Author Topic: Western Ukraine - Life & Leisure, Village Life (Read 92948 times)

Chris · « **Reply #25 on:** April 15, 2009, 12:50:43 AM »

Quote from: Paul on April 14, 2009, 05:04:03 PM

Looking forward to see some pics from the Carpathian Mountains

Thanks Paul, I can't promise though that they will be up to your quality of pictures, I just point and shoot, not a lot of thought goes into them

and as you can see, some are taken from a speeding car

Chris · « **Reply #26 on:** April 15, 2009, 01:14:47 AM »

Village Markets are a major attraction to the Carpathians and indeed to many villages throughout Ukraine. Farmers and villagers alike bring their produce to market to sell. The markets usually take place on a Saturday morning, they start early and finish usually around noon.

In the Carpathians, many of the products sold at markets are made from the forests in the region. There are a lot of hardwoods in this area and also Juniper is a very popular material for wooden carved products and the like.

This picture is of a very modern style market, most are no where near this clean and tidy, see my other pictures below for examples.

Notice in this picture the donations/collection box in the foreground, this would be left there all day with no fear of someone stealing it.

Western Ukraine - Life & Leisure, Village Life

Chris · « **Reply #27 on:** April 15, 2009, 01:24:26 AM »

Now pictures of traditional village flea and farmers markets

Traditional Ukrainian costume

Wooden cup and pot stands, made from Juniper wood.

Fruit, twigs and leaves carved from wood

Chris · « **Reply #28 on:** April 15, 2009, 01:32:17 AM »

More market pictures

Pysanka, Easter eggs made from wood and decorated

Wooden bottles

Hand made dresses

Entrepreneurial

selling home made ladders on the roadside, health and safety in the UK would have a field day at this place

Traffic on Market Days

As you can see, market days means small towns and villages become a hive of activity and regularly double in size as people come from all over the region to sell their produce and buy necessities.

Chris · « **Reply #29 on:** April 15, 2009, 01:39:15 AM »

Most mountain homes have their own small chapels

A traditional wooden house, high in the mountains.

and still a statue of Lenin stands proudly on an old mountain road

Chris · « **Reply #30 on:** April 15, 2009, 01:47:38 AM »

Some random pictures of mountain scenes

Chris · « **Reply #31 on:** April 15, 2009, 01:53:57 AM »

and some more

Chris · « **Reply #32 on:** April 15, 2009, 02:04:17 AM »

Summer meadows, horses in fields, waterfalls and lakes

Chris · « **Reply #33 on:** April 15, 2009, 02:09:34 AM »

Skiing in the Ukrainain Carpathians

The main resorts for skiers are:-

Slavsko
Bukovel
Tysovets
Dragobrat

and there are many smaller resorts too, including:-

Krasiya
Dolyna
Pylypets/Podobovets
Beskid
Sinyak
Polyana
Synevir
Yaremche
Vorokhta
Verkhovnya
Kosiv
Yavoriv to name but a few.

Chris · « **Reply #34 on:** April 15, 2009, 02:19:57 AM »

Slavsko is currently the most popular ski resort. It offers a number of good facilities to tourists. Situated around Mount Trostyan it is 900m to 1230m in elevation and it benefits from having a good number of ski lifts plus a wide range of ski runs for all levels of skiers- from beginners to pros.

Slopes vary from 700m to 2000m in length.

The resort is spread out over 5 mountains. If you want to ski in peace on uncrowded slopes, then the slopes on Mount Gabrovets will suit you. There is a ski lift here and the ski runs are around 850meters in length.

Slavsko is very conveniently located on the Kiev-Uzzhorod rail road. Or you can drive 120km from the large town of Lvov to get there.

Chris · « **Reply #35 on:** April 15, 2009, 02:22:58 AM »

Well that concludes my report on Life and Leisure in the Ukrainain Carpathian Mountains, if you get a chance, please visit this area, you will not be dissappointed.

Chris

WestCoast · « **Reply #36 on:** April 15, 2009, 02:51:31 AM »

Absolutely fantastic, Chris.

Chris · « **Reply #37 on:** April 15, 2009, 03:14:31 AM »

Quote from: WestCoast on April 15, 2009, 02:51:31 AM

Absolutely fantastic, Chris.

Thanks WestCoast.

Chris · « **Reply #38 on:** April 15, 2009, 03:17:45 AM »

My next report just published:- Life and Leisure Activities in the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains

Chris · « **Reply #39 on:** April 15, 2009, 03:19:53 AM »

See my earlier report:- Western Ukraine - Village Life

Paul · « **Reply #40 on:** April 15, 2009, 07:54:38 AM »

Great thread Chris! Western Ukraine reminds me much more of Romania, than it does Russia, in fact, if it had not been for the things like the Cyrillic, and statue of Lenin, I wouldn't be able to see a difference at all. The traditional clothing is very similar to that of Romanian traditional clothing, and the picture of the brick building that is being constructed is exactly how buildings of that type are constructed in RO.

