Vorokhta. Market. A taste that captivates.

A market, a trading place is the calling card of a city or town. Every Friday in Vorokhta, Ivano-Frankivsk region, the market square turns into a bustling bazaar, and although today is not a market day, the season is not very touristy, the weather has completely deteriorated, and it is late afternoon, the market in Vorokhta near the train station is still operating, and a wandering traveler has the opportunity to buy souvenirs as a keepsake, gifts for home, and Carpathian delicacies to treat their colleagues at work and their family at home.

Vorokhta, market

Lviv. The Cemetery of the Polish Eaglets

For the 20th anniversary of the restoration and opening of the Polish military memorial in Lviv

In the south-eastern part of the «Lychakiv Cemetery» historical and cultural reserve in Lviv lies the military burial of Polish soldiers who fell in the course of the Polish-Ukrainian War (1918-1919), in particular in the battles for Lviv against units of the West Ukrainian People's Republic (ZUNR).

Lviv. The Memorial of Glory at the Polish military cemetery

Train 133 Kyiv-Rakhiv. A Popular Carpathian Route

Traveling by train 133 Kyiv – Rakhiv is a convenient and fast way to reach the Carpathians while enjoying comfort throughout the entire journey. This train provides a connection between the dynamic center of Ukraine, Polissia, Prykarpattia, and Zakarpattia.

 

Zarichchia. A Park Monument and Partisan Memorial

In the Nadvirna district, to the south-west of the village of Zarichchia, on the road to the village of Bili Oslavy, lies the national-significance landscape-gardening park monument «Park of Partisan Glory». This green landmark covers an area of 7 hectares at the foot of Mount Rakhovo (589 m above sea level). The emerald rectangle is located within the Delyatyn Forestry Enterprise’s Zarichchia forest district and has held protected status since 1983.

Nadvirna district. Memorial park of partisan glory

Liubizhnia. A Mountain River and the Liubizhnianskyi Huk

Look, the little mountain stream runs down,

It flows, it leaps down from the heights.

To her, proud to the very edge,

A peaceful life is beyond price.

But once she bursts out onto the valley,

She grows gentle forevermore.

You can't tell her apart from the flow

Of ordinary, untroubled rivers.

She drifts past, unhurried, by

Houses, forests, fields and ponds,

Dreamily leafing through

Her girlhood years.

19.06.2023  Alex Vinokur

Do you know what the foothill village of Deliatyn looks like from a bird's-eye view – emerald peaks cut through by valleys, in whose lowlands the Prut and its tributaries swirl in winding ribbons. The mountain stream Liubizhnia, a left tributary of the Prut, rises and is fed on the slope of the Carpathian ridge, where the mountains Studena Klyva and Vavtorova stand side by side; it flows eastward toward the central part of Deliatyn and forms the valley in which the settlement of the same name arose. With its stony bed and swift current, this blue ribbon of the Carpathians lays out its 16-kilometre course in the north-eastern Gorgany and hurries to meet its rebellious elder brother in the eastern part of Deliatyn.

 

Deliatyn. The Liubizhnia River

Yasinia. An Easy Short Route to Heredzhivka (818 m)

The village of Yasinia lies at the crossroads of tourist routes between the Svydovets and Chornohora ranges. The Yasinia railway station is the terminus for trains from Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa and Kharkiv, and travellers from various regions of Ukraine choose this distinctive Hutsul village to master mountaineering skills. When, on long hikes with significant elevation changes, the wisdom of the trail has been absorbed, the backpacks are packed and there are 2-3 hours left before the train departs, an unhurried ascent of Mount Heredzhivka near the station will be the farewell chord of a Transcarpathian holiday.

 

Yasinia, Mount Heredzhivka. View of the Chornohora range

Bili Oslavy. In Mariika Pidhirianka's Homeland

On the birthday of the poet, playwright and folk teacher Mariika Pidhirianka (29.03.1881 – 18.05.1963)

I thank the director of the Mariika Pidhirianka Museum, Vasyl Yuriiovych Levytskyi, for the opportunity to visit this remarkable cultural institution in Bili Oslavy, for creating the exhibitions and preserving the museum collections, and also for an enlightening tour. 

When little ones are learning to speak, poems help develop their language culture and thinking; from poetry collections children discover the sound and meaning of words. In the language of artistic imagery, writers converse with young readers, which helps improve memory, logic and communication. 

In the village of Bili Oslavy in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, the memory of the children's writer and educator Mariika Pidhirianka is preserved. The central street and the local school are named after the celebrated Ukrainian woman, a literary museum has been created, and memorial plaques have been installed in honour of the renowned native.

 

Bili Oslavy. The Mariika Pidhirianka Museum

Lviv. The Honey Cave. Not just architectural landmarks

When picking the top iconic places to get to know Lviv, most people will mention palaces and townhouses, cathedrals, museums and parks. In the eastern part of the city there is a little-known landmark worth visiting for lovers of geology, speleology and motocross.

 

Vorokhta. The 'Karetnyi' Narrow-Gauge Bridge and Viaducts

The Carpathian Mountains, emerald primeval forests and mountain villages conceal many exceptional curiosities and unexpected gifts. At the starting point of the route up to Chornohora from Vorokhta via Zavoiela, where the mountain stream Nyzhnii Bakhonchyk merges with the unruly Prut, a narrow-gauge bridge from 1895 has survived.

 

Vorokhta. The «Karetnyi» Bridge. 1895.

Protect the Beauty! Don't Pick the Spring Flowers!

The sun warms the earth, nature awakens from its winter sleep, and the world around comes to life and turns vivid. Sunbeams rouse the adornments of the forests – the first heralds of spring. We receive this priceless gift of nature every spring.

 

Crocus glades