Taking a gap year in Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. IMost of the country (the central and eastern portions) was formerly a part of Russian Empire; Ukraine is the second-largest country in Europe, albeit with a slightly declining population.

Quick FactsCapital KievGovernment RepublicCurrency-Hryvnia (₴)Area total: 603,550 km2water: 24,220 km2land: 579,330 km2Population :45,888,000 (2010 estimate)Language:Ukrainian (official), Russian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian, Crimean TatarReligion:Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate, Ukrainian Orthodox - Kiev Patriarchate, Ukrainian, Muslim .

Ukrainian history is long and proud, with the inception of Kievan Rus as the most powerful state in Medieval Europe. While this state fell prey to Mongol conquest, the western part of Ukraine became part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from the 14th until the 18th century, even modern Ukraine owes it a debt of sorts.

Despite a brief, but uncertain, flash of independence at the end of the czarist regime, Ukraine was incorporated into the new USSR after the Russian Civil War in 1922 Ukraine declared its sovereignty within the Soviet Union in July 1990 as a prelude to unfolding events in the year.

Central UkraineThe political, economic, and cultural centre of Ukraine, centred around the capital Kiev

CrimeaA peninsula that serves mainly as Russia's favourite beach resort, with some beautiful Black Sea coastline and mountainous interior

Western UkraineHistorically under the control of non-Russian European countries for centuries (e.g.Poland, Lithuania, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia and Turkey); accordingly you'll find Central European architecture, cuisine, language and religion here

Eastern UkraineThe heavily industrialised and Russified coal-mining region of the Donbass, home to big Soviet cities and much of the country's ethnic Russian population

Southern UkraineThe popular Ukrainian Black Sea coast (albeit not quite so popular as the Crimea), best known for the magnificent city of Odessa

Kiev— The beautiful Ukrainian capital, home to leafy hills and world-famous Orthodox and Baroque architecture Chernihiv Chernivtsi Dnipropetrovsk DonetskKharkiv LvivOdessa Sevastopol

There are daily direct overnight trains from Berlin, Vienna, Prague, Warsaw, Belgrade, Budapest, Bucharest and Sofia to Lviv or Kiev. When coming from Western Europe there will be a 2-3 hour wait at the border while the train's bogies are changed in order to adapt to a different rail gauge. It's generally quicker and cheaper to buy a ticket to the border and then change trains, rather than wait getting through train.

There are inexpensive direct bus services to Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk from Poland. They usually offer a budget level of comfort and cost about 90 to 100 hryvnia.

The nearest significant town on the Polish side is Przemyśl, and it's easy to find by following route which passes through Przemyśl), also known as the E40 in European terms.

When you arrive, the road is fairly narrow with a queue of trucks and vans parked to the right of the road; a hard-core parking area with cafe/bar to the left.

Balaklava Harbour, Crimea

Livadia Palace near Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine