ukraine: kyiv for another khreshchennya

Winter this year in Moscow hasn't been very wintery. It still feels like late fall, the ugly part of the season. The weather has been the same in Kyiv, much to my disappointment. Despite this, I decided to return to Kyiv for another year to take park in khreshchennya, the 12^th day of Christmas, when Jesus was baptised in the River Jordan. This takes place each year on 19 January in countries that have Orthodox Christianity.

Since you can no longer fly directly from Moscow to Kyiv (thanks to the ongoing political mess between the two countries,) I went for the next best option: the train. It is easy enough, but it involves waking up twice in the middle of the night for border controls. 

Thankfully, this year I wasn't pulled for a random interview, just a few questions while the officer was looking at my passport.

My train arrived on time in Kyiv, back to one of my all time favourite train stations. It's grand and traditional, and I love it. After arriving I went to a fast food restaurant across the street to charge my phone and use wifi. After hanging out there for an hour I walked to the accomodation I'd booked.

There was no sign on any door of the building where my hostel was located, but I noticed that there was a wifi signal with the same name, so I climbed the stairs, hoping eventually a door would have a label. Thankfully, it worked out well.

After getting myself sorted for another hour, I started walking again. Since I lived in Kyiv for six years I have seen a lot of the city, so I wasn't aiming for anything in particular, I just wanted to relax in a place that still feels comfortable, like home.

The first place I saw was St Volodymyr's Cathedral. It's a giant yellow church across the street from metro Universitet. Last year during our visit we walked past the church, this time I walked inside. Since this was the day before the holiday, there were plenty of people in the church. Even though I was there in the middle of the day, it was quite dark, as there isn't a whole lot of lighting inside.

The inside of the church is covered in frescoes, it's lovely. I watched people and absorbed the atmosphere for a few minutes.

From there I walked down the hill, passing the pedestal on which the statue of Lenin used to stand. The bottom of the pedestal is now painted blue and yellow, (Ukrainian national colours,) and there is currently a contemporary art piece in front of it.

I arrived at one end of Khreshchatyk Street, one of the main streets of the city. It was rebuilt after the war, by the Soviets. Because of this it is a wide boulevard, perfect for tanks and military marching parades.

I stepped into the Roshen chocolate/candy store (owned by the former president Poroshenko,) and found my favourite toffees, yum. It's not amazing, but it's good :)

At the other end of Khreshchatyk is Maidan Nezalezhnosti, or Independence Square. It has been turned into a sort of living museum, with signs and information in both English and Ukrainian, descibing what happened in the winter of 2013 and 2014. The emotional reaction I had back then always comes back to me, and I always take a few moments to honour those who died for their country.

As I was walking through the area I noticed that the trade building has been fully rebuilt, it looks stronger than I remember it being during my first couple years in Kyiv.

I walked up the alley of the heavenly hundred heroes (I'm not exactly sure on the translation of the Ukrainian name,) with all of it's memorials, ribbons, and flags, thinking again about everything that happened during that time.

I decided to go see a building I hadn't seen since my very first year in Kyiv, the House with Chimeras. I'm not sure why the building was built, or what it was for, but it is eye catching no matter what. It is across the street from the official office of the president, so it was completely blocked off for several years during and after the revolution.

As I got there I saw that a small seasonal ice skating rink had been set up, and people were queued up to take their turn. Very nice, and there was music being played somewhere.

After taking photos of the carvings on the building, I turned around and walked back north. I'm not sure how I got there, but my next stop ended up being a random cafe, this one with a menu of croissant sandwiches. Yum.

From there I kept walking and ended up next to the Rada, or parliament building. The photo I've always wanted to take means standing in the middle of the street, so I've never taken it. (I don't trust Ukrainian drivers, just like I don't trust Russian drivers.) I don't know how often politicians are in the building, or how much power regular Ukrainians have in making changes to their country's laws.

Behind the Rada is a palace that has never been open since I first arrived in Kyiv. It is always mentioned in the guidebook and travel apps as a sight, but that's not accurate. You can see the outside of the building, and it's gardens, but only from a locked gate in front. The gardens seemed more cleaned up than in previous years, so who knows, maybe there is a plan to eventually open the land and building to visitors. I hope so.

That brought me to Mariinsky Park, which follows the river for a bit. The weather was dark and cloudy, I couldn't see the other side of the river, booo. I followed the paths through the park, all the way until the big platz with the Friendship Arch. 

I think it was given by the Russians to the Ukrainians in the days of the USSR, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be given now.

Side note, the arch was painted in a rainbow during the weeks Ukraine co-hosted the Euro cup with Poland, in 2012, in an effort to show how tolerant the country is. I love Ukraine, but tolerant it is not.

By that point the sun had gone down, so I was able to see some of the city lights, those that weren't covered by clouds. It's always a nice spot.

From there I slowly made my way back to my hostel, stopping at a supermarket along the way to pick up dinner: ramen noodles. 

Despite the noisy roommates in the dorm room, I still got a lot of sleep, it felt good.

The next morning I packed up and checked out, then met Oresta on the platform of one of the nearby metro stations. Oresta was a colleague when I worked in Kyiv, we've kept in touch ever since I left the city.

We rode the metro a few stops, getting off at Obolon station. There we met one of her friends, Genia. (In this case the nickname is the short version of Evgeniy.) He drove us out the north side of the city to an area I've wanted to visit for a long time: the Kyiv Sea.

The weather was the same as the day before, meaning everything was gray. Gray water, gray clouds, etc... Even though there was no colour to be found, I could see why Oresta likes the area so much.

Some locals had chosen to go in the water for their 'baptism' in this area, there was a platform specifically set up for this. We arrived around 1115, so it wasn't yet too busy. By the time we got back to the car it was a lot busier, many more people hanging out near the platform.

We followed the path along the water for a while, it was nice. Quiet, and nice. Eventually we got to a man made beach area, with cute little huts that are probably great picnic spots in summer. Needless to say, it wasn't so lovely on this particular day, oh well.

We walked a little further so Oresta could show me something she'd found a few years previously: an abandoned bobsleigh track!! AWESOME!! There is a gate in front of the track, but there are huge holes in the gate, and a footpath has been worn around one side of the gate. 

Clearly it is regularly visited.

I decided to climb up onto part of the track, using the metal support under the track itself. I wanted to walk further along the track, but that would've meant trusting the wood that still remained, and I wasn't that confident. Plus, I was a bit worried about some of the nails sticking out in random places. Anywho, so fun!

We walked back to the car, and Genia drove us back to one of the metro stations in the city. When I lived in Kyiv it was called Petrovka. Sometime in the last three years it has been renamed, to Pochaina. Apparently the name Petrovka was too Russian. Sigh.

We took the metro to Hidropark, where I've always taken part in Khreshchatyk. As I knew it would be, the metro station was packed. It is probably busier that day than any other day in the year, even when people come to the park in summer. Ukrainians make the religious event into a giant party.

Since there was no snow or ice this year I decided to go in the water on the busier side of the river. Even without the snow and ice, it was still plenty cold, but I'm still glad I did it. Does taking part mean I'm fresh and clean for the coming year?

After drying off and getting dressed again, we went back to the metro station. Oresta went home and I went back to the city center. It was great to spend a few hours with her, catching up on anything and everything. I treasure my friendships.

Instead of trying to see more places in the city I decided to check out a new cafe, the Blue Coffee Cup. I discovered it had a good menu, good prices, good portion sizes, nice decoration and atmosphere, and good service. I might have overeaten, but I regret nothing :) I ended up staying in the cafe for several hours, just because I could.

After dark I finally got moving again, and started walking back toward the train station. I've done that walk so many times that I don't need to use my phone to figure out where to go. Getting back to Moscow was just as easy and smooth (though no one loves the two border control wakeups in the middle of the night) and coming west. 

I'll always be happy to go back to Kyiv. (And hopefully more of Ukraine at some point.)

ukraine: kyiv again

I lived in Kyiv for six years. When I first moved there I never would've dreamed I would end up staying for six years. During those six years I had all kinds of experiences and adventures, including a national political revolution. One of those experiences is called Khreshchennya, or Baptism.

Khreshchennya takes place on Epiphany, the 12^th day of Christmas. In the western world, this is the 6^th of January. For those who follow the Orthodox calendar, this is 19 January. When I've been in countries or cities in the western world where this is a celebrated holiday, I've seen festivals and markets and such. In the Orthodox Christian world, there is an aspect that is a party, but it is a much more religious celebration.

Orthodox Christians imitate baptism by going into bodies of water (pond, river, lake, etc...) and go under the water. Typically they go under the water three times, crossing themselves each time.

