, we may spot some areas in which to inspire & involve some of our friends and churches back home.
• We will see and experience Ukraine through the eyes of Juliy Morozov, Leonid Sergienko and the FLN team. This will take us way beyond typical tourism.
• Kiev in the fall is gorgeous. Here we will try to gain a solid entry into Ukraine, its mind set and people.
• Two days will be set aside (for those who are interested) to explore Mennonite History & to "walk some of the trails" pioneered by some of our ancestors.
• Throughout this trip, we will be moving in and out of the old Soviet ways and the new realities. We will see the clash and calamity as well as the beauty of changes as they have been taking place in this most historical context.
• Odessa on the Black Sea has been a holiday destination point for decades. The architecture, the history and its people will give us a fascinating way to end our adventure.

 

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Cost

$2600 US

This fare includes all travel within Ukraine, tips, most meals, beautiful hotels, trains, photography lessons, hosting with FLN team leaders... and creative side trips.

It does not include airfare... (or those wooden dolls which open up to reveal another inside and then another and another etc.)  We have travel agents familiar with this trip who will take really excellent care of you. Contact Wally Schmidt for travel options.

Note: Payment for the tour portion only is made directly to Family Life Network.

          Payment for travel is made to the travel agent.

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Itinerary basically as follows:

Day 1/Monday

Arrive Kiev from Frankfurt at 1:30 p.m.

• We’ll have a relatively hassle free entrance through passport control.  Not at all like North America.  A nice surprise.  (Unless of course you read this in which case it will not be a surprise.) (But we digress)
• Short ride from the airport to hotel Ukraina.  Our hotel is right downtown, a stone's throw from the square which was headquarters for the tent city / Orange Revolution.  ( Click picture for more information.)
• We'll stop at bank to get money.
• 2:30-5 o'clock.  Rest from journey.
• 6:00 p.m. We'll head out for a walk and take our first meal as a group this evening.

 

Day 2/Tuesday... Kiev

• 9:00 a.m. Day tour of Kiev.  Bring cameras, jacket, husband etc.
• 1:00 p.m. lunch at the "Fat House" Cafeteria.  (It sounds way better in Ukrainian) A well known and popular site.
• 2:30 p.m. The war Museum.  A powerful experience for sure. 
• 6:00 p.m.  Supper

  

Day 3/Wednesday... Kiev

• 9:00 a.m. We visit the incredible Lavra Monastery and underground caverns.
• 12:30 p.m. lunch at 2 Geese Cafeteria.  (Which sounds cool even in English)
• 2:00 p.m. Chernobyl Museum  (a "reaction" is almost guaranteed.)
• 6:00 p.m.?  Supper.

 

Day 4/Thursday... Kiev

• Option day.  (Wander, shop, do the Opera tour, go to the outdoor Ukrainian museum, etc.).  We'll pack up our stuff in anticipation of the evening train ride.
• Supper at Shynok restaurant.
• 9:23 p.m. Night train to Krivoy Rog.  We will travel in a specialized "sleeper train" with small private berths. (Arrives next morning at 6:15 a.m.)

 

Day 5/Friday

• 6:50 a.m. Arrival in Krivoy Rog.
• Plan A: Go directly to hotel. (see above) Then rest until 9 a.m.
• 9:30 a.m. breakfast at Zhovti Vody (pronounced Jolty Vody) with FLN staff
• tour Ministry and meet staff.  Hear stories.
• Lunch in Zhovti Vody.  Tour this very "Soviet style city".
• 3:30 p.m. Go back to hotel (snooze)
• 6:00 p.m. Supper at shelter.
• Evening shelter event.  We have structured the trip so that we could be close to the Shelter for its weekend events.

 

Day 6/Saturday

• 9:30 a.m. Tour Shelter.  Meet staff
• 12:00 p.m. Lunch at shelter. 
• Tour Krivoy Rog with emphasis on gaining entrance if possible to one of the iron mines for which this region is famous.  Krivoy Rog is one of the longest cities in the world, a city that grew along the mines as they were developed.  This is not a tourist area and we were fortunate to find a hotel that was just this side of delightful. 
• Evening event?

 

Day 7/Sunday

• 10:00 a.m. Shelter morning service.  Informal.
• 1:00 p.m. Lunch at shelter
• Afternoon... life in Krivoy Rog.  Team FLN to take people in small groups to experience their world.  Family, friends, parks etc.
• 4:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. Take bus to Zaporozhye where we will adventure with some of the Mennonite history.
• Settle into our restaurant and then wander over to a nearby restaurant .

 

Day 8/Monday

• 8:00 a.m.(ish)  Breakfast at hotel
• 9:00 a.m.-City tour
• Tour the island of Chortizta, which is full of Mennonite & Cossack history.
• 12:00 p.m. Lunch

• Afternoon... Cossack show?  (The season may be over for this show by the time we arrive).

• At any rate, here Wally Schmidt, one of our hosts demonstrates why the odds of him being bronsed are slim to none.
• Afternoon specialty tour
• 6:00 p.m. Supper

 

 

 

 

Day 9/Tuesday

• Early breakfast
• Bus to Mennonite settlements.  We will try to be creative here, allowing if possible for different groups to go to their separate areas of interest.
• Lunch on the road
• Supper
• 5:00 p.m. Two hr bus drive to Dnipropetrovsk to catch sleeper train for Odessa which leaves at about 9:30 p.m. (private berths. )

 

Day 10/Wednesday

• 6:30 a.m. Arrival in Odessa
• Bus to hotel where we will either get into our rooms or store our bags in order to lighten the load.  Coffee or tea and breakfast to follow.
• Morning tour of this stunning Black Sea town.
• 1:00 p.m. lunch.  Do a "light date" of touring and interview. 
• Supper

 

 

Day 11/Thursday

• Day tours.  We'll do the traditional "Soviet " tour this morning.
• Lunch?
• In the afternoon see some of the places where people really live.  We will try to make this a personal and eye opening experience.
• Supper together as a group 

 

Day 12/Friday

• This will be a free day to wander this gorgeous city.  We will put together some small group ideas for those who would like to go somewhere as a team.  But mostly this will be a day to take for yourself, explore your own interests, do some shopping, go to the Opera (see Opera building to the right) etc..

 

Day 13/Saturday

• We’ll celebrate our last breakfast together and then make arrangements for flights home or to your next destination.  Some of you will take this opportunity to do some touring in Europe, and we wish you a safe journey.