April 2027 Tour

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What to Expect

• Meetings with local NGOs and volunteer initiatives

• Visit to villages earlier occupied by the Russians. Listen to the stories of the people living there

• Stay overnight with a family in a village in deoccupied territory

• Long walks in the beautiful cities

• Qualified Ukranian tourleader

Cost

13 800 SEK from and return to Nynäshamn.

11 800 SEK joining in Warsaw. Leaving in Warsaw.

Advance payment 600 SEK.

Single room supplement is 1500 SEK

Itinerary.

After application you will get a version with more details.

Resplan – Itinerary

23.6

Train timings for Ukranian trains are published only 14 days before departure. Polish trains three weeks ahead of departure.

Day 1. Tu 20.4. Departure by ferry from Nynäshamn

Tag pendeltåget senast 15.29 Stockholms Central mot Nynäshamn. Ankomst 16.28. Men kolla dagarna innan!

Tåg avgår Stockholm+ City (pendeltågsstationen, som ligger under tunnelbanan. Tag spärrarna till vänster om nedgången till tunnelbanan).

Gå av vid slutstationen, fortsätt framåt i tågets färdriktning, passera entrén till Gotlandsfärjan. Tar ca 8 min to Polferries.

At 18.00 avgång med Polferries. Vi möts i avgångshallen 17.00.

Polferries bjuder på middag och frukost.

Day 2. We 21.4. Train through Poland

Arrive Gdansk 12.00.

Reserved taxis from Polferries Terminal to Railway station.

12.55 depart by train to Warsaw.

15.31 arrive in Warsaw Centralna. Here we will meet Mrs Anna Beria.

Greg, Mattias, Richard and Gunnar will leave Krakow 19.45 and arrive Przemysl 22.21. They will get their tickets by mail.

17.08 depart by train to Przemysl.

22.06 arrival to Przemysl near to the border. Hotel Europejski, 100 meters from the railway station.

Day 3. Th 22.4. Lviv. Cultural sightseeing

10.41 Train to Lviv

14.13 Arrival in Lviv. Will be met by tour leader Iryna Prokopyshyn on the platform. Check-in at centrally located Hotel Lviv, Viacheslava Chornovola Avenue 7

Lunch

Afternoon we walk around in city to see remnants of many cultures and traces of all nations that earlier had the city within its borders.

We visit the best places of the historical center of Lviv by foot in company of local guide Halyna.

The heart of Lviv's old town, Rynok Square (Market Square) is a UNESCO-listed site with colorful renaissance buildings, cafes, and a vibrant atmosphere.

Lviv Opera House, a magnificent architectural gem, the Lviv Opera House is one of Ukraine's most beautiful theaters, hosting opera and ballet performances. You may like to check up on their program.

Lviv City Hall is an impressive example of Gothic architecture, and the Town Hall Tower offers panoramic views of the city.

Armenian Cathedral, a historic cathedral known for its unique architecture, offers stunning views of Lviv.

Dominican Church and Monastery: A beautiful Baroque complex with a striking church and a museum showcasing religious art and artifacts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lviv Total 3-4 hours.

Visit to military cemetery which is expanded almost every day.

Dinner

Curfew (utegångsförbud) from 00.00 to 05.00. This can be changed any time.

Day 4. Fr 23.4. Lviv. Visit to volunteering Centre

Breakfast

09.30 Meeting with Martha at BUR (Building Ukraine Together). Volunteering organization that is rebuilding Ukraine in many ways.

11.30 Visit to a drone making workshop and their dynamic leader Mykola. SocialDroneUA | FPV Дрон ком'юніті

Lunch

14.00 Meeting with Iryna and other local volunteers, Dzygas Paw - charity foundation that supplies the Ukrainian military with high-tech equipment.

15.30 Back to the hotel. Free time.

22.00 Tram no 1 to the railway station.

23.50 Dep Lviv by train to Chernihiv. Sleepers. We try to get lower berths.

Day 5. Sa 24.4. Chernihiv sightseeing + volunteers

12.38 Arr Chernihiv. Hotel Prydesnyansky, Shevchenka street 99 A. Five minutes from river Desna. Lunch at the hotel.

14.00 We see the city and the consequences of Russian destruction. Stanislav, a local military officer will accompany us and tell us stories of Chernihiv defense in 2022. His brother died in battles for Chernihiv in 2022.

16.00 Meeting with Dobrobat - volunteering organization that helps victims of war with reconstruction of their houses and local infrastructure. We will visit some of the renovated areas and hear the stories.  https://www.dobrobat.in.ua/ 

The city lies on the Desna River, 130 km northeast of Kyiv and 50 km from the border to Belarus. Chernihiv was first mentioned in 907. It was one of the chief towns of Kievan Rus and the center of a princedom. Its Transfiguration Cathedral dates from 1036. An old city with much beaty and history.