I did this three or four of the six years I was in Kyiv, and always loved the experience. My first year in Moscow, I found a place to do it, but didn't like it nearly as much. The experience in Moscow didn't feel as real, as raw. I don't know quite how to explain it. I was super excited when I looked at a calendar and realized 19 January would be on a Saturday, which meant I could take the train to Kyiv and participate there.

The girls thought I was crazy, but chose to come with me, and I convinced them to participate too. 

The train ride from Moscow to Kyiv isn't super long, but it feels that way because you're woken up twice, in the middle of the night, for border control with each country.

On the way to Kyiv, I got pulled for a random interview with a border control officer, which was a bit scary. He asked where I'm from, why I was going to Ukraine, why I live in Russia, etc... I was able to answer the questions, but I don't think he liked all my answers. (For instance, when I said that I liked Khreshchennya better in Ukraine than in Russia.) Since the questions were mostly in Russian, and my Russian isn't very good, plus this was a legal situation, I was more than a little nervous. 

Thankfully I passed the interview and was stamped out of the country. It was a lot easier to enter Ukraine than to leave Russia, wierdly enough. That being said, the border officers of both countries were surprised to have three foreigners riding this particular train, in platzcar, or 3^rd class. Usually foreigners spend a bit more money and go for 2^nd class at the very least.

Arriving in Kyiv felt like coming home for me. I was excited to show the girls the train station, because it is what I expect for all train stations in Ukraine and Russia, but haven't had nearly as often in Russia. The main hall is giant, with a beautifully decorated ceiling.

We ate breakfast at a fast food joint across the street, then started walking. Almost immediately I remembered how hilly Kyiv is, especially in comparison to Moscow. Kyiv is built on seven hills, and walking around the city often feels like you're going up or down.

We walked near Shevchenko Park, and I figured the girls ought to at least see the front of the main university building across the street from the park. Taras Shevchenko is a Ukrainian hero, a writer and political figure. He is given general credit for inventing the Ukrainian language.

Kyiv National University is named for him, the main building is painted cherry red. 

I think it's ugly, but the exterior facade isn't what matters when it comes to a university. We were able to take our first team photo in front of that building.

More walking brought us to Khreshchatyk Street, the main street in the city center. It was built after WW2, and was built in a way to accomodate large parades of soldiers and tanks. It's wide, and mostly straight. This street has changed a lot since I moved to Kyiv in 2011. The stores in the buildings on either side change regularly, as do the coffee stalls and such on the pavements.

One store that hasn't changed is Roshen, a chocolate store. Roshen is a candy company owned by Poroshenko, the Ukrainian president. I don't know why I remember this, but the first time I ever had Roshen candy, I was in the middle of nowhere, in Mongolia. Weird. We stopped in the store, buying more than we needed, but it was worth it.

We wound through a couple more streets, before finding the office for the accomodation we'd booked, a flat in the city center. It was a challenge to find cash for the deposit, as we hadn't known we'd need that. 

(The guy said this was normal, but I've stayed all over Ukraine and this was the first time I'd ever needed such a thing.) Anywho, the flat was good and the location was good, so we were happy.

After a little while relaxing, we walked out of the flat and continued exploring the city. There are a couple UNESCO sights in the city, and I wanted the girls to see them both.

We visited St Sophia's Cathedral first, because it was super close. The foundations of the cathedral were laid in the 11^th century, but it took another 20 years to finish. (I always wonder what local citizens thought of the neverending project while it was going on. And on and on and on.) 

The layout of the building looks really similar to the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.

The interior of the cathedral is impressive. One of the parts I like best is the chance to climb stairs and see everything from the second level. It's a view you don't often get in Orthodox churches. It is easy to see where renovations have been done, and where things remain as they were a long long time ago.

As of right now, no particular religious branch has the right to have services in the church. It was an active church until the 1930s, when Soviet authorities wanted to get rid of religion.

They took religious art and treasure out of the church, but didn't destroy the church. It was then made into a history museum.

Near the end of the 1980s authorities told locals they would be giving the church back to religious authorities, but it was never decided exactly who would be in charge. Wikipedia tells me various religious groups have laid claim to it, so there are no active services.

We also climbed the bell tower, because there are great views of the city from up there. It's also super windy, but oh well.