It gets to be very annoying, very fast, being stuck behind the horse drawn (Gypsy) wagons.

mendeleyev · « **Reply #41 on:** April 15, 2009, 11:08:52 AM »

Chris, so beautiful! Thanks for your photos and work on this thread!

I never cease to be amazed at how much the Carpathians resemble places like the Appalachians in Virginia-Kentucky-West Virginia. Excepting the Cyrillic signs and the languages being spoken, if you sat someone from the Appalachians in the middle of the Carpathians, they'd feel at home and might not realize being in Ukraine at first. The hills, the valleys, houses, roads, etc, so many things are almost interchangeable. Having spent some growing up in the Appalachians I love this area of Ukraine. So many childhood memories flood my mind as the similarities are so striking.

The Carpathians and Appalachians also share the same mineral group: iron, coal, limestone, shale, lead, copper, marble and modest deposits of natural gas and oil.

Chris you've done a marvelous job with this thread!

Chris · « **Reply #42 on:** April 15, 2009, 01:07:55 PM »

Quote from: Paul on April 15, 2009, 07:54:38 AM

Great thread Chris! Western Ukraine reminds me much more of Romania, than it does Russia, in fact, if it had not been for the things like the Cyrillic, and statue of Lenin, I wouldn't be able to see a difference at all. The traditional clothing is very similar to that of Romanian traditional clothing, and the picture of the brick building that is being constructed is exactly how buildings of that type are constructed in RO.

It gets to be very annoying, very fast, being stuck behind the horse drawn (Gypsy) wagons.

Yes Paul, so many countries that have the Carpathians running through them are very similar in the mountain areas at least. I imagine it is sometimes hard to tell where you are if were not for the language and signs etc.

Chris · « **Reply #43 on:** April 15, 2009, 01:10:20 PM »

Quote from: mendeleyev on April 15, 2009, 11:08:52 AM

Chris, so beautiful! Thanks for your photos and work on this thread!

I never cease to be amazed at how much the Carpathians resemble places like the Appalachians in Virginia-Kentucky-West Virginia. Excepting the Cyrillic signs and the languages being spoken, if you sat someone from the Appalachians in the middle of the Carpathians, they'd feel at home and might not realize being in Ukraine at first. The hills, the valleys, houses, roads, etc, so many things are almost interchangeable. Having spent some growing up in the Appalachians I love this area of Ukraine. So many childhood memories flood my mind as the similarities are so striking.

The Carpathians and Appalachians also share the same mineral group: iron, coal, limestone, shale, lead, copper, marble and modest deposits of natural gas and oil.

Chris you've done a marvelous job with this thread!

Thanks Jim, never having experienced the Appalachians I couldn't say, but I will take your word for it. Having said that, some of the countryside, (not the houses and villages) especially that of Western and Eastern Ukraine is just like Britain in many respects, a lot of it looks very familiar.

skiingandrunning · « **Reply #44 on:** July 31, 2009, 02:53:38 PM »

Chris,

Great pictures as they brought back a lot of memories, thanks for sharing.

Related to ski resorts, I can only comment on Bukovel, but it's modern with a lot of snow making equipment and if you are in the Ukraine and want to ski, it's not a bad option (just not very difficult terrain if you are looking for the double black diamonds).

Related to the pictures from the markets, I picked up a lot of nice souvenirs, especially the embroidered work when I stopped in Yaremcha. Do you have any favorite markets in the area?

looking · « **Reply #45 on:** March 02, 2010, 11:19:19 PM »

Chris, great thread. Some of those photos remind me of the TX Hill Country now in late winter and others of late fall. Its great to see places like the Carpathians so untouched by modern ugliness(I couldn't think of a better word at the time, don't take it the wrong way). It is a place I have wanted to visit for a long time.

Chris · « **Reply #46 on:** March 03, 2010, 01:11:26 AM »

Quote from: looking on March 02, 2010, 11:19:19 PM

Chris, great thread. Some of those photos remind me of the TX Hill Country now in late winter and others of late fall. Its great to see places like the Carpathians so untouched by modern ugliness(I couldn't think of a better word at the time, don't take it the wrong way). It is a place I have wanted to visit for a long time.

Its a beautiful area looking, I hope to be going back there again in a few months time if all goes to plan and my wife gets her ILR visa in time for the summer holidays.

Stirlitz · « **Reply #47 on:** March 03, 2010, 02:57:14 AM »

The town of Polyana:

Some more photos can be seen here:

www.igorkalinin.com/download/photos/carpathians

Chris · « **Reply #48 on:** March 03, 2010, 06:29:24 AM »

Yes Poliana, not too far from Uzhgorod where I have relatives, close to the border.

Slumba · « **Reply #49 on:** July 03, 2011, 08:14:18 PM »

Chris et al ... thanks for a wonderful thread! Parts look even like central PA, not too far where I am from.

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Author Topic: Western Ukraine - Life & Leisure, Village Life (Read 92948 times)