Ukraine was simply amazing.  How can I explain what was felt there?  How can I describe the feeling I walked away with?  How can I explain the people?  The only attempt I can make is by saying simply that you cannot understand Ukrainians, you have to feel them.   

For lunch, we walked to a restaurant for a traditional meal where we met a host of great people and had some delicious food as well. The first traditional dish we had was borsch, which marks at least the fifth place that has claimed this tasty beet-based soup as their own creation and traditional staple. (That list includes: Russia, Belarus, Lithuania, Poland and, of course, the Ukraine.)  After the main course, our host grabbed a cherry-filled dumpling and proclaimed, "Now THIS is happiness," before gingerly popping it in her mouth.   

The day we visited, there was a large festival going on which we were told was a great gathering of Ukrainian happiness. We were told that during Russian occupation, many forms of the Ukrainian culture were outlawed and that this festival was a place to celebrate and enjoy all those things that made Ukrainians, well, Ukrainian.  This was a chance to immerse themselves in and celebrate their culture.   To say that this festival was amazing would be like saying Mozart was decent. In this place, you truly felt what it was to be, to live, to feel Ukrainian. Traditional shirts where worn, the older the better, crafts where sold and the crowd was beyond lively.   It rained like hyenas and lions for the concert, the rain shorting the sound equipment out, but that stopped nothing. Standing in the crowd, listening to the music, you got swept away by the dancing, quite literally!  As a line of people sped past you, someone would grab your hand and without a choice off you would go, a part of the never ending dancing line, snaking through the crowd.   Being at that place... Wow!  The vibe, the environment and the people, especially the people, were unexplainable. Like I said, you can't explain the Ukrainians or their happiness.  You have to feel it.