After leaving the grounds of the cathedral, we made our way to Khreshchatyk metro station. We love metro system in Moscow, and I wanted the girls to experience the system in Kyiv. It isn't as extensive, or as nice, but it is still a great system, and relatively cheaper.

Our arrival station was Hidropark, so we could all take park in Khreshchennya. Ever since my first experience with this holiday, I've figured this must be the busiest day in Hidropark all year long. Getting through the turnstiles isn't easy, as there are so many people, going both ways. The ticket office normally has a queue, but this time it was just a mass of people. 

I led the girls over the bridge in the middle of the park, and we stopped to watch everything for a while. I'd tried to explain the whole thing to them ahead of time, but there is nothing like seeing it in real life. There are heaps of people all over the beaches, with a couple rowboats in the water. Random people dash into the water, go under three times, then dash back out. When they get back out they are usually greeted by family or friends, and wrapped in a towel or clothes or a robe.

We crossed the bridge, and I led the girls to a section of beach that is less busy. I wanted each of us to be able to have a photo or video with just us, not a huge mass of people.

Then we did it! I went first, then the girls. I loved it, and while I'm not sure they loved it, they were glad they did it. We finished just at sunset, and the moment the sun went below the horizon we could feel the colder temperatures.

From there we went straight to dinner. One of the gazillion sushi places has a happy hour between 1500 and 1800, buy one get one free. Obviously, we ate too much :)

The next morning Angela and I got up a little earlier, as I wanted to visit a bakery that had cinnamon rolls I loved. Sadly, when we got there, we discovered no cinnamon rolls, and very little else. I'm not sure if it was because we were there just after it opened, or if the cafe has changed quite a bit, but I was totally disappointed.

While on this walk I pointed out a couple huge building murals to Angela, I loved the murals. There is even an app that is supposed to map all the murals in the city. I don't know how accurate it is, but it's still pretty neat.

We packed up and checked out, and were able to leave our packs in the front office.

From there we walked up the hill to St Michael's, another Orthodox church that isn't far from St Sophia. This one is more photogenic, but is also a lot newer. The original St Michael's was quite old, then the Soviets blew it up in the 1930s, in their effort to get rid of religion. It was rebuilt in the early 2000s, if I remember correctly. 

When we went inside the church there was a service taking place, so we didn't wander around as much as I would've liked.

More walking brought us to the top of Andreivsky Descent, a well known street in the city. At the top of the whole thing is St Andrew's, but it was under renovation, and not open. You are allowed to go to the pavement around the church, but doing so now costs 20 griven (about 85 US cents,) even though it was free when I lived there. Argh. We didn't go up the stairs.

I convinced the girls to follow me part way down the street, to another big building mural. When we got there, I was disappointed. 

I remembered it as being brightly coloured, but it didn't feel this way anymore. Argh. Maybe I"m used to see photos on social media, where the colours have increased saturation.

We went the rest of the way down the hill, to an area called kontraktova ploshcha. (Kontrakt square, would be the English translation I think?) There is now a ferris wheel there, which strikes me as somewhat out of place, but seems to be permanent. There are regularly seasonal markets in the area, so there were still Christmas stalls set up.

We found the nearest metro station, and rode to Arsenalna. (Side note, Arsenalna is one of the deepest (if not the deepest) metro stations in the world. Getting up and back out takes a while on the fast escalators.

Our walk first brought us to the biggest WW2 memorial. Near this memorial is a viewpoint showing two memorable structures: the Holodomor memorial and the Lavra. There is also an amazing view over the river, and left bank of the city.

The Holodomor is a man made famine that took place in the winter of 1932-1933. Exact numbers have never been stated, but millions of people died. The Soviet government said it was due to the weather of the year, but there were other factors, including forced communilization. The borders were closed, so people weren't able to leave to get help, or to tell the outside world what was happening.

The memorial is a small museum, the girls and I went in to look around. There are books listing many of those who died, as well as photos and items from that time.

Next up was the other UNESCO sight in the city: the Pechersk Lavra. When we entered the grounds of the Lavra we were joined by Josh, who is someone I worked with in Kyiv. It was fun to take a team photo, since we teach at four different branches of our school.

We wandered through two of the main churches in the Lavra. One of them didn't used to be open except for service times, I guess this has changed. (Probably due to tourist interest?) The other church has one of my favourite ceilings. One side of the property has a beautiful view over the rest of the property and the river.

