Ukraine 2010 trip report - Getting to the Carpathians

From Kiev we headed to the spruce-covered mountains in the Carpathians. Inna had once again reserved a nice room for us and we had plans to stay there for a week and to go hiking after that. The long journey towards the tiny village somewhere in western Ukraine started with a 10+-hour train trip to the most beautiful city Ukraine has to offer also known as Lviv. We've been to Lviv many times before so this time we had just a brief stop there. We ate in a small cafe we knew already from previous trips and the food there was good and ridiculously cheap.

A different kind of swing in Ivano-Frankivsk

From Lviv we continued by train to Ivano-Frankivsk, a city we also knew already. Again there we had some hours to spend until we took a horrific minibus trip to our final destination (a protip to anyone travelling in Ukraine: avoid minibuses at all costs). The bus was full, kind of smelly, noisy and annoying in almost every way you can possibly think of. What made things more difficult was the fact that we had to carry and take care of our huge backpacks loaded with a lot of hiking stuff. Also we didn't know exactly where we should get out and it was raining pretty heavily outside, reducing visibility to almost zero.

Our clean and comfortable room

Somehow, after what felt like a decade, we found ourselves standing in the rain between green and foggy hills. The happy big-boned owner of the place, where we had our room, greeted us and showed us the way. The yard of the place was muddy because of the rain and various domestic animals wandered around the place. If the yard wasn't most appealing the room and the cottage in general were worth every penny. We were supposed to have some simpler room for eight euros a night, but because some people had not come, the owner decided to give us a bigger and fancier room for the same price.

The cottage where we stayed had three rooms in the upstairs and two of them were empty. There was also a big kitchen with a fridge and microwave oven. A small stove could be found downstairs. The room itself had one double bed and one single bed, a balcony and a bathroom with warm water. We also had a radiator in case we'd get cold. For some reason in Ukraine everything is nicer and cheaper in west than in east, at least when it comes to accommodation.

We were pretty tired after the long journey and just rested for the rest of the evening and night. And it seemed like the rain wasn't going to end anytime soon anyway.

Foggy mountains

A waterfall

Clouds and a plant