Go52

A small culture shock and reorientation to simple agrarian life will not do harm either to you or to your children. The combination of the offered informative excursions about Boyko lifestyle with walks to the places of wildlife will be a great stimulus for future joint family watching of interesting Ukrainian films and, quite likely, will make teenagers want to read the classical book to which they were afraid of approaching before. Do not hesitate, go for a family weekend therapy in mountain Dolyna!

Highlights of the tour:
A fun-filled excursion to the museum: the discovery of the dolls world from the past;
An informative excursion to Hoshiv Monastery. A friendly retreat and a refectory;
Joint creativity of parents and children – creating of their own motanka dolls (rag dolls), amulets for the family;
Delicious and fun dinner in magnificent nature of Eastern Carpathian Foothills;
A friendly acquaintance with the beekeeping ‘Medova symfoniia’ and goats of the farm ‘Eko-Kapaty’.

DAY 1. An Evening before the Weekend

Arrival at the manor house “Skelia” (the village of Bubnyshche) or “Na Babiievii hori” (the village of Obolonia). Checking-in. Sauna. Relaxation. Light dinner.

DAY 2. Inspirational Travelling and Creativity in the Family Circle

Breakfast. Departure to the local museum of regional studies “Boykivshchyna” in Dolyna. Viewing the recreated interiors of Boyko houses, a collection of dolls and sacred monuments of the 16th-18th centuries (over 130 icons, 27 of them are from the 16th century), as well as special pysankas (Easter eggs) embroidered with coloured threads. Listen to the stories of doll costumes, find out the age of each doll, why this collection was created here. Pay attention to motankas (rag dolls), find out what their role was in a Boyko family, why a motanka has no face and whether children played with it at all. A transfer to the Monastery of the Transfiguration of Jesus of the Order of Saint Basil the Great in the village of Hoshiv. Visits to the church, the exposition of the Holy Sepulchre, the House of Pilgrims, the bell tower. Do you know that the electronic bells of Hoshiv Monastery are the only ones in Ukraine? The Hoshiv Carillon (a kind of percussion musical instrument) consists of 52 bells, on which you can perform church melodies or classical works. Lunch in the monastery refectory. A transfer to the manor house ‘Skelia’ (the village of Bubnyshche). A walk to the Rocks of Dovbush for gathering herbs to make a motanka doll. Recharge your batteries with beauty, an active walk, breathe the mountain air. Bubnyshche is mentioned in Ivan Franko’s famous novel ‘Zakhar Berkut’ and is the site of shooting the fantasy film about the first Ukrainian superheroes ‘The Stronghold’ (2016). An art master class at the manor house ‘Skelia’. Create your own motanka dolls. Children who do not like toys without faces will create figures with facial features. Moving to the village of Mala Turia. Dinner in the kolyba (a mountain hut) ‘Na ozerakh’ with real-life stories about raising children in Boyko families and playing the drymba (the Jew’s harp). Returning to the manor house for staying overnight.

DAY 3. Families of Bees and Baby Goats

Checking-out. A transfer to the village of Trostianets. A visit to the beekeeping ‘Medova symfoniia’. Breakfast in a cosy yard. Buy alpine honey and bee products. The owners of the apiary are respected people in the village, carriers of unique knowledge about the past, their family roots. Listen to characteristic vivid life stories. Here children can clearly see the similarities and differences in the ways of humans’ and bees’ lives. There are the hives in the yard, where the owners breed only queens. Walk to the forest on the outskirts of the village, where about 200 hives live their lives – a large honey factory. Try pumping out honey. A transfer to the village of Rakhynia to visit the goat farm ‘Eko-Karpaty’, which produces, supplies to local restaurants and exports exquisite elite types of goat cheese. The symbol of ‘Eko-Karpaty’ is the goat Marusia, which you can see live on the farm. In a separate pen there are baby goats, which can even be taken in arms. The farm is another reason for connecting the trip with the theme of parents and children. It is believed that by its composition goats’ milk suits feeding infants best. Goat hair was sometimes used as a material for stuffing heads of dolls. A doll for sucking, which was made from linen cloth and stuffed with bread, was used to calm down children. Taste goats’ milk, yogurt and cheese on the degustation line. Arrival at the manor house ‘Na Babiievii hori’. Lunch in the shade of the forest to the sound of leaves. Departure.

Journey Into the World of Toys of the Past