At that point the girls were tired and cold. Josh left us, so the three of us went back to the city center by metro. We went back to Roshen to buy more chocolate, then back to the same restaurant for more sushi. This time we took the second portions to go, but we ate the second desssert portions.

The train going back to Moscow was a lot easier, though we still had the two middle of the night wake ups for border controls. It seems easier to get into Russia than to leave!

ukraine: ivano-frankivsk (it used to be stanislav)

I didn't originally intend to visit Ivano Frankivsk during this trip, but train schedules made it necessary to spend the day in the city. Wikipedia tells me the city is called Frank by locals, but who knows. Wikipedia also tells me that the name of the city is relatively new, it was known as Stanislav until 1962.

Ivano Frankivsk is the capital of the oblast, so of course it is where I had to come to go and get back to Kyiv from my days in the Carpathian Mountains. On the way back, I had to take a train from the mountains that arrived in Ivano Frankivsk at 0440, in the morning.

Since it was still before dawn I found the waiting room in the train station and dozed for almost four hours.

When I finally left the station I walked along a road that brought me to a church. (Surprise, a church in Ukraine.) This one wasn't listed on a travel app anywhere, it was just a 'regular' church. There were two beggars sitting out front. I didn't give them anything, but felt sortof guilty about it. The church wasn't exciting or unique in any way.

From there I kept walking, and the road took me to a giant government building. I think it was the general administration building for the entire oblast (state.) I didn't go in, as I'm pretty sure it isn't open for tours. I remember this building from my first visit, when there was a protest camp set up on the square in front. (The protest camp was the local 'branch' of the protest camp in Kyiv.) There was a statue of someone in front of the building, but that's it time time around.

On an adjacent street was where I spent the next couple hours. I went into a cafe and stayed there for a while, just because I could. Their wifi worked relatively well, which was also nice.

From the cafe I could see both the government building and another church. I don't know the name of this church, but it is listed in guidebooks and on travel apps. In my head I think of it as the blue church. I peeked into the church, but saw immediately that there was a private ceremony taking place, so I backed out straightaway.

My walk took me to City Hall, which is unique as far as city halls go, especially in this country.

The shape is distinct, and there is a gold dome on top. The sign on the front of the building says it is the only secular building in the country with a gold dome on top.

Like Lviv, the city hall in Ivano Frankivsk has a tower, and visitors can climb the stairs up to the observation deck. I walked in the front door and paid my fee to climb (only 20 griven, less than a dollar,) and up I went. The top two thirds of the climb was on very tight spiral staircases. The spirals were so tight I was almost dizzy from spinning around so much.

The view was nice. It wasn't spectacular, but I enjoyed looking out over the city. It was cold and windy, I could feel the wind a lot while I was up there.

There was also a museum in City Hall, but I skipped that. I saw some artwork on the walls but I"m not much of an art museum person, especially when I have limited time.

Back down the stairs and out of the building, and I kept walking. I wasn't looking at a map, and ended up going in the opposite direction of where I'd intended, but oh well. I ended up in a giant local market area. Stalls selling everything from food to clothing to toiletries, etc... I didn't need or want any of it, but it was nice to walk through and look. Part of the market is in a large circular building, which looked different if nothing else.

I circled around the entire market, then headed back in the direction I'd originally wanted to go. I got to what I thought was a church, but it turned out to be another art museum. I'm pretty sure it was originally a church. There is a bell tower with this church, but it is out front of the church. I thought about going in the museum, but opted to skip it at this point. I wonder if the bells ever ring.

Not too far from the church/art museum was another church, the Holy Ressurection Church. The front facade is tall, but not particularly exciting. The inside of the church is gorgeous.

It's not a place I will ever want to worship, as it is too busy, but I definitely appreciate the beauty of the art. The entire interior is painted in bright colours, with a lot of variety in the colours. The iconostasis at the front is gold, a few levels high. There are a few pews in which you can sit, which told me it wasn't an Orthodox church, as those don't have pews for worshippers. This was a Greek Catholic Church.

There were people coming in regularly, both people who wanted to pray and those who were visitors like me. I took my photos, but I also sat for a few minutes and enjoyed the atmosphere.

It's absolutely beautiful.

From the church I walked to City Lake. When I'd been in the city for a couple hours on Saturday morning I'd walked to the lake but I hadn't had time to walk around. This time I had plenty of time, so I walked all the way around the lake. The path isn't in good condition, though some repairs are being done. I imagine there are more people walking around the lake in better weather. (It was a nice day, but windy and much colder than I wanted for the middle of May.)

