Hungary, the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Italy, Belarus – twin sisters Alla and Olena Kolhofer will remember their study at Viacheslav Chornovil Institute of Sustainable Development of Lviv Polytechnic. This last academic year started their adult life.
Alla: My impressions of the six years of study at the university are very positive. I cannot believe I am a graduate... During the study period I travelled a lot, met interesting people, took part in different events – Shevchenko readings, Polytechnic Autumn, KVN, was member of BEST, etc. Thus, it was not just university – hostel life, but it was busy, funny and great time.
Olena: There were really the best years. I remember doing my internship in Poland, hitchhiking in Europe and during my training internship – through the regions of Western Ukraine. Before I came to Lviv, I did not travel a lot, so it inspired me to explore Ukraine.
– How does Ukraine differ from the other countries you have visited?
Alla: The level of infrastructure and standards of living are worse, but Ukraine has a great tourism potential that is not well developed and funded. For example, the Shypit Falls is very popular among Ukrainians, but the roads to it are not very good, the tourist has no place to relax.
Also a lot of people know about Tarakanivskyi fort in Rivne region – the former military base. In Odessa region there is Kuialnyk resort, about which I wrote in my master’s thesis. Recently, the Verkhovna Rada has made it of national significance, thus confirming its value. In addition, Vylkove town – the Ukrainian Venice – is a very beautiful city on the territory of the Danube Delta, on the border with Romania.
Olena: Ecological tourism could be developed in Odessa region. At least there are three objects that would be of interest to even European tourists: the Danube Biosphere Reserve and two national parks – Tuzly Lagoons and Nyzhniodnistrovskyi National Nature Parks. There are ecological routes, and you can sail on a ship, observing different animals that are included to the Red List of Threatened Species.
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– On New Year holidays students often prefer to go either to the Carpathians or abroad. Where did you celebrate this holiday when you were students?
Alla: I once celebrated the New Year with the Poles in Gdansk on the main square, near the Christmas tree with fireworks show. When on January 1 I came to the Baltic Sea, I thought that perhaps I would never see it again, so I decided to swim. There were also such daredevils as me.
Olena: I also swum in the Baltic Sea in the winter. This was a way to congratulate my friend, who leads a healthy lifestyle, on his birthday: I dove and filmed my congratulations.
