What did I expect to see when I arrived in a capital of Ukraine? I was craving to look at its prosperity, sophisticated architecture, fascinating parks and museums. But sometimes our prejudices are wrong, and we don't expect to face real life. Since I arrived in Kiev, it met me with rainy and freezing weather. And I didn't see anything. All time I felt only drops of water which were falling on me during my whole walk in the centre of Kyiv. Nevertheless, I managed to attend the main landmarks in Kyiv. I was lucky to be near the Golden Gates, also known as «Zoloti Vorota» in Ukrainian which is the fortification from the Kyivan Rus period. They are not golden at all as you might think but Golden Gates are reminder about dark times in Ukrainian history when enemies tried to destroy and take over country, but they couldn’t deal with a strong spirit of Ukrainian people. I have visited two museums, one of which messed with me a little. The first was the Museum of historical treasures of Ukraine and it would be no exaggeration to say that it impressed me so much. The museum highlighted golden Scythian pectorals and Sarmatian necklaces, which were made more than two millenniums ago, ancient silver jewelers, artifacts of the Early Slavs and much more different things connected with Ukrainian ancient people. When it comes to golden things mum always tells me that I look like magpie, which steals everything she wants to her nest. As a result, I was over the moon when I saw gold everywhere I went. I thought my eyeballs would become golden after the museum tour. It seemed like modern jewelries were less sophisticated and golden than treasures in that museum. The next place I visited was the Museum of micro miniatures. A small, but cozy museum was filled with a unique collection of tiny masterpieces of famous Ukrainian artist Mykola Siadristyi. Through the lenses of telescope I was able to see the miniature portraits of famous personalities (including self-portrait of the creator) such as Ukrainian opera singer Solomiya Krushelnytska, the 16th American president Abraham Lincoln, Ukrainian writer Ivan Franco and so on. In addition to the portraits I saw small exhibits of fauna and flora and things like musical instrument. All in all, it was great to spend time there but as an ordinary tourist I wanted to buy a fridge magnet and I bought it, though it was expensive for that time and didn’t worth to get it. Apparently, I was so amazed as not to be able to think straight but now at least I have a reminder about my trip to that museum. My next and last destination was Sofiyivka Park in Uman. This park was four hours away from Kyiv. I with group of tourists traveled by bus and it seemed like it was the longest hours in my life. At that time I didn't understand where I went and what was special in that kind of wonder of Ukraine. Maybe I was so stupid to ask people around me about it. As luck would have it, the day was boiling hot and I was craving fresh air. Although the conditions of trip were uncomfortable and I felt completely tired, tough hours of waiting were worth it. Sofiyivka looked like little Greece. I thought it was another world where things stopped to exist and disappeared into time. As I heard from excursionist, story of Sofiyivka started from the 18th century when the Polish magnate Stanislav Pototskyi decided to make a present for his beloved wife Soviya, and started building the Park in honor for her. Since Sofiya was Greek, she missed her motherhood so much, and Pototskyi wanted to revive all memories about this country. All the architecture and sculptures were inspired by the Greek poems The Iliad and Odyssey. I was totally impressed by the Venetian Bridge which was one of the main landmarks of the park laid over the river Kamenka. The fascinating and marvel “Snake” fountain, which was about 16 meters long, was situated in the middle of the river. All the territory of the park was decorated with the statues of the Greek Gods, big rocks and different samples of trees I have never seen in my life. Excursionists advised me to visit the Venus Grotto and put some water on face from the Grotto and made a wish to find a love of life as many girls did. Actually I don’t believe in things like that but maybe the beauty of this place impacted on me and I tried to get into it. By the way, men went to the Apollo Grotto to ask power and courage. Another famous attraction I tried was an underground river ride, during which I could feel the atmosphere of Sofiyivka picturesque landscapes. What can I say about the whole trip? That was great experience for me to visit these places and find out something new about my country.