There is a small island in the middle of the lake, with benches and a couple photo taking spots. Nothing worth getting excited about. I liked the bridge to get to the island better than the island itself.

When I got back to where I'd started I made my way to City Park, not too far away. There is a main pedestrian walkway through one side of the park, good for strolling. There are a number of paved paths through the trees in another area, with benches for sitting. (I saw entirely too many couples sitting and making out – or more – on those benches.)

There are a couple small ponds in the park, but neither one of them had good water circulation, I could see stuff growing that shouldn't be growing in a well circulated body of water. The park is a great place for people watching.

I walked back toward the city center and somehow found the tourism information center, which I'd missed earlier in the day. They had a few postcards, and magnets. This was where I found out the city has only had the name of Ivano-Frankivsk since 1962. Before that it was called Stanislav.

Interestingly, I noticed the name of Stanislav (in several languages!) on more than one manhole cover while I walked around the city.

Also in the city center was a pink and white library building. Probably not the colours I would've chosen, but hey, who am I to say?!?

There were small stalls selling coffee and sandwiches and the like, but not all of them were open. I suppose they will be when the weather is guaranteed to be better.

From there I walked to dinner, which I had in the same place I'd had lunch. To get to this cafe I walked past the blue church again, and go figure, it was hosting another private ceremony! Will I ever get to go inside this church?

I hung out in the cafe for a few hours, eating and drinking. From there it was a short walk back to the train station. My train left about ten minutes late and I arrived on time in Kyiv the next morning.

I would like to come back to this region, but probably not back to Ivano-Frankivsk except for transit.

ukraine: vorokhta and the carpathian mountains

I've lived in Ukraine for six years, and somehow this is the first time I visited the Carpathian mountains. I have no idea why it took me so long.

Getting to this area was relatively easy, though time consuming. It started with a night train from Kyiv to Ivano-Frankivsk. I got lucky and was on a new train, which was pretty spiffy. As I was in a second class car (called coupe in Ukrainian,) my bed was quite long and comfortable.

The train arrived at 0740 in Ivano-Frankivsk, the train station there isn't nearly as grand as some of the stations I've seen around the country. Still, it is nice.

Since I had just short of two hours until my next train left, I went for a walk. I've been to Ivano-Frankivsk once before, for just a day. Just out of curiosity I looked up the city on trip advisor, and followed a path to a lake in the city.

I walked past a monument to WW2, which was beautified with a lot of flowers. It was backlit at the time, and there was a lot of fog too. Argh.

I walked past heaps of closed shops and cafes. Since it was early Saturday morning nothing was open. As it got to 0800 and after I could see some cafes starting their opening procedures, but they still weren't open.

Eventually I got to the lake, which isn't exactly grand. I watched three gentlemen fishing off a dock, but that was all I had time to do. I looked at my watch and realized I needed to turn around and get back to the train station.

Along the way I picked up breakfast in the form of a yogurt and water at a small market that had just opened. Thank goodness.

My next train departed on time, and for the first half I dozed off and on. At some point I woke up and stayed awake for the rest of the ride. It was a pretty ride, as it went through small mountain towns.

Finally, we arrived in a small town called Vorokhta. It is definitely a town dependent on tourism (hiking and such in the summer, skiers in the winter,) but still holds onto it's original identity. Like many parts of Ukraine, this area has been part of various empires throughout history. If I remember my reading correctly, it was once part of Austria Hungary, though you don't see any remains of that anymore.

I walked to my accomodation and checked in. I had booked myself into a cabin of sorts, sharing a living room with another couple. I didn't spend time in the living room, neither did they. Though I did take a photo in there at one point, because I loved the lighting coming through the giant windows.

After relaxing for a while, I went walking. I'd looked up the city on trip advisor and found a few sights. The first place I wanted to see was an old aqueduct/train line.

On the way there, I stopped at a church. The front gate was closed but not locked, so I opened it and went in. The church itself was locked, so I just wandered the grounds. This was a wooden Orthodox church, with very bright and shiny onion domes.

Another stop on the way was to pick up a snack at a small market. Who knew wasabi flavoured crisps could be so tasty?