The city was designated as Hero city by the Ukrainian government for withstanding an invasion by Russian troops during the first days of war. Much of the surrounding villages were taken by the Russians, but they were stopped outside the city by local forces and civilian bravery.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Chernihiv 

https://lb.ua/blog/koalitsiia_ua5am/557680_voienni_zlochini_chernigivshchini.html 

19:00 Dinner

Day 6. Su 25.4. Chernihiv oblast

09.00 Breakfast.

10:00 Meetings with local volunteers - ROCKET TEAM Charity Fund. About 23,000 people were evacuated from Chernihiv and region thanks to these guys. They keep up their volunteering activities by helping the military and people in need. The leader of the organization, Artem Rakitin, is an ex-military (was injured). He is now known all over the country and you will meet him. His story is here: A soldier from Chernihiv region was injured in the eye and raised UAH 1.4 million for recovery — Suspilne Chernihiv

https://www.instagram.com/roket7778

Lunch in the hotel.

13.00 Rented bus to deoccupied villages around Chernihiv. Chernihiv itself was not occupied, but the suburbs were the frontline. We will be received by Mrs Olena Shydka, mayor in the commune Ivanika covering 17 villages.  She is reelected for the third time and an example of the strong position of women in Ukrainian society. We proceed to the villages Yagidne and Lukashivka.

Please use translator to read these:

- History of Yagidne Living next to the dead. The horrors of the Russian occupation in the Chernihiv region - BBC News Ukraine

- Lukashivka Occupation of Chernihiv region - how the region is coming back to life (babel.ua)

Overnigh stay in the villages:

The group will be split into small groups of 1 - 3 persons in each. Each group will stay overnight with different local families. Together with them you will have dinner and later go to bed for the night. Next morning they will serve you breakfast.

In Ukranian culture payment is not accepted from guests. Instead, we will pay for a project chosen by the village leaders. BUT tradition is also that you bring a small personal gift. Something that reminds of you or your country. These people may never have seen foreigners before! (Besides the Russian killers).  We come as guests. And we behave as good guests do, we adjust to whatever is offered.

Language is of course a problem, but there will be at least two English speaking Ukrainians with us. And we can use Google Translate. Also, some of the young people will be happy to try whatever they have learnt in school.

I will not be surprised if this turns out to be the best part of the tour.

Day 7. Mo 26.4. Stay with local families in Lukashivka and Yahidne villages

09:00 Breakfast with your host family.

11:00 Meeting with the Head of the United Territorial Community of that area. Visit to a war memorial.

Walk around the village in company of villagers.

Return by bus to Chernihiv. Check in at same hotel as before, where we should also have left some of our luggage.

Lunch and free time in Chernihiv.

In the evening we will be shown a film Shield of Chernihiv by Vladimir Berezinsky, head of Territorial defense North. The director of the film will also be present.

Day 8. Tu 27.4. Walking around in Kyiv

08.00 Breakfast at the hotel

09.00 Dep Chernihiv by rented bus to Vyshegrad, a village just south of Kyiv.

11.30 Arrival in Vyshegrad. Here we meet an interesting person, Evgeniy Riasnenko. Sitting in a wheelchair he has gathered the whole village in various small-scale projects supporting the army. Also schoolchildren are involved.

Late lunch in the village or later at Puzata Khata in Kyiv

14.00 Arr Kyiv, to legendary Hotel Ukraine right above Independence Square, Maidan.

Maybe we will joined by Per-Olof Karlsson, alias Perre

(20+) Perre’s Matpåsar i Ukraina 🇸🇪0736008020 Swish 🇳🇴92288320 Vipps | Grupper | Facebook

Tour in central parts of Kyiv by foot and public transport.

We will visit the most impressively ancient 12th-century Mykhailivskyi and 11th-century Sophia Cathedrals, as well as the famous Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra - until recently a stronghold of the Russian Orthodox Church.

We will also visit an exhibition of destroyed Russian armored vehicles. Museum of the Formation of the Ukrainian Nation - the newest museum of Ukrainian history. Here we will be surprised by how much Ukrainian history is intertwined with the Swedish. This museum is close to the symbol of the Motherland sculpture. Maybe, a total of 4 hours. Kiev – Wikipedia

Evening free.

Day 9. We 28.4. Kyiv, meeting with volunteers

08.30 Breakfast at the hotel.

10:00 Visit to volunteering organization Glory UA Charity Fund. Private movie viewing “Follow me” (Maybe a new movie “We were recruits” about 3rd Assault Brigade). This film won “Best Documentary” and received the highest rating from the audience and the jury.

Meeting with film authors - human rights defenders, lawyers, volunteers, founders of the Glory UA Charity Fund. Military officers will be invited for conversations. Talks about the state of legal system, corruption, anti-raider practice and volunteer projects. A sensitive issue is the possible general mobilization. We will also hopefully touch on the future of rebuilding Ukraine. This quite high-profile talks will put demands on us, visitors, guests. Be prepared! Some snacks may be served. https://glory.foundation/en/about-us/ 

11.30 Meeting with founders of UApostcards https://uapostcards.org/, two brothers Tebenko, who developed a great initiative of selling postcards for collecting money for the army.

