Ukraine

We all know about the difficult situation in Ukraine of today. When I look at my photos from my jorneys to Ukraine, I can't stop wondering what has happened to the people I met. While looking at the photos from the beautiful and impressive Kiev with its Maidan, it is very difficult to understand what was about to happen a few years later.

This is what I wrote a few years ago when I created tis page for the first time:

Travelling by train and bus in Ukraine will take you to beautiful and somewhat forgotten cities and you will get an overdose of beautiful landscape scenery on the way. Western Ukraine is surprisingly little Ukraine, i.e this part of this massive country actually feels more like some part of central Europe. The people, the look of the cities and the atmosphere could be Austria in 1960?

Looking out of a train window passing slowly through the enormous Ukranian fields is travelling when it is at its best. Walking the beautiful streets of Lviv or Chernivtsi just makes you wonder: How come I've never heard of these beautiful places before? And cruising the late evening streets in Ivano-Frankivsk with a white Lada with three local guys makes you feel like you are in some surreal movie. Ukraine!

And Kiev! Big, impressive and very East. That is Kiev. Beautiful boulevards, impressive architecture and a lot of huge SUV's with black windows parked on the sidewalks. When you wander the streets of this massive city it is easy to understand that Kiev once was one of the most important places in the east. Today it is more like a newly awaken teenager who isn't really sure of its identity.

In the summer of 2012 the Swedish fans will invade Kiev and the Euro 2012. It will for sure be an interesting battle in group D with Ukraine, France, Sweden and England. The only two things that one could whish for is that A. the british fans will behave like civilised people and B. that Zlatan will get rid of his long hair and get a haircut that suits him before kick-off