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The way from Buzk’s Gard to Uman was not that difficult – we took Odesa-Kyiv highway that is why avoided smaller road with the huge holes (roads in Ukraine could have been an extra post). At about 4 p.m. we reached Uman and parked our car right near the entrance to Sofiyivka Park. Let’s get the entrance tickets and get inspired!
The English Landscape garden which later became the Sofiyivka was founded in 1796 by Count Stanisław Potocki, a Polish noble. But what was the reason for this decision?
Count Potocki had a wife named Sofia. So her beloved probably decided that the simple golden jewellery with the rare stones might be already boring… Every man can present it. But can every man present the garden for a birthday?! Now the history of the name of the park gets obviously clear. Stanisław Potocki thought about details too: as his wife was Greek, the whole thematic of the park of course is connected to the Ancient Greek: you can find there river Acheron, Muses’ Terrace, Ionian Sea, Anti-Circe’s Island and many more. By the original idea of the architect, the park is like an illustration of some parts of Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad.
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At any entrance of the park, you will find a big map telling you where to find all of these attractions. But my advice is – just walk. Probably to explore the whole territory you would need the entire day. This is why we did not see each landscape. Just when we walked into the territory – a charming smell captured our attention. Roses! And… then another blooming plant.. and others… On the one side, you see plants – on the other birds and insects. The whole territory is inhabited by swans and ducks and just hundreds of other birds. Water is the main source of life here. Lakes, ponds, springs, waterfalls and fountains – this is what surrounds a tourist in this magical place. You can write your own Odyssey in Sofiyivka Park. This place is a real recreation for your soul. Walking those little paths I could not imagine how was it possible to plant this all and care until it became into what I saw with my eyes. Sometimes humanity can surprise with some good things.
After such a long walk we had to decide finally where we should stay for a night. The hotel hunt started! All the hotels around were full. The only place to stay was a fancy hotel not far away from the arboretum Sofiyivka, where prices absolutely surprised us, – and not in a nice way. Uman is not a very tourist place, but what makes it famous is the Tomb of Rabbi Nachman – the founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement. Each year thousands of Hasidim pilgrimage to Uman and spend a couple of days or even weeks there. This is why you can find there some fancy hotels, although the city itself is not having much to show.
But this is certainly something we will remember for a long time: just laughing about how ridiculously much you can pay for a hotel in a small city in Ukraine.
The hotel we stayed at for a night offers breakfast too. But on reception, they told us that the next morning there is Shabbat breakfast, which made the price for it also incredibly expensive. In the end – this was one of our most expensive hotels on the whole trip around Ukraine (not counting the main destination hotel). But this is certainly something we will remember for a long time: just laughing about how ridiculously much you can pay for a hotel in a small city in Ukraine.
City view from the Uman hotel balcony. A very peaceful evening after a pleasant walk through the arboretum Sofiyivka.
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