I got to the street leading me to the old train line/aqueduct and followed it. The aqueduct is built over water, and most of it is surrounded by barbed wire. Notice that I just said most. I kept walking and eventually found a place where the barbed wire had fallen down. (Or maybe someone else had torn it down? I don't know. Either way, it was easy for me to step over and get a little closer.) I set up my tripod and tried to take a photo. It didn't work the way I wanted it to, but oh well.

Really close to the old train line is the new train line. I found steps leading up to the new train line, so up I went.

On both sides of the tracks I walked along sidewalky sort of paths, there were several areas that looked like lookout places. They were small areas that went out a little further, though I'm not sure what anyone would be looking at while standing in these areas.

I also took photos of the small shacks at each end of the bridge part of the train track. I presume someone stands in these shacks from time to time? Though both were completely abandoned, with broken glass and falling down signs.

I made my way back to the main road I'd originally followed, and kept going.

Not too far later I got to another church. This one was also wood, but with silver coloured onion domes. The front gate was open with this one, but again the church itself was not open. I took my photos and left.

Right next to this church was a pathway with a small green bicycle on a sign. I decided to follow it and see where it went. This turned out to be a great decision, though rather exhausting. First it went through a residential area with individual homes. Some of the homes had chickens on the property, others had larger properties that could almost be small farms.

Eventually the path started going though trees. These trees had been planted, so the lines were straight, but I was still happy to be among trees. Most of the path had been dirt, with the occasional section of gravel and larger rocks as 'paving.' When the path went through the woodsy area it was just dirt, with plenty of ruts. There was mud in some of these ruts, I tried to avoid it.

Unfortunately, I wasn't always able to avoid the mud. In one place, I thought my feet were going to safe places, but I was wrong. I sank into mud. Yuck. Somehow I managed to avoid falling over and getting mud everywhere, thank goodness.

I continued following the path for a while until a random place that seemed like a good place to turn around. Going back was a lot faster, as it was all downhill.

When I got back to the town center I realized I was super thirsty. I was kicking myself for not bringing my camelbak during this weekend trip, especially knowing I would be doing some hiking. Argh.

I stopped in the same mini mart as before, and bought a big bottle of water, and started drinking the water approximately 5 seconds after paying for it.

I went back to my accomodation and washed off my feet and shoes. By this point almost all the mud had dried on my feet and shoes, but I was still determined to get rid of it.

Eventually I went to find dinner. Trip Advisor only lists three restaurants for Vorokhta, it's definitely a small town. I went to the closest place, which was still almost a kilometer away. That's not a big distance, but my feet were tired from the walking I'd done earlier in the day.

Dinner was good, though I ordered too much. A meat soup, grilled vegetables, potato pancakes, and a dessert with berries and cream.

The next morning I woke up to heavy fog. It was actually kinda nice, knowing I didn't need to get moving fast to see as much as possible. I knew I wouldn't be able to see anything in the fog.

I went to breakfast at my place at 0900. By this point most of the fog had burned off, I could even see some blue spots in the sky. Yay.

Go figure, after breakfast it started raining. Not crazy hard, but definitely enough to keep me from starting my daily walk for a few hours. Oh well. Though I do want to see as much as I can, sometimes actually resting during a long weekend is a good thing. The rain (and sometimes thunder!) lasted until 1500 (3pm) which was rather annoying, (but awesome at the same time,) but eventually I got to go out.

When I went out I walked the same way I had initially the day before. I walked to the end of the road on which my accomodation was located, but went slightly further. It wasn't exciting, but I did cross the train tracks.

I walked back to the main street of town and turned left, the opposite of the direction I'd gone the day before. I walked back toward the train station, stopping at a souvenir shop along the way to buy a magnet. They had postcards available as well, but the postcards were for the region as a whole, and I much prefer to buy postcards of places I've seen.

The train station in Vorokhta is small, I crossed the tracks to get to a street on the other side of the tracks. There is a set of stairs and a pedestrian bridge going over the tracks as well, but getting to the tracks meant going back out to the street. It was easier just to cross the tracks.

On the other side of the tracks, on the street across the tracks, I found another church. This one was totally different from the other churches I found in town. This one had a Madonna in front of the church, and was built of brick. The front door wasn't open, so I was only able to look at it from the outside.

The one thing it did have in common with the other churches I saw in Vorokhta was that it was small.