13:30 Lunch.

16:00 Meeting with charity group Radystky. A group of female friends who organize events to raise funds for the military.

18:00 Dinner. We try to invite Perre and other people we have previously met. Curfew from 24.00.

Day 10. Th 29.4. Kyiv. Free time, departure to Poland

08.00 Breakfast at the hotel. We leave our luggage in the storeroom.

10.30 Meeting with charity fund Children of Heroes. They support children of fallen heroes and countless number of Ukrainian children who have suffered the ultimate tragedy: the loss of a parent, or parents, during the ongoing war. Now 15 000 children are in their network.

12:30 Lunch break somewhere. 

13.30 Free time for individual programs and spontaneous activities. There are a lot of very interesting shopping. Also, a day in reserve if we for some reason have been delayed earlier.

We might meet some more interesting people, see good projects and volunteering initiatives.

We may also visit Zhovten Cinema, the oldest operating cinema in Kyiv, which started working in 1931. Films shown in English language with Ukrainian subtitles.

19.06 Train to Chelm in Poland. Sleepers.

Day 11. Fr 30.4. Train to Gdansk and the ferry

Across the Polish border.

05.00 Arr Chelm.

06.22 dep Chelm by train.

09.43 arr Warszawa Centralna. Here we say goodbye to some of our fellow travellers.

11.01 dep Warszawa Centralna

14.14 arr Gdansk Glowny.

Bus 106 to the harbour.

17.00 Check in at the ferry terminal.

Ferry to Nynäshamn at 18.00

Day 12. Sa 1.5. Arrival in Nynäshamn

Arr Nynäshamn at 12.00.

Price of the tour

13 800 SEK from and return to Nynäshamn.

Advance payment 600 SEK.

11 500 SEK joining in Krakow. Leaving in Warsaw.

Single room supplement is 1200 SEK

Please let me know soonest if you are joining the tour from Warsaw!

Your participation is confirmed only when the advance payment is received.

Final payment should be with me. Latest 15.3.

Price includes:

Qualified tour leadership by Anastasia Lazo.

The tour leader will receive us in the railway station in L´viv. You will later have her What´s App phone number.

All transports from and return to Nynäshamn. Or from Warsaw, return to Warsaw.

Local transport and entries.

All accommodation during the tour.

Food is not included.

The economical surplus of the tour will be donated to Ukraine.

Please pay from abroad:

Christian Jutvik

Skyttevägen 25

SE 133 36 Saltsjöbaden, Sweden

Iban: SE36 6000 0000 0005 3540 6622

Bank: HANDSESS

Handelsbanken

Box 15041

10465 Stockholm

Sweden

Write your first name + UA

Please pay from Sweden to:

Christian Jutvik

Handelsbanken  6101

Account 535 406 622

Skriv ditt förnamn + UA

Myself, I do this on a strict volunteering basis. Me and my wife also pay the same amount for the tour as you do.

Your travel insurance is probably not valid for Ukraine. You may purchase a Ukrainian insurance. Emergency healthcare is however free also for foreigners in Ukraine. During five tours we had no incidence of theft.

Travel insurance in Ukraine online for foreigners and Ukrainians | Страхова компанія «Місто» (ic-misto.com.ua)

Donations and Bankomats (ATM)

You may like to make donations to some of the organizations we meet on the tour. It is a lot easier to do this on the spot, compared to transferring money from home. You easily get the local currency Hryvnia from your bankcard. ATMs are found everywhere in the cities.

Updates and more details of the tour will later be added. Changes to this itinerary can be made at any time, as improvements or depending on the security situation

What to bring on the tour?

Bring a minimum! Underwear, socks and T-shirts you can wash when taking shower. Before departure, check the weather forecast for the places to be visited and bring suitable clothing. Anything you miss can be purchased in the cities. Also electronics. For big sized luggage you will have to pay extra on local transport. Also consider that you may very well like to bring back souvenirs from Ukraine.

Also bring a power bank and a headlight. You have to download the app “What´s App”.

Physical demands

We will have long walks in the cities, at a modest tempo, but lasting for several hours. We will pass long stairs many times and escalators are rare, except in Kyiv Metro. At least one of our hotels don´t have a lift. You must be able to handle your own luggage.

Do not give any information of dates, whereabouts, hotels on the Internet while in Ukraine.

Any questions, please phone me. It is a lot easier and a lot nicer to talk compared to writing.

Christian Jutvik

Skyttevägen 25

133 36 Saltsjöbaden, Sweden

Mobile, What´s App +46 76 94 33 8 11

Mail: christianjutvik@hotmail.com

(If you have any doubt about my authenticity, you should google my name. Or check my blog Blog | Visit Ukraine. It is written in English, but you can easily alter the language to, any language)