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

Yasinia. Don't Just Pass Through

People come to the Zakarpattia village of Yasinia to enjoy the emerald beauty of the Carpathian expanse and to climb the peaks of the Chornohora range. Since 1894, trains have been arriving at Yasinia station carrying those eager to feel the mountains and see this enchanting land from the height of the mountain summits. Before World War II, Czechs and Germans came here to hunt and to visit. European journalists prepared reports about the authenticity of this multinational settlement, while foreign artists discovered little-known picturesque landscapes.

 

The village of Yasinia, Zakarpattia Oblast

The Malevskyi Complex. Picturesque and Little-Known

Despite all its achievements, humankind is inextricably linked to nature, which has given the people of Earth water, air, light, and warmth. People make everything they need for life from natural materials and forget to value and protect these priceless gifts. Nature offers visual aids for understanding the material world and inspires admiration for the astonishing beauty of the surrounding environment. One of the geological clues to the planetary order can be considered the rocky Malevskyi Complex, located in the south-eastern part of the sub-Carpathian village of Deliatyn.

 

Deliatyn, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. The Malevskyi Complex

Lychakiv Necropolis. On Your Own or with a Guide

Resting places attest to how the names of those who shaped the history of a village or a town, of a region and a state are preserved, and it is no wonder that necropolises are objects of sightseeing.

 

Carpathian Forest. A Winter Walk to Recharge

A forest is always balm for the soul, a source of inspiration and reflection, and winter forest scenes amaze with their charm and stir the imagination.