If there's one thing Wales can pride itself on without fault, it's the welcome extended to visitors. Hospitality, friendliness, warmth: we've got it all, and one pair of Ukrainian football fans would certainly agree.
London-based Ukrainian chef Yurii Kovryzhenko and his pal headed for Cardiff to watch their beloved team face Wales in the momentous World Cup play-off final on Sunday.
After getting split up from their friends, they did as any reasonably person would do ahead of a football match: head for the pub! But, much to their welcome surprise, the welcome they received in a pub otherwise full of Wales fans was second to none. Within just a few moments of entering the Queens Vaults in Cardiff, they were invited to join members of the Red Wall for a drink.
"When you came to Cardiff for the match of Ukrainian national football team, lost your pals, and suddenly found yourself somewhere you were not expected..." Yurii wrote on Twitter, accompanied by a video of the pair in a pub which was an otherwise sea of red shirts.
"Our day in Cardiff was great!" Yurii told WalesOnline. "We lost our friends and went to the first cute pub in search of beer.
"When we went inside, we felt like the characters of a comedy movie, in an episode where fans of the one club go to the bar, a hub of the opponent’s club. In such movies, at this moment, the music usually stops playing, everyone falls silent and something terrible begins! So we were very tense.
"But it's not a movie, it's life, and in Cardiff it's great. In a moment we were invited to the table by the Welsh and we had a pint of beer with them."
He said he had never been to a tournament where fans were so friendly, where "all the citizens are so warm and open". While heading to reunite with their friends, Yurii - who is also a TV presenter and ambassador of Ukrainian cuisine worldwide - said they were stopped a number of times by passers-by who had kind words or a warm embrace after spotting their Ukraine flag.
"Impressions of Cardiff and the Welsh are extremely wonderful! This friendliness and solidarity helped me feel a little bit better after the morning news from Ukraine. I came to support the national team of Ukraine, their successes help the people of Ukraine emotionally. And in the same time the Welsh supported me."
When Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year, Yurii was in London as part of his gastronomic mission. He is now actively involved in charitable activities to raise funds for Ukraine. In two months, he held more than 10 charity dinners and raised more than £300,000, with highlights including a 1,000-person lunch at the Grosvenor House JW Marriott and dinner with Jamie Oliver.
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