英会話 – Visiting Ukraine

An American visits his Ukrainian friend and they plan a trip.
Peter: Masha! It’s so nice to see you after all these years!
Masha: I’m happy to see you too. Welcome to Ukraine!
Peter: Thank you so much. To be honest, I don’t know much about Ukraine.
Masha: Don’t worry! I will show you everything there is to see in the next month that you’re visiting. We will be very busy!
Peter: That’s great. I know Ukraine is very big…
Masha: …the biggest country in Europe…!
Peter: …yeah, so that’s why I wanted to travel around for a month. Where will we begin?
Masha: Well, we are just outside of Lviv now, so we will start from the West, and work our way south-east.
Peter: Excellent. I’ve read about Lviv’s opera house and brewery.
Masha: Oh yes, the Lvivsky brewery is a wonderful place to go on a tour. Then, we will go hiking in the Carpathians and climb Mt. Hoverla!
Peter: How exciting! I’m glad I brought my hiking boots.
Masha: Next, we will visit the beautiful fortresses at Kamenets-Podilsky and Khotyn. We can have a picnic there, and relax in the country.
Peter: Wow! That sounds lovely! Also, will we be able to go to Odessa? I have heard a lot about this city.
Masha: Sure! Odessa has a large port and some surrounding caves that we can explore. Also, there’s a great nightlife.
Peter: Cool!
Masha: Then of course we should go to Kyiv, our capital.
Peter: I haven’t heard much about Kyiv, but I do know that it is very old.
Masha: Yes, it was established 1500 years ago. It is situated on the banks of the Dniper River and has about 3 million people.
Peter: Can we take a boat down the river?
Masha: Of course! Also we have many beautiful churches and monasteries, like our famous St. Sofia’s Church and Pecherska Lavra. After Kyiv, we can take a night train to Crimea. We can visit Simferopol, hike in the Crimean Mountains, swim in the black sea, and eat delicious Crimean Tatar food!
Peter: This trip sounds so exciting! I can’t wait!
Masha: Well, for now we can relax here at my house. I have made traditional Ukrainian borsch to welcome you.
Peter: Thank you so much! This is going to be a wonderful month!