Further down the street I looked off to the side and saw a small waterfall and creek. Next to the creek was a path, so I followed it. There were more mini waterfalls along the way, though the path got muddier and muddier as I went. I found a bridge to cross the street, made of small tree trunks. It wasn't super strong, but it was mostly stable. I crossed it, and unfortunately wasn't able to go much further, as the mud got out of control. I had two options: walk through water or walk through heaps more mud. I turned back and went back to the street.

Further along the street I saw something I'd seen on a few magnets, but was not listed in any of the travel apps. An old ski jump!! At least, it looked old to me. I found my way inside (the gates were open) and got closer to the jumps. I saw the old ski lift, it looked really sketchy. It wasn't running, and to me it didn't look like it would be running anytime soon.

The lift went straight up the hill of course, and I saw a set of stairs going up the hill as well. The stairs were made of cement, which didn't look like it was in good condition, but I started climbing them anywho.

At one point the stairs changed from cement to metal of some kind. The metal was rusty in most placs, and looked even worse than the cement stairs. Still, I followed them up the hill.

At the top of the stairs I found the top of the chair lift. It didn't look any better than the bottom of the lift looked. Not too far from there I could see the top of the ski lift.

I had to climb more stairs to get there, as the top of the lift was more steep than the slope of the hill. The stairs were in terrible condition, convincing me the place was abandoned. Entire missing sections of stairs, flimsy metal railings, rotted boards, etc...

I got to the top and loved the views over the entire area. That being said, I didn't stay up there for long because I didn't trust the stairs very much. I went back down, stopping halfway at a building of some sort. I'm not sure what the building was used for, but I presume it was used during jump competitions of some kind.

For once I was relieved when I got all the way back to the bottom of the jump complex.

Normally I love abandoned facilities, but this one scared me a bit. When I got to the bottom I looked it up online, and found it out it is still being used!!! That's downright scary. Wikipedia told me it is the biggest of five ski jump facilities still being used in the country. The last time it was updated was in the 90s, and the powers that be have acknowledged that repairs need to be done. No kidding.

From there I walked back home, and ate dinner in the dining area. I'm not sure if the place normally serves dinner on Sunday evening, or if I was just late, but I was the only one eating in the room, and the kitchen staff had all gone. Oh well, I was happy with the food.

I love sleeping in a place like this. It was silent outside, and there were no lights to shine in my window. If only this was possible more often.

The next morning I'd arranged to eat breakfast at 0900. I first woke up at 0620, then again at 0908. Ooops! Thankfully I was able to change clothes quickly and get down to the dining room by 0915. I had the same breakfast as the day before, they had the food ready for me.

It wasn't raining, but it was very cloudy, so I stayed inside for several hours and didn't do much of anything productive. I must admit, it felt good to relax.

When I did start walking I followed a path I hadn't explored before. It took me to a tiny little chapel, past heaps of wooden houses.

All the houses had been painted at one time, but now all the wood looked old to me as I walked past. Winter must be tough in Vorokhta, the houses must be stronger than they look.

Eventually I got back to a paved road, it happened to be the one that led to the old and new train lines. I was tempted, but didn't climb up to them again.

When I got back to the main road of the town, I turned west. I walked past more wooden houses, and found most of them to be quite picturesque. It was windy, and clouds were rolling through, so I was constantly afraid it would start to rain. Thankfully, it never did.

I got all the way to the edge of Carpathian National Park, I wish I'd had a car and hiking map and more days to do proper hiking in the area. As it was I walked a couple mini paths I was able to see from the road, though I didn't go very far. (I waited much too long to get going on this day.)

Eventually I found a place on the road that seemed like a good place to turn around. I walked back toward my room, stopping to pick up several varieties of cookies on the way.

I had the same dinner as the night before, the food was ready for me. One of the items was a Greek salad, I loved that the people in the kitchen had noticed and remembered that I didn't eat the olives the night before.

After dinner I went to bed. I didn't sleep, but it was good to rest. I got up at 0045, showered and packed up. Around 0130 I started walking to the train station. The walk wasn't long, only 15 minutes or so.

My train left at 0211 I think, or a few minutes afterward. Somehow it wasn't considered a night train even though it was the middle of the night. As I looked around I saw heaps of people like me who were laying down on the seats and trying to doze off while they could, but there were no sheets and mattresses.

The train arrived on time at 0440 in Ivano Frankivsk, the oblast capital.

I would love to come back to this area and explore/hike more!!